autodesk viz 2007 user reference vol1

User Reference Volume I

AUTODESK®

VIZ2007

Image courtesy of Luke Novotny for Cox Richardson Architects

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Third-Party Software Program Credits© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.ACIS © 1989–2005, Spatial Corp.Certain patents licensed from Viewpoint Corporation.InstallShield™ Copyrighted © 2005 InstallShield Software Corporation. All rights reserved.Licensing Technology Copyright © Macrovision Corp. 1996–2005.Portions Copyrighted © 1989–2005 mental images GmbH, Berlin, Germany.Portions Copyrighted © 2005 Blur Studio, Inc.Portions developed by Digimation, Inc. for the exclusive use of Autodesk, Inc.QuickTime © 1992–2005, Apple Computer, Inc.REALVIZ Copyright © 2005 REALVIZ S.A. All rights reserved.This product includes Radiance software (http://radsite.lbl.gov/radiance) developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory(http://www.lbl.gov). Copyright © 1990–2005 The Regents of the University of California, through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Allrights reserved.Wise Installation System for Windows Installer © 2004 Wise Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.© 2003-2005 ArchVision, Inc. All rights reserved.© 2003-2005 Bionatics. All rights reserved.Portions © 2005 ERCO Leuchten GmbHPortions © 2005 Simes S.p.A.

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toc

Introduction ................................................ ixWelcome ..................................................................... ixWhat’s New in Autodesk VIZ 2007............................. xAutodesk VIZ Documentation Set ........................... xiiAbout MAXScript .................................................... xiv

1 Getting Started with Autodesk VIZ ............ 1Getting Started with Autodesk VIZ ............................ 1Project Workflow......................................................... 1Setting Up Your Scene ................................................. 4Modeling Objects ........................................................ 5Using Materials............................................................ 6Placing Lights and Cameras........................................ 6Animating Your Scene................................................. 8Rendering Your Scene ................................................. 8The Autodesk VIZ Window ........................................ 9Special Controls......................................................... 10Managing Files .......................................................... 13Importing, Merging, Replacing, and Externally

Referencing Scenes ................................................. 14Using the Asset Browser ............................................ 15Startup Files and Defaults ......................................... 163dsviz.ini File............................................................. 17Backing Up and Archiving Scenes ............................ 17Crash Recovery System ............................................. 18

2 Viewing and Navigating 3D Space ........... 19Viewing and Navigating 3D Space ............................ 19General Viewport Concepts...................................... 20Home Grid: Views Based on the World

Coordinate Axes ..................................................... 21Understanding Views ................................................ 22Setting Viewport Layout ........................................... 24Controlling Viewport Rendering.............................. 25

Controlling Display Performance ............................. 26Using Standard View Navigation .............................. 26Zooming, Panning, and Rotating Views................... 27Using Walkthrough Navigation ................................ 28Navigating Camera and Light Views......................... 31Adaptive Degradation Toggle ................................... 32Grab Viewport........................................................... 33View-Handling Commands .................................... 33View-Handling Commands...................................... 33Undo View Change / Redo View Change ................. 34Save Active View........................................................ 35Restore Active View................................................... 35Viewport Background............................................... 36Viewport Image Dialog ............................................. 36Select Background Image Dialog .............................. 40Update Background Image ....................................... 42Reset Background Transform ................................... 43Show Transform Gizmo ............................................ 43Show Ghosting .......................................................... 44Show Key Times ........................................................ 44Shade Selected ........................................................... 45Show Dependencies .................................................. 45Create Camera From View ........................................ 46Add Default Lights to Scene ...................................... 46Add Default Lights To Scene Dialog ......................... 47Redraw All Views....................................................... 48Activate All Maps ...................................................... 48Deactivate All Maps .................................................. 48Update During Spinner Drag.................................... 48Expert Mode.............................................................. 48Controlling Object Display .................................... 49Controlling Object Display ....................................... 49Display Color Rollout ............................................... 49Hide By Category Rollout ......................................... 50

Contents

iv Contents

Hide Rollout .............................................................. 51Freeze Rollout............................................................ 51Display Properties Rollout ........................................ 52Link Display Rollout.................................................. 55Object Display Culling Utility................................... 56

3 Selecting Objects ....................................... 57Selecting Objects ....................................................... 57Introducing Object Selection .................................... 57Basics of Selecting Objects ........................................ 60Selecting by Region ................................................... 62Using Select By Name................................................ 63Using Named Selection Sets...................................... 63Using Selection Filters ............................................... 64Selecting with Track View ......................................... 65Selecting with Schematic View.................................. 66Freezing and Unfreezing Objects .............................. 66Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Selection .............. 67Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Category .............. 68Isolate Selection......................................................... 69Introduction to Sub-Object Selection....................... 70Selection Commands ............................................. 72Selection Commands ................................................ 72Select Object ............................................................. 73Select By Name Button ............................................. 74Select Objects Dialog................................................. 74Selection Floater ........................................................ 76Selection Region Flyout............................................. 76Rectangular Selection Region .................................. 77Circular Selection Region ......................................... 77Fence Selection Region ............................................. 78Lasso Selection Region ............................................. 78Paint Selection Region .............................................. 79Selection Filter List .................................................... 80Filter Combinations Dialog....................................... 80Named Selection Sets ................................................ 81Select All .................................................................... 82Select None ................................................................ 82Select Invert ............................................................... 82Select By..................................................................... 83Select By Color .......................................................... 83Select By Name (Edit Menu) ..................................... 83Region ....................................................................... 83Select Region Window .............................................. 84Select Region Crossing ............................................. 84Window/Crossing Selection Toggle ......................... 85Named Selection Sets Dialog ................................... 85Edit Named Selections Dialog................................... 88Edit Commands....................................................... 89

Edit Commands ........................................................ 89Undo/Redo ............................................................... 89Undo ......................................................................... 90Redo .......................................................................... 90Hold ........................................................................... 91Fetch .......................................................................... 91Delete......................................................................... 91Assemblies and Groups.......................................... 92Using Groups............................................................. 92Using Assemblies....................................................... 93Group Commands................................................... 98Group Commands .................................................... 98Group......................................................................... 98Open Group .............................................................. 99Close Group............................................................... 99Ungroup .................................................................... 99Explode Group ........................................................ 100Detach Group .......................................................... 100Attach Group ........................................................... 100Assembly Commands ........................................... 100Assembly Commands ............................................. 100Assemble.................................................................. 101Create Assembly Dialog .......................................... 102Open Assembly ....................................................... 103Close Assembly........................................................ 103Disassemble ............................................................. 104Explode Assembly ................................................... 104Detach Assembly ..................................................... 104Attach Assembly...................................................... 104Assembly Head Helper Objects ........................... 105Assembly Head Helper Object ................................ 105Luminaire Helper Object ........................................ 105

4 Object Properties..................................... 107Object Properties..................................................... 107Object Properties Dialog ..................................... 107Object Properties Dialog......................................... 107Object Properties Dialog Panels ......................... 108General Panel (Object Properties Dialog) .............. 108Advanced Lighting Panel (Object Properties

Dialog) .................................................................. 114mental ray Panel (Object Properties Dialog).......... 116User Defined Panel (Object Properties Dialog)...... 117Rename Objects Tool .............................................. 118Expression Techniques......................................... 119Expression Techniques ............................................ 119Trigonometric Functions ........................................ 122Vectors ..................................................................... 123

Contents v

5 Creating Geometry .................................. 125Creating Geometry.................................................. 125Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects.......... 125Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects ............. 125Using the Create Panel............................................. 126Identifying the Basic Building Blocks ..................... 127Creating an Object .................................................. 128Assigning Colors to Objects................................. 130Assigning Colors to Objects.................................... 130Object Color Dialog ................................................ 130Color Selector Dialog .............................................. 132Color Clipboard Utility........................................... 135Adjusting Normals and Smoothing .................... 136Adjusting Normals and Smoothing ........................ 136Viewing and Changing Normals............................. 137Viewing and Changing Smoothing......................... 138Creating Geometric Primitives ............................ 139Geometric Primitives .............................................. 139Creating Primitives from the Keyboard.................. 140Standard Primitives.............................................. 141Standard Primitives................................................. 141Box Primitive........................................................... 142Cone Primitive ........................................................ 143Sphere Primitive ...................................................... 145GeoSphere Primitive ............................................... 147Cylinder Primitive ................................................... 148Tube Primitive ......................................................... 150Torus Primitive........................................................ 151Pyramid Primitive................................................... 153Teapot Primitive ...................................................... 154Plane Primitive ........................................................ 156Extended Primitives ............................................. 157Extended Primitives ................................................ 157Hedra Extended Primitive ...................................... 158Torus Knot Extended Primitive .............................. 160ChamferBox Extended Primitive ............................ 162ChamferCyl Extended Primitive............................. 163OilTank Extended Primitive ................................... 165Capsule Extended Primitive.................................... 166Spindle Extended Primitive .................................... 167L-Ext Extended Primitive........................................ 169Gengon Extended Primitive.................................... 170C-Ext Extended Primitive ....................................... 171RingWave Extended Primitive ................................ 173Prism Extended Primitive ....................................... 175Hose Extended Primitive ........................................ 176Creating Architectural Objects ............................ 180AEC Extended Objects.......................................... 180AEC Extended Objects............................................ 180

