User Preferences part 1

User Preferences

Clearing Configs

If you are required to clear configs for any reason, the way to do it is to make sure LightWave is closed, including the Hub application (in your Windows taskbar or Macintosh dock). Then, navigate to:

Windows

<user>\.NewTek\LightWave\2019.0

and delete

Extension Cache-64

LW2019.0.3-64.CFG

LWEXT2019.0.3-64.CFG

LWHUB2019.0.3-64.CFG

LWM2019.0.3-64.CFG

Macintosh

~/Library/Application Support/NewTek/LightWave/2019.0/

and delete

Extension Cache

Extensions 2019.0.3

Hub 2019.0.3

Layout 2019.0.3

Modeler 2019.0.3

now when you launch anew, you can be sure everything in LightWave will be factory fresh.

There may be plugin configs and color picker configs still to clear. If you wish to remove all traces completely, delete the 2019.0 folder but be warned you will have to license your LightWave again (you can retrieve your license key from your account at http://lightwave3d.com).

When configs are changed now, a backup is created of existing settings before changes are enabled.

(default keyboard shortcut Alt F9)

We strongly suggest that you keep the default keyboard mapping assignments and make new shortcuts only to unmapped keys. (Most of the function keys are open.) Otherwise, technical support and using the documentation may become difficult.

Like the menus, keyboard shortcuts can be configured to suit your needs. To display the Configure Keys Panel, choose Edit > Edit Keyboard Shortcuts.

The window on the left contains a complete list of all assignable commands grouped by type. The right window shows the full list of all keystrokes and assigned commands, if applicable.

Select a command in the left window.
Choose the target key in the right window. (You can hit the desired key or keystroke combo to select the key quickly.)
Clicking the Assign button will overwrite any existing assignment. Alternatively, you may drag the command to the right window.

Select the target key in the right window.
Click the Unassign button.

If you have a command selected in the left window and click Find, the command, if any, on the right will become selected. Choosing a command in the right window and clicking Find will select the matching command in the left window.

Clicking Search allows you to type in a search phrase to find a command. Search is case-sensitive and will find the first instance when first run, and can be used iteratively to find additional instances by just hitting the button again, as it retains the string until you type in a new one.

Keyboard shortcuts can be assigned to only one command. Assigning a command that is already assigned to a different key will assign it to the new key, but remove it from the old one.

The Load and Save buttons let you retrieve and store key mapping sets that you develop. The Clear button clears out all assignments, so use with caution. Any available preset key mapping sets can be chosen from the Presets pop-up menu. The Window pop-up menu lets you select different menus to edit (e.g., Graph Editor), if available.

(default keyboard shortcut Alt F10)

We strongly suggest that you keep the default menu organization intact. Otherwise, technical support and using the documentation may become involved. A better solution is to create a new menu tab and/or groups and place your frequently used tools in them.

LightWave menus are customizable. You can add, remove, group, and reorganize commands. Choose Edit > Edit Menu Layout to open the Configure Menus Panel.

In the (left) Command window, a list of available commands will appear. These will be grouped by type.

In the (right) Menus window, several main sections have sub-items, which are indented to show the hierarchical relationships. Top Group contains the items that are always visible no matter which tab is selected. Main Menu items are the main tabs and related buttons for the main interface toolbar. Left, Middle, and Right Mouse Button Menu (when available) are the menus that appear when the Shift + Ctrl keys are held down along with the corresponding mouse button. There may be other menu sections defined.

In the Menus window, dots indicate commands while arrows indicate groups of commands/sub-groups beneath it. If the arrow points to the right, the group’s sub-menu items are collapsed and not visible. To reveal the sub-menu items for a collapsed group, just click on its right-facing arrow. To collapse an open group, click on its downward-facing arrow.

If you have a command selected in the left window and click Find, the command, if any, on the right will become selected. Selecting a command in the right window and clicking Find will choose the matching command in the left window.

Menu branches can be exported and imported allowing for rapid customization of several menu entries. To export a menu branch, right-click over the group you wish to export and choose Export Branch.

The file saved can be loaded into a different installation of LightWave using the same method - right-clicking the area in which you wish to import a menu branch and choose Import Branch.

New to LightWave 2019 is an additional command Import and Replace Branch.

The Load and Save buttons let you retrieve and store menu layouts that you develop. Any available preset menu layouts can be chosen from the Presets pop-up menu. The Window pop-up menu lets you select different menus to edit (e.g., Graph Editor), if available.

(default keyboard shortcut Alt F11)

Use the Edit Plugins command to review and delete plugins that have been added. In Modeler, choose Utilities> Plugins > Edit Plugins.

You can delete a plugin command by selecting it and clicking the Delete button. (Other commands from the plugin will continue to exist.) Click Clear to delete all plugins listed. These operations do not affect the actual files stored on your hard drives.

To rename a plugin command: You can rename a plugin command’s name by selecting it, clicking the Rename button and entering a new name.

You can also add plugins on this panel. The Add Plugins and Scan Directory buttons operate the same as they do for the Add Plugins Panel, discussed earlier.

If desired, you can list the Plugin commands by their .p plugin filenames. Just select the File Grouping Method button at the bottom of the Edit Plugins Panel.

This command is a quick way to launch a window configuration that was generated by the Window Configure tool.

If your pipeline dictates that you need to use a different path structure for use with other applications, it can be awkward when you need to bring scenes back into LightWave for further editing, needing to tell LightWave where a project's images are for instance because you have them under a different path. You can now save metadata to a scene file as comments if your workflow dictates that you vary from the standard LightWave content directory structure of Images, Objects, and Scenes.

When saving out a scene file, append the content directory information as comments to the very end of the scene file.

If Use Custom Paths is left unchecked, this should be a single comment like this:

// ContentDir: "X:/project/_library/assets/LW_Content"

If Use Custom Paths is checked in your LightWave options Paths tab, append all of the custom paths as comments to the end of the LWS file as well:

// ContentDir: X:/project/_library/assets/LW_Content

// ObjectsDir: X:/project/_library/assets/LW_Content/Objects

// ImagesDir: X:/project/_library/assets/LW_Content/Images

The full list of custom paths is as follows:

ContentDir "X:/project/"

ScenesDir "X:/project/Scenes"

ObjectsDir "X:/project/Objects"

SurfacesDir "X:/project/Surfaces"

ShadersDir "X:/project/Shaders"

ImagesDir "X:/project/Images"

PreviewsDir "X:/project/Previews"

MotionsDir "X:/project/Motions"

EnvelopesDir "X:/project/Envelopes"

AnimationsDir "X:/project/Animations"

NodesDir "X:/project/Nodes"

SoundsDir "X:/project/Sounds"

DynamicsDir "X:/project/Dynamics"

RigsDir "X:/project/Rigs"

LightsDir "X:/project/Lights"

RadiosityDir "X:/project/Radiosity"

ColorTablesDir "X:/project/ColorTables"

ImageCacheDir "X:/project/ImageCache"

VertCacheDir "X:/project/VertCache"

BackupDir "X:/project/Backup"