I need to model an object from a photograph. My plan was to place the photo on a plane underneath the box I am using to model the object.

I always thought if you select an object and hit Alt+X it made the object see through. But it’s not working. Any idea what I’m doing wrong.

3DS Max 2013
8gb Ram
Intel i7

Nothing. That should work unless you’ve reassigned Alt+X to some other function.

Customise > Customise User Interface > Keyboard. Click in the Shortcut entry field than press Alt+X - it will tell you what the key combination is assigned to. It should be “Display as See Through Toggle”.

You also access the feature by right-clicking the object > Object Properties > See Through.

Check your Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle on the main toolbar as well.

Max 4.2 through 2014, Composite 2014.
XP-64 (SP2).
nVidia 9800GTX+ (512MB) (Driver 314.22).
i5-3570K @ 4.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

Try right-clicking the object and selecting Object Properties.  There should be a checkbox in there for See-Through.

Otherwise, it could be the Keyboard Shortcut Override toggle messing with you.

3ds Max Design 2012 64-bit - Subscription Advantage Pack / PU10
Dell Precision T5500, Dual Six Core Xeon X5650 @ 2.67GHz, nVidia Quadro 5000, 24 GB RAM, Win 7 Enterprise 64-bit
Minneapolis, MN, USA

Thanks for your replies. I’ve got it sorted.

The ALT X was assigned correctly. The problem was that the display in object properties was set to layer and not object.

3DS Max 2013
8gb Ram
Intel i7

Presumably you have Max Design in that case. It is important that you make clear exactly which Max you’re working with, as that (by Layer) would probably have been top of the list if we had known.

Please put your Max version, and your brief system specs, in your sig. That way they are always visible and you can’t forget to mention them.

Max 4.2 through 2014, Composite 2014.
XP-64 (SP2).
nVidia 9800GTX+ (512MB) (Driver 314.22).
i5-3570K @ 4.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.