Working with AEC Design Elements...................... 180Foliage...................................................................... 184Railing ..................................................................... 188Wall.......................................................................... 193Editing Wall Objects................................................ 198Stairs ...................................................................... 202Stairs ........................................................................ 202L-Type Stair ............................................................. 203Spiral Stair ............................................................... 206Straight Stair ............................................................ 210U-Type Stair ............................................................ 214Doors ..................................................................... 217Doors ....................................................................... 217Pivot Door ............................................................... 222Sliding Door ............................................................ 223BiFold Door............................................................. 223Windows................................................................ 224Windows.................................................................. 224Awning Window...................................................... 228Casement Window .................................................. 229Fixed Window ......................................................... 230Pivoted Window...................................................... 231Projected Window................................................... 232Sliding Window....................................................... 233Creating Shapes.................................................... 234Shapes ..................................................................... 234Shape Check Utility................................................. 237Splines and Extended Splines ............................. 237Splines and Extended Splines.................................. 237Splines ................................................................... 242Line Spline ............................................................... 242Rectangle Spline ...................................................... 244Circle Spline............................................................. 244Ellipse Spline ........................................................... 245Arc Spline ................................................................ 246Donut Spline............................................................ 247NGon Spline ............................................................ 248Star Spline................................................................ 249Text Spline ............................................................... 250Helix Spline ............................................................. 252Section Spline .......................................................... 253Extended Splines .................................................. 255WRectangle Spline .................................................. 255Channel Spline ........................................................ 256Angle Spline............................................................. 257Tee Spline................................................................. 259Wide Flange Spline.................................................. 259Editable Splines .................................................... 261Editable Spline......................................................... 261

vi Contents

Editable Spline (Object) .......................................... 266Editable Spline (Vertex) ......................................... 268Editable Spline (Segment) ...................................... 275Editable Spline (Spline) .......................................... 280Creating Compound Objects ............................... 285Compound Objects ................................................. 285Scatter Compound Object....................................... 286Connect Compound Object.................................... 292ShapeMerge Compound Object ............................. 296Boolean Compound Object ................................. 298Boolean Compound Object .................................... 298Material Attach Options Dialog .............................. 305Terrain Compound Object...................................... 306Loft Compound Object......................................... 312Loft Compound Object ........................................... 312Creation Method Rollout ........................................ 313Surface Parameters Rollout ..................................... 314Path Parameters Rollout.......................................... 316Skin Parameters Rollout.......................................... 317Deformations .......................................................... 322Deform Scale ........................................................... 323Deform Twist........................................................... 324Deform Teeter.......................................................... 325Deform Bevel........................................................... 326Deform Fit ............................................................... 327Deformation Dialog ................................................ 328Path Commands...................................................... 332Shape Commands ................................................... 332Compare Dialog ...................................................... 333Creating Systems .................................................. 334Systems .................................................................... 334Bones System........................................................ 335Bone Tools Rollouts .............................................. 335Sunlight and Daylight Systems ........................... 335Sunlight and Daylight Systems................................ 335Geographic Location Dialog................................... 338

6 Transforms: Moving, Rotating, andScaling Objects ........................................ 341Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects .................. 341Axis Tripod and World Axis ................................... 343Using Transforms.................................................. 343Using Transforms .................................................... 343Applying Transforms............................................... 344Moving and Rotating Objects ................................. 345Scaling Objects ........................................................ 346Using Transform Gizmos ........................................ 348Transform Type-In .................................................. 352Animating Transforms ............................................ 354

Transform Managers ............................................... 354Specifying a Reference Coordinate System............. 356Choosing a Transform Center................................. 356Using the Axis Constraints...................................... 358Reset XForm Utility ................................................ 359Transform Commands .......................................... 359Transform Commands ............................................ 359Select and Move ...................................................... 360Select and Rotate .................................................... 360Select and Scale Flyout ............................................ 361Select and Uniform Scale ........................................ 361Select and Non-Uniform Scale ............................... 362Select and Squash ................................................... 363Transform Coordinates and Coordinate

Center ................................................................. 363Transform Coordinates and Coordinate Center..... 363Reference Coordinate System ................................. 364Use Center Flyout .................................................... 366Use Pivot Point Center ............................................ 367Use Selection Center ............................................... 367Use Transform Coordinate Center.......................... 367Transform Constraints ......................................... 368Transform Constraints ............................................ 368Restrict To X ........................................................... 368Restrict To Y ........................................................... 369Restrict To Z ........................................................... 369Restrict To Plane Flyout .......................................... 370Restrict To XY Plane ............................................... 370Restrict To YZ Plane ............................................... 371Restrict To ZX Plane ............................................... 371Ortho Snapping Mode ............................................ 372Polar Snapping Mode ............................................. 373Transform Tools .................................................... 374Transform Tools ...................................................... 374Array Flyout............................................................. 374Mirror Selected Objects .......................................... 375Mirror Dialog .......................................................... 375Array ....................................................................... 376Array Dialog ............................................................ 377Snapshot ................................................................. 380Snapshot Dialog ...................................................... 380Spacing Tool ........................................................... 381Clone and Align Tool .............................................. 386Align Flyout............................................................. 388Align ....................................................................... 389Align Dialog ............................................................ 389Quick Align ............................................................ 392Normal Align .......................................................... 392Normal Align Dialog............................................... 392

Contents vii

Place Highlight ....................................................... 394Align Camera .......................................................... 395Align to View .......................................................... 395Align to View Dialog ............................................... 396

Index ......................................................... 397

viii Contents

intro

Welcome

Image courtesy of Shigeki Satou and Otsuka Corporation

Welcome to the Autodesk VIZ User Reference.This reference contains detailed information aboutall the features and capabilities of Autodesk VIZ®,which brings architectural modeling andvisualization to your desktop system.

The reference is organized by functional areas.The “User Interface” chapter gives you a guide toprogram controls and where to find them.

If you’ve already used previous versions ofthis program, you might want to start with a

description of what’s new in this version (page1–x).

If you’re new to this software, this would be a goodplace to start: Getting Started with Autodesk VIZ(page 1–1).

Here’s where you can get an overview of the entiredocumentation set: Autodesk VIZ DocumentationSet (page 1–xii).

You can find a guide to using the electronic versionof this reference (page 3–619).

And here’s a list of other important introductorytopics:

Managing Scenes and Projects (page 3–89)

Viewing and Navigating 3D Space (page 1–19)

Selecting Objects (page 1–57)

Object Properties (page 1–107)

Creating Geometry (page 1–125)

Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects (page1–341)

Creating Copies and Arrays (page 2–1)

Using Modifiers (page 2–23)

Surface Modeling (page 2–311)

Precision and Drawing Aids (page 2–617)

Introduction

x Introduction

Animation Concepts and Methods (page 2–669)

Lights and Cameras (page 2–911)

Advanced Lighting Panel (page 2–1350)

Material Editor, Materials, and Mapping (page2–1025)

Rendering (page 2–1315)

Effects and Environments (page 3–1)

User Interface (page 3–381)

Customizing the User Interface (page 3–505)

Default Keyboard Shortcuts (page 3–601)

What’s New in Autodesk VIZ 2007

The new features in Autodesk VIZ are meant toimprove the way you use it, and to improve thequality of work it helps you create.

Note: This topic doesn’t comprehensively list all thechanges that have been made to Autodesk VIZ. Asyou proceed through the documentation, keep aneye out for the icon, which designates a newfeature. You can also identify topics containinginformation on new features in the program usingthe index in this reference. For topics describingnew program features, check the index entry "newfeature in 2007." For changes in existing features,check the index entry "changed feature in 2007."

Following is a list of major new features with briefdescriptions and links to the relevant referencetopic:

The Autodesk VIZ 2007 User Reference

• Most of the documentation relating to networkrendering is now available in the BackburnerReference, available from the Help menu > UserReference > Contents panel.

• The mental ray documentation from mentalimages, with specifics on shaders and related

topics, has been combined into a singlereference file, available from the Autodesk VIZHelp menu.

General Animation

• The new Limit Controller (page 2–709) lets youlayer a limit on top of a motion curve with theability to ease and out of the limit.

• You can now set an animation track with aparametric controller, such as Noise, to applyonly to the current animation range (page2–860) or to ignore it (page 2–859), thusrepeating infinitely.

Rendering

• mental ray 3.4 (page 2–1377) delivers numerousoptimizations, including faster final gatheringperformance, double precision computationfor ray tracing and fast rasterization forfirst-generation rays. mental ray 3.4 alsoadds Satellite Rendering, which lets youdeploy up to eight slave CPUs to render animage with distributed bucket rendering; seeDistributed Bucket Rendering Rollout (mentalray Renderer) (page 2–1421).

