ViewCube and Steering Wheel

With the release of 3ds Max 2009, the Steering Wheel and ViewCube were introduced. They were designed with the intention of helping users navigate their scenes easier. For some users, it just clutters up the workspace.

ViewCube

The ViewCube originates from Autodesk Inventor, which has had this feature for many years, and was later ported to Maya and 3ds Max. The ViewCube allows users to quickly click on a face of the cube, and the scene will adjust so that the face clicked will face the user. Clicking on the house icon will change your view to the default Perspective view.

You can access the settings for the ViewCube by going to Views -> ViewCube -> Configure...

The config screen lets you enable/disable the ViewCube, adjust the size, transparency, and other settings.

How to enable/disable the ViewCube:
Hold down Alt + Ctrl + V
You can also click on the [+] in any viewport and go to ViewCube -> Show the ViewCube

For the keyboard shortcut to work, Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle must be enabled.

Steering Wheel

There are three steering wheels, and they offer a variety of camera controls to help navigate your scene. If the steering wheel is enabled, it will follow the mouse around the screen. The default steering wheel, seen above, offers the most tools.

Tour Building Wheel

View Object Wheel

Similar to the ViewCube, you can access the settings for the Steering Wheels by going to Views -> SteeringWheels -> Configure...

Or you can click the small downwards arrow on the steering wheel in the lower right corner.

How to enable/disable the SteeringWheel:
Hold down Shift + W to enable the wheel.
Press Esc to disable the wheel.
You can also click on the [+] in any viewport and go to SteeringWheels -> Toggle SteeringWheels

For the keyboard shortcut to work, Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle must be enabled.