Stop thinking about the gizmo.

One toggle. The Move gizmo follows whatever you select — object, edge, face, vertex, spline — on its own axes. Non‑destructive.

Get Ortho Pivot — 18€

Freelance licence, 1 seat · Studio licence up to 5 seats also available

Or try it free for 3 days · the complete tool, nothing disabled

“It is all in the background, the script does everything… I edit things without thinking about the axes any more. I don’t think I could work without it now.”
Alexandre Besson — author, daily on ArchiCAD imports

It aligns to whatever you select.

Four examples out of many — every kind of selection follows the same rule.

ObjectThe gizmo takes the piece’s axes. X = its length, Z = its height.

EdgeX = the edge, pivot at its midpoint. Re-click: Z flips to the neighbouring face.

Face / elementZ = the normal. X and Y in its plane, pivot at the centre.

45°SNAP

SplineThe end knot is selected: X takes its segment’s axis. Click the same end again to snap it by exactly 45°.

And also: a vertex · two vertices · a run of edges · open borders · elements · multi‑selections · groups · spline segments · cameras, lights & helpers… Re-click anything to cycle its axes.

And modifier gizmos: at a gizmo sub-object level the Move gizmo takes that gizmo’s own axes, not the object’s · UVW Map, Bend, Taper, Twist, Stretch, Squeeze, Ripple, Wave, FFD, Symmetry, Slice, Displace · which is what finally makes Max’s own Align tool usable there.

New in 1.4

Its own toolbar, installed for youA real, dockable Max toolbar with the four buttons: Ortho Pivot, Bake, Bake in place, Face Z. Nothing to place in Customize, and it comes back on every start. The main button shows when the tool is running.

Bake in placeMoves the pivot to where the gizmo sits: the centre of a group, a face, an edge, a vertex. Geometry and group members never move.

Face ZOne click turns the viewport to look straight at the gizmo’s plane and zooms to fit. Always from your side of the plane.

Splines on a slopeA planar shape tilted in space now aligns to its own plane, in object mode and at sub‑object level.

New in 1.3

45° snap at spline endsClick the end knot, then click again: the gizmo turns by exactly 45°, then 90, then 135. Extend a path on a clean angle.

Open bordersAn Editable Poly or Edit Poly border now aligns the gizmo along its contour.

Bake the aligned pivotShift-click the button, or bind the Ortho Pivot Bake command, to drop the frame onto the object’s real pivot. The mesh never moves.

Rock solid on deformed splinesThe gizmo lands on the shape you see in the viewport, even under Conform or a deep modifier stack.

No working plane, no face neededWorks from an edge, a vertex, a handful of points.

Your real pivot is never touchedToggle off — everything is exactly as it was.

Re-aims itself as you pickNo re-setting between operations. It just follows.

Instant on heavy meshesMillisecond detection on dense imports.

You can see it’s runningYour selection turns blue while it’s on.

Tested on 3ds Max 2024–2027Drag the .mzp in a viewport. Clean uninstall included.

Full specifications

What it doesRepositions the Move gizmo (Max’s Working Pivot) in real time to match whatever you select. One toolbar button — on / off.

Selection coverageObjects & multi‑selections · groups (gizmo at the group centre) · edges & runs of edges · faces & elements · one or several vertices · spline knots & segments · cameras, lights, helpers.

Axis logicZ = the most vertical axis of the selection, X = the longest. Re‑click the same selection to cycle the axes.

DetectionNative Max objects: true object orientation — correct even if the pivot was rotated. Editable / imported meshes: geometric analysis of the mesh itself (ArchiCAD, Revit, SketchUp, CAD…).

PerformanceInstant on native objects; about 20 ms on a 22 000‑face import.

Non-destructiveBuilt on the Working Pivot. Object pivots and transforms are never modified — toggle off and Max is exactly stock.

Visual feedbackYour selection turns blue while the tool is active; the toolbar icon shows the on state.

What it doesn’t doIt moves — it doesn’t rotate or assemble parts.

Compatibility3ds Max 2021+, tested on 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027. Renderer‑independent.

LicenceFreelance — 1 seat (one workstation) or Studio — up to 5 seats within one company. Key delivered by Gumroad; quick online activation, then works offline between light re‑checks.

Install / uninstallDrag the .mzp into a viewport — done. Dark & light icons included; one‑click uninstall macro.

Get Ortho Pivot

Freelance 18€ 1 seat — one workstation, yours. Get Freelance →

Studio 55€ Up to 5 seats within one company — 11€ a workstation. Get Studio →

Instant download · drag the .mzp into a viewport · 3ds Max 2024–2027.
Straight talk: it moves — it doesn’t rotate or assemble.