• Support for OpenEXR (page 3–264), a versatilefile format for high-dynamic-range images.

• Tighter integration with Combustion byproviding material ID and render ID elementsallows for quick masking inside Combustionbased on the material or node ID fromAutodesk VIZ. See Render Elements Panel andRollout (page 2–1426).

• Support for IMSQ files (page 3–262). IMSQ isan XML-based image-sequence format that canpotentially be used by third-party applications.You generate IMSQ files from the Render SceneDialog’s Common Parameters rollout (page2–1334).

What’s New in Autodesk VIZ 2007 xi

• Support for pre-render and post-render scripts.In addition to a pre-render script, you cannow run a post-render script as well. Pre- andpost-render scripts are specified on the newScripts rollout (page 2–1340), as well as fromthe command-line rendering interface.

• New Illuminance HDR Data and LuminanceHDR Data render elements (page 2–1426) letyou perform advanced analysis of your scene’slighting.

Modeling

• Enhancements in Editable Poly and Edit Polymodifier include:

• Grow, shrink, and move edge sub-objectselections along rings and loops. A fasterway to modify selections and move themalong a surface. See Editable Poly Surface(page 2–377).

• Create rows of new faces between edges withthe new Bridge feature. This is useful forcreating edge loops.

• When removing edges, the new CleanRemove option lets you delete associatedvertices, simplifying the resulting geometry.

• When chamfering sub-objects (page 2–435),the new Open option lets you create holesinstead of new faces.

• Change spacing and positioning of newedges with the Pinch and Slide settings. SeeConnect Edges Dialog (page 2–435).

• The Show Cage function now uses twocolors to show both selected and unselectedsub-objects.

• You can convert a selection to onlysub-objects that border the selection bypressing SHIFT as you change the sub-objectlevel.

Scene and Project Management

• Project-management functionality isimplemented via the new asset tracking system(page 3–102). Asset tracking works with avariety of source-control tools, but optimalsupport is provided for Autodesk Vault,included free with Autodesk VIZ.

• A number of improvements have been made toexternal references. The XRef Objects dialog(page 3–284) and rollouts have been redesignedto make them easier to use. You can now XRefmaterials as well as objects, either when youXRef objects in general, or by using the newXRef material (page 2–1192).

For XRef Scenes, the new Overlay feature (page3–293) lets you create more complex XRefingwhile avoiding circular XRefs.

XRefs to cameras are now correctly saved withthe scene, so you can use them with networkrendering.

The performance of XRefs has also beenimproved.

• The Material Editor > Utilities menu includesseveral new functions for managing materials.For example, you can remove all materials notused in the scene from the editor, and condensethe remaining materials. See Material EditorMenu Bar (page 2–1059).

• Repathing and retargeting (page 3–105) ofassets and their locations allows for controlover many dependencies that rely on the pathof an asset.

• You can collect Path configuration files (page3–529) in a project-specific manner for allassets. This file can be loaded, saved, etc. andtransferred with the scene file. This easesmanagement of projects by providing a text(ASCII) file that lets users define paths for assetlocations.

xii Introduction

Design Visualization Functionality

• DWG import (page 3–147) functionality hasbeen enhanced to match DWG file linkingcapabilities and both DWG Import and FileLinking now support new features such asimproved material handling in AutoCAD 2007.Also, DWG Export (page 3–157) now supportsAutoCAD 2007.

Scripting

• Analyze and correct problem scripts with thenew MAXScript debugger (page 3–503), whichfollows the industry-standard method fordebugging scripts. Set breakpoints and isolateissues in any script.

• Rewritten scripted controllers now have fullMAXScript support. Name dependencies havebeen removed so that scripted controllers canbe merged, XRefed, and copied in the same wayas other controller types.

• MAXScript SQL Connect and Queries letsprogrammers and TDs build scripts to querya database, permitting increased automationwithin a complex pipeline.

Autodesk VIZ Documentation Set

The documentation set for Autodesk VIZcomprises online material only.

• Autodesk VIZ 2007 Installation Guide:Includes information about systemrequirements and troubleshooting. It alsotells you how to maintain and uninstallAutodesk VIZ.

The Installation Guide is available in PDFformat on the product disc, in the \manualsfolder.

• Autodesk VIZ 2007 User Reference: Theonline reference covers fundamental conceptsand strategies for using the product, as well as

details about the features of Autodesk VIZ. Inthis version of the product, the User Referenceis available online only.

Access the reference online by choosing Help> User Reference.

• Autodesk VIZ 2007 Tutorials: Containstutorial information and detailed proceduresto walk you through increasingly complexoperations. This is the best source for learningAutodesk VIZ.

Access the tutorials by choosing Help >Tutorials.

Note: All the sample files required to do thetutorials are found on the program disc. Noneof these files are installed automatically.

A PDF version of the tutorials is also on theproduct disc, in the \manuals folder.

• Backburner Reference: Describes proceduresfor rendering with networked computers.Available from the Autodesk VIZ Referenceonline Contents tab.

• MAXScript Reference: Describes theMAXScript scripting language (page 1–xiv).This reference is available online only. Checkout the “Learning MAXScript” chapter there ifyou’re new to MAXScript.

Access the MAXScript Reference by choosingHelp > MAXScript Reference.

• Readme.rtf: Contains the latest informationabout Autodesk VIZ 2007. Find this filein electronic format in the program installdirectory.

Additional Help Files

In addition to the main documentationcomponents described above, these additionalonline documents describe various featuresavailable in Autodesk VIZ 2007.

Autodesk VIZ Documentation Set xiii

• Additional mental ray® Help Files:Documentation from mental images® isavailable from Help menu > AdditionalHelp. There, you’ll find the mental ray 3.4Documentation, comprising themental rayManual, mental ray Shader Reference, andLumeTools Collection.

Note: Third-party shaders are documentedin the mental ray Shader Reference, andLumeTools Collection documents, but theAutodesk VIZ 2007 User Reference documentsall other mental ray components available inthe Autodesk VIZ user interface. This includesdocumentation for lights for mental ray andspecific shadow types, controls for addingmental ray shaders to lights and cameras,mental ray materials, custom shaders forAutodesk VIZ, and the mental ray renderercontrols.

• Autodesk License Borrowing Utility Help:Available as the file adsk_brw.chm, installedin the \program files\common files\autodeskshared\enu folder on your local drive.

• Portable License Utility Help: Available as thefile adsk_plu.chm, installed in the \programfiles\common files\autodesk shared\enu folderon your local drive.

• Network Licensing Guide: Available as thefile adsk_nlg.pdf, on the product disc, in the\Manuals folder.

• Network Administrator’s Guide: Available asthe file adsk_nag.pdf, on the product disc, inthe \Manuals folder.

• Network Installation Guide: Available as thefile NetInstallGuide.pdf, on the product disc,in the \Manuals folder.

• SAMreport-Lite User’s Guide: Available as thefile SAMlite_UG.pdf, on the product disc, inthe \Manuals folder.

• Autodesk VIZ Software DevelopmentKit Help Files: Available as the filessdk.chm and sparks_archive.chm, installedin the autodesk viz 2007\maxsdk\helpfolder on your local drive. The fileindex.chm is installed in the autodesk viz2007\maxsdk\samples\howto\xrefutil folder.

You can find updated SDK documentation onthe sparks Web site.

How to Print from the OnlineDocumentation Files

If your computer is connected to a printer, you canprint single help topics or entire chapters.

To print a topic or chapter, highlight the topic orchapter title and click the Print button at the top ofthe help display. A dialog appears.

Choose to print only the selected topic, or to printall topics in that chapter. After you make yourselection, another dialog appears where you canchoose your printer and other options.

http://sparks.discreet.com/index.cfm?site=software

xiv Introduction

The tabs available at the top of the dialog dependon the selected printer. Choose options for theprint job, and click OK to begin printing.

How to Contact Us

We are also interested in hearing your viewsabout Autodesk VIZ. We’d like to hear ways youthink we can improve our program, featuresyou’re interested in, as well as your views on thedocumentation set.

About MAXScript

MAXScript is the built-in scripting language forAutodesk VIZ. It provides users with the ability to:

• Script all aspects of Autodesk VIZ use, suchas modeling, animation, materials, rendering,and so on.

• Control Autodesk VIZ interactively through acommand-line shell window.

• Package scripts within custom utility panelrollouts or modeless windows, giving them astandard Autodesk VIZ user interface.

• Build custom import/export tools using thebuilt-in file I/O.

• Write procedural controllers that can access theentire state of the scene. Build batch-processingtools, such as batch-rendering scripts.

• Set up live interfaces to external system usingOLE Automation.

The MAXScript language is specificallydesigned to complement Autodesk VIZ. It isobject-oriented, and has several special featuresand constructs that mirror high-level concepts inthe Autodesk VIZ user interface. These includecoordinate-system contexts, an animation modewith automatic keyframing, and access to sceneobjects using hierarchical path names that matchthe Autodesk VIZ object hierarchy.

The syntax is simple enough for non-programmersto use, with minimal punctuation and formattingrules.

Visual MAXScript

Visual MAXScript is a powerful addition toMAXScript, making the MAXScript feature easierto learn and use. With Visual MAXScript, youcan quickly create UI elements and layouts forscripting.

For detailed information about Visual MAXScript,open the MAXScript Reference, available fromHelp menu > MAXScript Reference.

See also

MAXScript Menu (page 3–394)

Procedure

To access MAXScript, do one of the following:

• On the menu bar, choose MAXScript. TheMAXScript menu appears.

• Choose Utilities panel > MAXScript.

From here, you can either write new scripts, editor run existing scripts, open the MAXScriptListener, or use the Macro Recorder.

About MAXScript xv

To access the MAXScript Listener, you can alsoright-click in the Mini Listener and chooseOpen Listener Window from the right-clickmenu.

For detailed information about the MAXScriptutility, open the MAXScript Reference, availablefrom Help menu > MAXScript Reference.

xvi Introduction

You use Autodesk VIZ to quickly createprofessional-quality 3D models, photorealistic stillimages, and film-quality animation on your PC.

Before using this reference material, we highlyrecommend you get to know Autodesk VIZfirsthand by following the included tutorials. Youcan access the tutorials using the Help menu >Tutorials command.

This section presents these brief topics designed tohelp you quickly start using Autodesk VIZ.

• Project Workflow (page 1–1)

• Setting Up Your Scene (page 1–4)

• Modeling Objects (page 1–5)

• Using Materials (page 1–6)

• Placing Lights and Cameras (page 1–6)

• Animating Your Scene (page 1–8)

• Rendering Your Scene (page 1–8)

The Autodesk VIZ Window (page 1–9)

• Special Controls (page 1–10)

• Quad Menu (page 3–399)

• Customize Display Right-Click Menu (page3–507)

Managing Files (page 1–13)

• Importing, Merging, and Replacing Scenes(page 1–14)

• Using the Asset Browser (page 1–15)

• Startup Files and Defaults (page 1–16)

• 3dsviz.ini File (page 1–17)

• Backing Up and Archiving Scenes (page 1–17)

• Crash Recovery System (page 1–18)

Project Workflow

Once you’ve installed Autodesk VIZ (see theInstallation Guide included with your softwarepackage), you open it from the Start menu, or useany other Windows method. The figure belowshows the application window with a scene fileloaded.

Getting Started with Autodesk VIZ

2 Chapter 1: Getting Started with Autodesk VIZ

Main program window

Note: If you open Autodesk VIZ from aCommand Prompt window or batch file, youcan add command-line switches. See StartingAutodesk VIZ from the Command Line (page3–383).

Note: Autodesk VIZ is a single-documentapplication, meaning you can work on only onescene at a time. However, you can open more thanone copy of Autodesk VIZ and open a differentscene in each copy. Opening additional copies ofAutodesk VIZ requires a lot of RAM. For the bestperformance, you should plan to open one copyand work on one scene at a time.

Opening multiple copies of Autodesk VIZ is notsupported in Windows ME.

Modeling Objects

You model and animate objects in the viewports,whose layout is configurable. You can start with avariety of 3D geometric primitives. You can alsouse 2D shapes as the basis for lofted or extrudedobjects. You can convert objects to a variety ofeditable surface types, which you can then modelfurther by pulling vertices and using other tools.

Another modeling tool is to apply modifiers toobjects. Modifiers can change object geometry.Bend and Twist are examples of modifiers.

Modeling, editing, and animation tools areavailable in the command panels and toolbar. SeeModeling Objects (page 1–5). Also, you can learna good deal about modeling from the tutorialsavailable from Help menu > Tutorials.

Project Workflow 3

Material Design

You design materials using the Material Editor,which appears in its own window. You use theMaterial Editor to create realistic materials bydefining hierarchies of surface characteristics.The surface characteristics can represent staticmaterials, or be animated (using image-sequencemaps). See Material Editor (page 2–1039).

Lights and Cameras

You create lights with various properties toilluminate your scene. The lights can cast shadows,project images, and create volumetric effects foratmospheric lighting. Physically-based lights letyou use real-world lighting data in your scenesand Radiosity (page 2–1350) provides incrediblyaccurate light simulation in renderings. See Lights

(page 2–911). You can learn more about lightingby following the Lighting tutorial.

The cameras you create have real-world controlsfor lens length, field of view, and motion controlsuch as truck, dolly, and pan. See Cameras (page2–995).

Animation

You can begin animating your scene at any time byturning on the Auto Key button. Turn the buttonoff to return to modeling. You can learn moreabout animating in the Animating Your Scenetopic (page 1–8) and from most of the tutorials.

When the Auto Key button is on, Autodesk VIZautomatically records the movement, rotation,and scale changes you make, not as changesto a static scene, but as keys on certain framesthat represent time. You can also animate manyparameters to make lights and cameras changeover time, and preview your animation directly inthe Autodesk VIZ viewports.

You use Track View (page 2–818) to controlanimation. Track View is a floating windowwhere you edit animation keys, set up animationcontrollers, or edit motion curves for youranimated effects.


Rendering

Rendering adds color and shading to your scene.The renderers available with Autodesk VIZ includefeatures such as selective ray tracing, analyticalantialiasing, motion blur, volumetric lighting, andenvironmental effects. See Rendering Your Scene(page 1–8). The tutorials can help you learn aboutrendering.

When you use the default scanline renderer, aradiosity solution (page 2–1350) can provideaccurate light simulation in renderings, includingthe ambient lighting that results from reflectedlight. When you use the mental ray renderer,a comparable effect is provided by globalillumination (page 2–1392).

If your workstation is part of a network, networkrendering can distribute rendering jobs overmultiple workstations. See Network Rendering(page 2–1465).

A Typical Project Workflow

These topics explain the basic procedures forcreating scenes:

Setting Up Your Scene (page 1–4)

Modeling Objects (page 1–5)

Using Materials (page 1–6)

Placing Lights and Cameras (page 1–6)

Animating Your Scene (page 1–8)

Rendering Your Scene (page 1–8)

Setting Up Your Scene

You start with a new unnamed scene when youopen the program. You can also start a new sceneat any time by choosing New or Reset from theFile menu.

Choosing a Unit Display

You choose a system of unit display on the UnitsSetup dialog (page 3–581). Choose from Metric,Standard US, and Generic methods, or design acustom measuring system. You can switch betweendifferent systems of unit display at any time.

Note: For best results, use consistent units whenyou are going to:

• Merge scenes and objects (page 3–97).

• Use XRef objects (page 3–281) or XRef scenes(page 3–292).

Setting the System Unit

The System Unit setting, in the Units Setup dialog(page 3–581), determines how Autodesk VIZrelates to distance information you input to yourscene. The setting also determines the range forround-off error. Consider changing the systemunit value only when you model very large or verysmall scenes.

Setting Grid Spacing

Set spacing for the visible grid in the Grid AndSnap Settings dialog > Home Grid panel (page2–662). You can change grid spacing at any time.

See Precision and Drawing Aids (page 2–617) forinformation about the system unit, unit display,and grid spacing.

Modeling Objects 5

Setting the Viewport Display

Viewport layout options

The default full-screen Perspective viewport inAutodesk VIZ is a good way to work with largescenes. Set options in the Viewport Configurationdialog (page 3–585) to change viewport layout anddisplay properties.

See Viewing and Navigating 3D Space (page 1–19)for more information.

Saving Scenes

Save your scene frequently to protect yourself frommistakes and loss of work. See Backing Up andArchiving Scenes (page 1–17).

Modeling Objects

1. Modify panel

2. Create panel

3. Object categories

You model objects in your scene by creatingstandard objects, such as 3D geometry and 2Dshapes, and then applying modifiers to thoseobjects. The program includes a wide range ofstandard objects and modifiers.

Creating Objects

You create objects by clicking an object categoryand type on the Create panel and then clickingor dragging in a viewport to define the object’s

creation parameters. The program organizes theCreate panel into these basic categories: Geometry,Shapes, Lights, Cameras, Helpers, and Systems.Most categories contain multiple subcategoriesfrom which you can choose.

You can also create objects from the Createmenu by choosing an object category and typeand then clicking or dragging in a viewport todefine the object’s creation parameters. Theprogram organizes the Create menu into thesebasic categories: Standard Primitives, ExtendedPrimitives, Compound Objects, NURBS Surfaces,AEC Extended, Stairs, Doors, and Windows.

See Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects(page 1–125).

Selecting and Positioning Objects

You select objects by clicking or dragging a regionaround them. You can also select objects by nameor other properties such as color or object category.

After selecting objects, you position them in yourscene using the transform tools Move, Rotate, andScale. Use alignment tools to precisely positionobjects.

See Selecting Objects (page 1–57), Moving,Rotating, and Scaling Objects (page 1–341), andPrecision and Drawing Aids (page 2–617).

Modifying Objects

You sculpt and edit objects into their final form byapplying modifiers from the Modify panel. Themodifiers you apply to an object are stored in astack. You can go back at any time and change theeffect of the modifier, or remove it from the object.

See Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects(page 1–125).


Using Materials

You use the Material Editor to design materials andmaps to control the appearance of object surfaces.Maps can also be used to control the appearanceof environmental effects such as lighting, fog, andthe background.

A variety of materials in the Material Editor’s sample slots

Left: House rendered without materials

Right: House rendered with materials for greater realism

Basic Material Properties

You set basic material properties to controlsuch surface characteristics as default color,shininess, and level of opacity. You can create

realistic, single-color materials using just the basicproperties.

Using Maps

You extend the realism of materials by applyingmaps to control surface properties such as texture,bumpiness, opacity, and reflection. Most of thebasic properties can be enhanced with a map. Anyimage file, such as one you might create in a paintprogram, can be used as a map, or you can chooseprocedural maps that create patterns based onparameters you set.

The program also includes a raytrace materialand map for creating accurate reflections andrefraction.

Viewing Materials in the Scene

You can view the effect of materials on objectsin a shaded viewport, but the display is just anapproximation of the final effect. Render yourscene to view materials accurately.

See Designing Materials (page 2–1025).

Placing Lights and Cameras

You place lights and cameras to complete yourscene in much the same way lights and cameras areplaced on a movie set prior to filming.

Placing Lights and Cameras 7

Lights and cameras placed to compose a scene

Default Lighting

Default lighting evenly illuminates the entire scene.Such lighting is useful while modeling, but it is notespecially artistic or realistic.

Placing Lights

You create and place lights from the Lights categoryof the Create panel when you are ready to get morespecific about the lighting in your scene.

The program includes the following standard lighttypes: omni, spot, and directional lights. You canset a light to any color and even animate the colorto simulate dimming or color-shifting lights. Allof these lights can cast shadows, project maps, anduse volumetric effects.

See Guidelines for Lighting (page 2–919).

Photometric Lights

Photometric lights (page 2–941) provide youwith the ability to work more accurately andintuitively using real-world lighting units (lumensand candelas). Photometric lights also supportindustry-standard photometric file formats (IES(page 2–958), CIBSE (page 3–663), LTLI (page3–693)) so that you can model the characteristicsof real-world manufactured luminaires, or evendrag ready-to-use luminaires from the Web. Used

in conjunction with the Autodesk VIZ radiositysolution (page 2–1350), photometric lights let youevaluate more accurately (both physically andquantitatively) the lighting performance of yourscene.

Photometric lights are available from the Createpanel > Lights drop-down list.

Daylight System

The Daylight system (page 1–335) combinessunlight (page 3–736) and skylight (page 3–732)to create a unified system that follows thegeographically correct angle and movement ofthe sun over the earth at a given location. Youcan choose location, date, time, and compassorientation. You can also animate the date andtime. This system is suitable for shadow studies ofproposed and existing structures.

Viewing Lighting Effects in the Scene

When you place lights in a scene, the defaultlighting turns off and the scene is illuminated onlyby the lights you create. The illumination yousee in a viewport is just an approximation of thetrue lighting. Render your scene to view lightingaccurately.

Tip: If the Daylight system appears to wash out thescene, try using the Logarithmic exposure control(page 3–77).

Placing Cameras

You create and place cameras from the Camerascategory of the Create panel. Cameras defineviewpoints for rendering, and you can animatecameras to produce cinematic effects such asdollies and truck shots.

You can also create a camera automatically from aPerspective viewport by using the Create Camerafrom View command (page 1–46) found on theViews menu. Just adjust your Perspective viewport


until you like it, and then choose Views > CreateCamera From View. Autodesk VIZ creates acamera and replaces the Perspective viewport witha Camera viewport showing the same perspective.

See Common Camera Parameters (page 2–1003).

Animating Your Scene

You can animate any transform parameter inyour scene. Click the Auto Key button to enableautomatic animation creation, drag the time slider,and make changes in your scene to create animatedeffects.

Controlling Time

The program starts each new scene with 100frames for animation. Frames are a way ofmeasuring time, and you move through time bydragging the time slider (page 3–430). You can alsoopen the Time Configuration dialog (page 3–447)to set the number of frames used by your sceneand the speed at which the frames are displayed.

Animating Transforms

While the Auto Key button is on, the programcreates an animation key (page 3–690) wheneveryou transform an object.

See Animation Concepts and Methods (page2–669).

Editing Animation

You edit your animation by opening the TrackView window or by changing options on theMotion panel. Track View is like a spreadsheet thatdisplays animation keys along a time line. You editthe animation by changing the keys.

Track View has two modes. You can display theanimation as a series of function curves that

graphically show how a value changes over timein the Curve Editor mode. Alternatively, you candisplay your animation as a sequence of keys orranges on a grid in the Dope Sheet mode.

See Track View (page 2–818).

Rendering Your Scene

Rendering "fills in" geometry with color, shadow, lightingeffects, and so on.

Use the rendering features to define anenvironment and to produce the final output fromyour scene.

Defining Environments andBackgrounds

Rarely do you want to render your scene against thedefault background color. Open the EnvironmentAnd Effects dialog > Environment panel (page3–53) to define a background for your scene, or toset up effects such as fog.

Setting Rendering Options

To set the size and quality of your final output,you can choose from many options on the RenderScene dialog (page 2–1316). You have full controlover professional grade film and video propertiesas well as effects such as reflection, antialiasing,and shadow properties.

The Autodesk VIZ Window 9

Rendering Images and Animation

You render a single image by setting the rendererto render a single frame of your animation. Youspecify what type of image file to produce andwhere the program stores the file.

Rendering an animation is the same as renderinga single image except that you set the renderer torender a sequence of frames. You can choose torender an animation to multiple single frame filesor to popular animation formats such as FLC orAVI.

See Render Scene Dialog (page 2–1316).

The Autodesk VIZ Window

The Autodesk VIZ Window

Most of the main window is occupied by theviewports, where you view and work with yourscene. The remaining areas of the window holdcontrols and show status information.

One of the most important aspects of usingAutodesk VIZ is its versatility. Many programfunctions are available from multiple user-interfaceelements. For example, you can open Track Viewfor animation control from the Main toolbar aswell as the Graph Editors menu, but the easiestway to get to a specific object’s track in Track View

is to right-click the object, and then choose TrackView Selected from the quad menu.

You can customize the user interface in a varietyof ways: by adding keyboard shortcuts, movingtoolbars and command panels around, creatingnew toolbars and tool buttons, and even recordingscripts into toolbar buttons.

MAXScript lets you create and use customcommands in the built-in scripting language.For more information, access the MAXScriptReference from the Help menu.

Menu Bar

A standard Windows menu bar with typical File(page 3–385), Edit (page 3–385), and Help (page3–394) menus. Special menus include:

• Tools (page 3–385) contains duplicates of manyof the Main toolbar commands.

• Group (page 3–386) contains commands formanaging combined objects.

• Views (page 3–386) contains commands forsetting up and controlling the viewports.

• Create (page 3–387) contains commands forcreating objects.

• Modifiers (page 3–389) contains commandsfor modifying objects.

• Animation (page 3–391) contains commandsfor animating and constraining objects.

• Graph Editors (page 3–392) provides graphicalaccess to editing objects and animation: TrackView lets you open and manage animationtracks in Track View (page 2–818) windows.

• Rendering (page 3–393) contains commandsfor rendering, radiosity, (page 2–1350)and theenvironment.

• Customize (page 3–393) gives you accessto controls that let you customize the userinterface.


• MAXScript (page 3–394) has commands forworking with MAXScript, the built-in scriptinglanguage.

For more information about the Autodesk VIZmenus, see Menu Bar (page 3–384).

Time Controls

The Auto Key button (page 2–672) turns onanimation mode. The other controls navigatethrough time and play back an animation.

Command Panel

This collection of six panels provides handyaccess to most of the modeling and animationcommands.

You can "tear off " the command panel and place itanywhere you like.

By default, the command panel is docked at theright of your screen. You can access a menuthat lets you float (page 3–669) or dismiss thecommand panel by right-clicking just above it.If it is not displayed, or you want to change itslocation and docking or floating status, right-clickin a blank area of any toolbar, and choose fromthe shortcut menu.

• Create (page 3–479) holds all object creationtools.

• Modify (page 3–480) holds modifiers andediting tools.

• Hierarchy (page 3–494) holds linking andinverse kinematics parameters.

• Motion (page 3–495) holds animationcontrollers and trajectories.

• Display (page 3–496) holds object displaycontrols.

• Utilities (page 3–499) holds miscellaneousutilities.

Status Bar and Prompt Line

These two lines display prompts and informationabout your scene and the active command, togglescontrolling selections, precision, and displayproperties. See Status Bar Controls (page 3–427).

Viewports

You can display from one to four viewports. Thesecan show multiple views of the same geometry, aswell as the Asset Browser and MAXScript Listener.See Viewports (page 3–451).

Viewport Navigation Buttons

The button cluster at the lower-right corner ofthe main window contains controls for zooming,panning, and navigating within the viewports. SeeViewport Controls (page 3–457).

Special Controls

Autodesk VIZ uses some special user interfacecontrols, which are described in this topic.

• Right-click menus (page 1–10)

• Flyouts (page 1–11)

• Rollouts (page 1–11)

• Scrolling panels and toolbars (page 1–11)

• Spinners (page 1–12)

• Numerical Expression Evaluator (page 1–12)

• Entering numbers (page 1–12)

• Controls and color (page 1–12)

• Undoing actions (page 1–13)

Right-Click Menus

The program uses several different types ofright-click menus.

For object editing you can use the quad menu(page 3–399). Commands on the quad menu vary

Special Controls 11

depending on the kind of object you are editingand the mode you are in.

Right-clicking a viewport label displays theviewport right-click menu (page 3–453), whichlets you change viewport display settings, choosewhich view appears in the viewport, and so on.

Also, the command panel and the Material Editorhave right-click menus that let you manage rolloutsand navigate the panel quickly. And most otherwindows, including Schematic View and TrackView, have right-click menus that provide fastaccess to commonly used functions.

Flyouts

1. Flyout arrow

2. Flyout buttons

A flyout (page 3–679) is similar to a menu, exceptthat its items are buttons. A flyout button isindicated by a small arrow in the lower-rightcorner. To display the flyout, click and hold thebutton for a moment, then choose a button bydragging the cursor to it and then releasing themouse button.

Note: You can define customized text annotationsfor flyouts by editing the vizstart.cui file. SeeCustomize Menu (page 3–393).

Rollouts

Rollouts are areas in the command panels anddialogs that you can expand (roll out) or collapse

(roll in) to manage screen space. In the illustrationabove, the Keyboard entry rollout is collapsed, asindicated by the + sign, and the Parameters rolloutis expanded, as indicated by the sign.

To open and close a rollout:

• Click the rollout title bar to toggle betweenexpanded and collapsed.

To move a rollout:

• You can move a rollout in the expanded orcollapsed state. To move the rollout, drag therollout title bar to another location on thecommand panel or dialog. As you drag, asemi-transparent image of the rollout title barfollows the mouse cursor. When the mouse ispositioned over or near a qualifying positionfor the rollout, a blue, horizontal line appears atthe position where the rollout will drop whenyou release the mouse button.

Scrolling Panels and Toolbars

Sometimes a command panel or dialog is not largeenough to display all of its rollouts. In this case,a pan ("hand") cursor appears over the inactiveparts of the panel. You can scroll command panelsand dialogs vertically, and you can scroll a toolbaralong its major axis.

To scroll a panel:

1. Place the pointer over an empty area of a panelto display the pan cursor.

2. When the pointer icon changes to a hand, dragthe panel up or down.

A thin scroll bar also appears on the right sideof the scrolling panel. You can use the pointerto drag the scroll bar as well.


To scroll a toolbar:

You can scroll a toolbar only when some toolbuttons are not visible. This typically occurs whenthe program window is smaller than full screen.

1. First, follow either of the procedures below:

• Place the pointer over an empty area of atoolbar to display the pan cursor.

• Place the pointer over any part of a toolbar,then press and hold the middle mousebutton.

2. When the pointer icon changes to a hand, dragthe toolbar horizontally.

Spinners

A spinner is a mouse-based control for numericfields. You can click or drag the spinner arrows tochange the value in the field.

To change a value using a spinner, do any of thefollowing:

• Click the spinner’s up arrow to increment thevalue; click the down arrow to decrement thevalue. Click and hold for continuous change.

• Drag upward to increase the value, or dragdownward to decrease it.

• Press CTRL while you drag to increase the rateat which the value changes.

• Press ALT while you drag to decrease the rate atwhich the value changes.

• Right-click a spinner to reset the field to itsminimum value.

Numerical Expression Evaluator

While a numeric field is active, you can displaya calculator called the Numerical Expression

Evaluator. To display the calculator, pressCTRL+N.

The expression you enter is evaluated, and itsresult is displayed in the Result field. Click Pasteto replace the field value with the result of thecalculation. Click Cancel to exit the ExpressionEvaluator.

The expressions you can enter are described inExpression Techniques (page 1–119). You can’t usevariables in the Expression Evaluator, but you canenter the constants pi (circular ratio), e (naturallogarithm base), and TPS (ticks per second).These constants are case-sensitive: the ExpressionEvaluator does not recognize PI, E, or tps.

You can also enter a vector expression, but theresult of the expression or function must be ascalar value. Otherwise, the Expression Evaluatorwon’t evaluate it.

Entering Numbers

You can change a numeric value by a relative offsetby highlighting the contents of a numeric field(not in the Numerical Expression Evaluator) andtyping R or r followed by the offset amount.

For example, a Radius field shows 70 and youhighlight it:

• If you type R30, 30 is added to the radius andthe value changes to 100.

• If you type R-30, 30 is subtracted from theradius and the value changes to 40.

Controls and Color

The user interface uses color cues to remind youwhat state the program is in.

Managing Files 13

Note: You can customize most of these colorsby using the Colors panel (page 3–519) of theCustomize User Interface dialog (page 3–511).

• Red for animation: The Auto Key button,the time slider background, and the border ofthe active viewport turn red when you are inAnimate mode.

• Yellow for modal function buttons: Whenyou turn on a button that puts you in a genericcreation or editing mode, the button turnsyellow.

• Yellow for special action modes: When youturn on a button that alters the normal behaviorof other functions, the button is highlightedin yellow. Common examples of this behaviorinclude sub-object selection and locking yourcurrent selection set.

You can exit a functional mode by clicking anothermodal button. Other exit methods supported bysome buttons include right-clicking in a viewport,or clicking the modal button a second time.

Undoing Actions

You can easily undo changes you make to yourscene and your viewports. There are separateUndo buffers for both the scene objects and eachviewport.

Use the toolbar Undo (page 1–90) and Redo (page1–90) buttons or the Edit menu > Undo and Redocommands to reverse the effects of most sceneoperations. You can also use CTRL+Z for Undoand CTRL+Y for Redo. Most things you do in theprogram can be undone.

Use the Views menu > Undo and Redo (page 1–34)commands to reverse the effects of most viewportoperations, such as zooming and panning. Youcan also use SHIFT+Z for Undo View Change andSHIFT+Y for Redo View Change.

You can also undo actions by using the Hold andFetch commands on the Edit menu. Choose Editmenu > Hold to save a copy of your scene in atemporary file. Then choose Edit menu > Fetch todiscard your current scene and revert to the heldscene at any time.

Managing Files

Autodesk VIZ supports many types of files forworking with image maps, rendering images andanimations.

File dialogs (such as Open, Save, Save As)uniformly remember the previous path you used,and default to that location.

Configuring File Paths

The locations that Autodesk VIZ searches to locateall file types are specified on the Customize menu> Configure Paths dialogs (page 3–529).

You can choose to open and save files in any pathlocation. The Configure Paths dialog contains fourpanels for the general categories of support files.

Setting General File Paths

The File I/O panel (page 3–533) contains paths formost of the standard support files. You can specifyone path for each of file types Autodesk VIZ uses.


Setting Plug-In File Paths

Many features of Autodesk VIZ are implementedas plug-ins. This means you can change andextend Autodesk VIZ functionality by adding newplug-ins from Autodesk Media and Entertainmentor from third-party developers.

You tell Autodesk VIZ where to find additionalplug-in files by adding path entries on the 3rdParty Plug-Ins panel (page 3–535). If you placeall of your plug-ins in a single directory, plug-infile management can become messy. That’s whythe program supports multiple entries on the 3rdParty Plug-Ins panel.

Setting Bitmap and Photometric File Paths

The External Files panel (page 3–532) containsmultiple path entries that the program searchesfor image files (page 3–251), downloaded files(via i-drop (page 3–134)), and foliage maps.Image files are used for many purposes, such asmaterial and map definition, light projections, andenvironment effects.

Setting XRefs File Paths

The XRefs panel (page 3–534) contains multiplepath entries that the program uses to search forexternally referenced files. These are used forsharing files in a workgroup situation.

Importing, Merging, Replacing,and Externally Referencing Scenes

Gear model imported to become part of another scene

You can realize great productivity gains when youreuse work by combining geometry from scenesor other programs. Autodesk VIZ supports thistechnique with the Import, Merge, and Replacecommands. You can also share scenes and objectswith others working on the same project usingXRef functionality.

Importing Geometry from OtherPrograms

Use File menu > Import (page 3–100) to bringobjects from other programs into a scene. Thetypes of files that you can import are listed inthe Files Of Type list in the Select File To Importdialog.

Depending on the file type you choose, you mighthave options available for that import plug-in.

Using the Asset Browser 15

Merging Scenes Together

Pipe and ashtray models merged into one scene

Use Merge (page 3–97) to combine multiple scenesinto a single large scene. When you merge a file,you can select which objects to merge. If objectsbeing merged have the same name as objects inyour scene, you have the option to rename or skipover the merged objects.

Replacing Scene Objects

Use Replace (page 3–99) to replace objects inyour scene with objects in another scene that haveduplicate names. Replace is useful when you wantto set up and animate your scene with simplifiedobjects, and then replace the simple objects withdetailed objects before rendering.

The Replace dialog looks and functions the sameas Merge, except that it lists only objects that havethe same name as objects in your current scene.

Using External References

Use XRef Objects (page 3–281) and XRef Scenes(page 3–292) to use objects and scene setupsin your scene that are actually referenced fromexternal MAX files. These functions allow sharingfiles with others in your workgroup, with optionsfor updating and protecting external files.

Using the Asset Browser

Left: Dragging geometry into the scene

Right: Dragging a bitmap onto the geometry

The Asset Browser provides access from yourdesktop to design content on the World Wide Web.From within Autodesk VIZ you can browse theInternet for texture samples and product models.This includes bitmap textures (BMP, JPG, GIF,TIF, and TGA), or geometry files (MAX, 3DS, andso on).

You can drag these samples and models intoyour scene for immediate visualization andpresentation. You can snap geometry intopredefined locations, or drag and drop theminteractively in your scene.

You can also use the Asset Browser to browsethumbnail displays of bitmap textures andgeometry files on your hard disk or sharednetwork drives. Then you can either view them or


drag and drop them into your scene or into validmap buttons or slots.

Note: The thumbnail display of a geometry file is abitmap representation of a view of the geometry.Since the thumbnail display is not a vector-basedrepresentation, you can’t rotate it or performzooms on it.

You can drag and drop most graphic images thatare embedded in a Web page into your scene. Theexception is images or regions of a Web page thatare tagged as hyperlinks or other HTML controls(such as when a bitmap is tagged as a button).

Important: Downloaded content might be subject to

use restrictions or the license of the site owner. You are

responsible for obtaining all content license rights.

For complete details, see Asset Browser (page3–117).

Startup Files and Defaults

When you start Autodesk VIZ, several auxiliaryfiles load, setting things like program defaults andUI layout. You can even create a scene, namedmaxtart.max, that automatically loads when youstart or reset the program. In some cases, theprogram updates files when you change settingsand when you quit the program.

Note: Autodesk VIZ 2006 ships with severaldifferent market-specific defaults (page 3–510).These set different program defaults on startup,based on the type of files you expect to work onmost often. You can load the preset defaults thatship with Autodesk VIZ, or you can create yourown.

In general, you don’t need to work directly with theauxiliary files, but it’s good to know about them.Among the auxiliary files the program uses are:

• 3dsviz.ini: This file gets updated when youstart and exit Autodesk VIZ, as well as whenyou change most Preferences settings. It

contains values relating to program defaults,including the graphics driver, directories usedto access external files such as sounds andimages, preset render sizes, dialog positions,snap settings, and other preferences and defaultsettings. If you edit this file, be sure to make acopy first, so you can return to the original ifanything goes wrong.

Note: Many program defaults are set incurrentdefaults.ini, found within the \defaultsdirectory. For more information on this file, seeMarket-Specific Defaults (page 3–510).

• vizstart.max: At startup and when you resetthe program, Autodesk VIZ looks for this filein the VIZStart folder specified in ConfigureUser Paths > File I/O panel (page 3–533), and iffound, loads it. This allows you to specify thedefault state of the workspace whenever youstart or reset the program. For example, if youalways use a ground plane, you can make it thedefault setup by creating one, and then savingit as vizstart.max.

If you save a different file over vizstart.max,you can return to program defaults by deletingthe vizstart.max file, and then resetting theprogram.

• vizstartui.cui: This is the default custom userinterface file. You can load and save CUI files,and set the program to use a different defaultCUI file. See Customize Menu (page 3–393).

• plugin.ini: This file contains directory pathsfor plug-ins. Most other paths are kept in theprogram INI file, but plugin.ini is maintainedas a separate file because third-party plug-insoften add entries to the list at installation.

Note: It is possible to use multiple plug-inconfiguration files by nesting additional pathsin your plugin.ini file. This can be very usefulfor allowing an entire network of users to shareone plugin.ini file, making the system easierto maintain for the network administrator.

3dsviz.ini File 17

For more information, see Network Plug-InConfiguration (page 3–536).

• startup.ms: A MAXScript file that automaticallyexecutes at startup time. For more information,see Startup Script (page 3–734).

• splash.bmp: To substitute a custom splashscreen (startup screen) for the default image,copy any Windows Bitmap (.bmp) file intothe program root directory and rename itsplash.bmp. The program will thereafter usethis image at startup.

3dsviz.ini File

The file Autodesk VIZ uses to store settingsbetween sessions is named 3dsviz.ini. It can befound in the root directory of the Autodesk VIZinstallation.

Tip: If you encounter unusual and unexplaineduser-interface problems using Autodesk VIZ,try deleting the 3dsviz.ini file and restarting.Autodesk VIZ writes a new 3dsviz.ini file to replacethe deleted one. Often this will fix problemsrelated to the state of the user interface.

You can make changes to Autodesk VIZ startupconditions by directly editing the 3dsviz.ini filein a text editor such as Notepad. If you do tryand edit the file by hand, be sure to maintain thestructure and syntax of the original file.

Startup conditions are also defined by thevizstart.max file. To save any particular startupcondition, create a MAX file with the conditionpresent and then save it as vizstart.max.Autodesk VIZ will automatically use this file whenyou start Autodesk VIZ.

Here are some examples of categories you’ll find inthe 3dsviz.ini file:

[Directories]—Defines the default paths for variousfile operations.

[Performance]—Controls that speed up viewportperformance.

[PlugInKeys]—Turns on or off the keyboardshortcuts for plug-ins.

[Renderer]—Controls for rendering alpha and filterbackgrounds.

[RenderPresets]—Defines the paths for RenderingPreset files.

[BitmapDirs]—Defines the default map paths forbitmaps used by materials.

[Modstack]—Controls modifier stack button setsand icon display.

[WindowState]—Settings for software display,OpenGL, or Direct3D drivers.

[CustomMenus]—Defines path for the .mnu file.

[KeyboardFile]—Defines the path for the .kbd file.

[Material Editor]—Material Editor settings.

[ObjectSnapSettings]—Settings associated withsnaps.

[CommandPanel]—Sets number of columns, andcontrols rollout display in multiple columns.

Backing Up and Archiving Scenes

You should regularly back up and archiveyour work. One convenient method is to saveincremental copies of your scenes. This methodcreates a history of your work process.

Saving Incremental Files

If you turn on the Increment On Save option onthe Files panel (page 3–548) of the Preferencesdialog, the current scene is renamed by appendinga two-digit number to the end of the file andincrementing the number each time you save. Forexample, if you open a file named myfile.max andthen save it, the saved file is named myfile01.max.


Each time you save the file its name is incremented,producing the files myfile02.max, myfile03.max,and so on.

You can also use Save As (page 3–95) to incrementthe file name manually with a two-digit numberby clicking the increment button (+) on the SaveAs dialog.

Using Auto Backup

You can automatically save backup files at regularintervals by setting the Auto Backup options on thePreferences dialog (see Files Preference Settings(page 3–548)). The backup files are namedautobak#.max, where the # is a number from 1 to 9.You can load a backup file like any other scene file.

Archiving a Scene

Autodesk VIZ scenes can make use of manydifferent files. When you want to exchange sceneswith other users or store scenes for archivalpurposes, you often need to save more than justthe scene file.

Use the File menu > Archive command (page3–110) to pass the scene file and any bitmapfiles used in the scene to an archiving programcompatible with PKZIP® software.

Crash Recovery System

If Autodesk VIZ encounters an unexpected crash,it attempts to recover and save the file currentlyin memory. This is fairly reliable, but it doesnot always work: the recovered scene could bedamaged during the crash.

The recovered file is stored in theconfigured Auto Backup path. It is savedas "<filename>_recover.max" in this path. It isalso placed in the INI file as the most recently usedfile in the File menu. This makes it easy to returnto the file, if you choose to do so.

The crash recovery system identifies whensomething in an object’s modifier stack is corrupt.In these cases, the corrupt object is replaced witha red dummy object to maintain the object’sposition and any linked object hierarchy.

Note: We recommend that you not rely on thisfile-recovery mechanism as an alternative to gooddata backup practices:

• Save your work frequently.

• Take advantage of automatic incremental filenaming: Go to Customize menu > Preferences> Files panel (page 3–548) > File Handlinggroup, and turn on Increment On Save.

• Use File menu > Save As to save incrementalcopies of work in progress.

• If you are forgetful about saving, use the AutoBackup feature. Go to Customize menu >Preferences > Files tab > Auto Backup group,and turn on Enable.

Viewing and Navigating 3D Space

Everything you create in Autodesk VIZ is locatedin a three-dimensional world. You have a varietyof options for viewing this enormous stage-likespace, from the details of the smallest object to thefull extent of your scene.

Using the view options discussed in this sectionyou move from one view to another, as yourwork and imagination require. You can fill yourscreen with a single, large viewport, or set multipleviewports to track various aspects of your scene.For exact positioning, flat drawing views areavailable, as are 3D perspective (page 3–713) andaxonometric views (page 3–659).

You navigate 3D space by adjusting the position,rotation and magnification of your views. Youhave full control over how objects are renderedand displayed on the screen.

You can also use the Grab Viewport command(page 1–33) to create snapshots of your work asyou go.

This section presents these brief topics designed tohelp you quickly start learning how to organizeviewports and navigate through 3D space:

General Viewport Concepts (page 1–20)

Home Grid: Views Based on the World CoordinateAxes (page 1–21)

Understanding Views (page 1–22)

Setting Viewport Layout (page 1–24)

Controlling Viewport Rendering (page 1–25)

Controlling Display Performance (page 1–26)

Using Standard View Navigation (page 1–26)

Zooming, Panning, and Rotating Views (page1–27)

Navigating Camera and Light Views (page 1–31)

Grab Viewport (page 1–33)

For details about viewport commands, seeViewports (page 3–451) and Viewport Controls(page 3–457).

Viewing and Navigating 3D Space

20 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space

General Viewport Concepts

The Autodesk VIZ main window, with a docked toolbar andviewport layout displaying multiple views.

Viewports are openings into the three-dimensionalspace of your scene, like windows looking intoan enclosed garden or atrium. But viewports aremore than passive observation points. Whilecreating a scene, you can use them as dynamic andflexible tools to understand the 3D relationshipsamong objects.

At times you might want to look at your scenethrough a large, undivided viewport, giving youa "picture-window" view of the world you’recreating. Often you use multiple viewports, eachset to a different orientation.

If you want to move an object horizontally in theworld space, you might do this in a top viewport,looking directly down on the object as you move it.At the same time, you could be watching a shadedperspective viewport to see when the object you’removing slides behind another. Using the twowindows together, you can get exactly the positionand alignment you want.

You also have pan and zoom features available ineither view, as well as grid alignment. With a fewmouse clicks or keystrokes, you can reach any levelof detail you need for the next step in your work.

Another way to use viewports is to place a camerain your scene and set a viewport to look throughits lens. When you move the camera, the viewporttracks the change. You can do the same thing withspotlights.

In addition to geometry, viewports can displayother tools, such as the MAXScript Listener andthe Asset Browser.

In addition to geometry, viewports can displayother views such as Track View and SchematicView, which display the structure of the sceneand the animation. Viewports can be extended todisplay other tools such as the MAXScript Listenerand the Asset Browser.

In Autodesk VIZ, the default display is a singlemaximized perspective viewport. Press ALT+Won the keyboard, or click the Minimize Viewportbutton on the Toolbox to see four viewports.

Active Viewport

One viewport, marked with a highlighted border,is always active. The active viewport is wherecommands and other actions take effect. Only oneviewport can be in the active state at a time. If otherviewports are visible, they are set for observationonly; unless disabled, they simultaneously trackactions taken in the active viewport.

Saving the Active Viewport

You can save the view in any active viewport andlater restore it with the Views menu’s Save ActiveView (page 1–35) and Restore Active View (page1–35) commands. One view can be saved for eachof the following view types: Top, Bottom, Left,Right, Front, Back, User, Perspective.

For example, while in the Front view, you chooseSave Active Front View, and then zoom and panthat view. You then activate the Top viewport,choose Save Active Top View, and then click ZoomExtents. You return to the Front view, and choose

Home Grid: Views Based on the World Coordinate Axes 21

Restore Active Front View to return to its originalzoom and pan. At any time, you can activate theTop viewport, and then choose Restore Active TopView to restore its saved view.

Home Grid: Views Based on theWorld Coordinate Axes

The grid you see in each viewport representsone of three planes that intersect at right anglesto one another at a common point called theorigin. Intersection occurs along three lines (theworld coordinate axes: X, Y, and Z) familiar fromgeometry as the basis of the Cartesian coordinatesystem.

Home Grid

Using the home grid to position houses

The three planes based on the world coordinateaxes are called the home grid; this is the basicreference system of the 3D world.

To simplify the positioning of objects, only oneplane of the home grid is visible in each viewport.The figure shows all three planes as they wouldappear if you could see them in a single perspectiveviewport.

Axes, Planes, and Views

Home grid axes and planes

Two axes define each plane of the home grid. Inthe default Perspective viewport, you are lookingacross the XY plane (ground plane), with the Xaxis running left-to-right, and the Y axis runningfront-to-back. The third axis, Z, runs verticallythrough this plane at the origin.


Home Grid and Grid Objects

Above: Inactive grid object in a scene

Below: Activated grid object

The home grid is aligned with the world coordinateaxes. You can turn it on and off for any viewport,but you can’t change its orientation.

For flexibility, the home grid is supplemented bygrid objects: independent grids you can placeanywhere, at any angle, aligned with any object orsurface. They function as "construction planes"you can use once and discard or save for reuse. SeePrecision and Drawing Aids (page 2–617).

AutoGrid

The AutoGrid feature lets you create and activatetemporary grid objects on the fly. This lets youcreate geometry off the face of any object by firstcreating the temporary grid, then the object. Youalso have the option to make the temporary gridspermanent. See AutoGrid (page 2–623).

Understanding Views

There are two types of views visible in viewports:

• Axonometric views (page 3–659) show thescene without perspective. All lines in themodel are parallel to one another. TheTop, Front, Left, and User viewports areaxonometric views.

Axonometric view of a scene

• Perspective views (page 3–713) show thescene with lines that converge at the horizon.The Perspective and Camera viewports areexamples of perspective views.

Perspective view of the same model

Perspective views most closely resemble humanvision, where objects appear to recede into thedistance, creating a sense of depth and space.Axonometric views provide an undistorted viewof the scene for accurate scaling and placement. Acommon workflow is to use axonometric views

Understanding Views 23

to create the scene, then use a perspective view torender the final output.

Axonometric Views

There are two types of axonometric views you canuse in viewports: orthographic and rotated.

An orthographic view (page 3–710) is a straight-onview of the scene, such as the view shown in theTop, Front, and Left viewports. You can set aviewport to a specific orthographic view usingthe viewport right-click menu (page 3–453) orkeyboard shortcuts (page 3–601). For example, toset an active viewport to Left view, press the L key.

You can also rotate an orthographic view to seethe scene from an angle while retaining parallelprojection. This type of view is represented by aUser viewport.

Perspective Views

A perspective viewport, labeled Perspective, isthe startup viewport in Autodesk VIZ. You canchange any active viewport to this "eye-like" pointof view by pressing the keyboard shortcut P.

Camera View

Once you create a camera object in your scene,you can change the active viewport to a cameraview by pressing the keyboard shortcut C andthen selecting from a list of cameras in your scene.You can also create a camera view directly froma perspective viewport, using the Create Camerafrom View (page 1–46) command.

A camera viewport tracks the view through thelens of the selected camera. As you move thecamera (or target) in another viewport, you see thescene move accordingly. This is the advantage ofthe Camera view over the Perspective view, whichcan’t be animated over time.

If you turn on Orthographic Projection on acamera’s Parameters rollout, that camera produces

an axonometric view like a User view. See Cameras(page 2–995).

Note: Any saved views from Autodesk ArchitecturalDesktop are automatically converted to camerasduring the File Link process.

The viewport on the right is seen through a camera in thescene.

Two and Three-Point Perspective and theCamera Correction Modifier

By default, camera views use three-pointperspective, in which vertical lines appear toconverge with height (in traditional photographythis is known as keystoning). The CameraCorrection modifier (page 2–1019) appliestwo-point perspective to a camera view. Intwo-point perspective, vertical lines remainvertical. A similar effect can be attained by puttinga Skew modifier on a camera.

Light View

Light view works much like a targeted cameraview. You first create a spotlight or directional lightand then set the active viewport to that spotlight.The easiest way is to press the keyboard shortcut $.See Lights (page 2–911).


The viewport on the right looks through the lens of aspotlight in the scene.

Setting Viewport Layout

Autodesk VIZ uses a single-viewport layout bydefault, with the Perspective view maximized.Thirteen other layouts are possible, but themaximum number of viewports on the screenremains four.

Using the Layout panel (page 3–588) of theViewport Configuration dialog, you can pick fromthe different layouts and customize the viewportsin each. Your viewport configuration is saved withyour work.

Resizing the Viewport

After choosing a layout you can resize theviewports so they have different proportionsby moving the splitter bars that separate theviewports. This is only available when multipleviewports are displayed.

Resized viewport

Changing the View Type

As you work, you can quickly change the view inany viewport. For example, you can switch fromfront view to back view. You can use either of twomethods: menu or keyboard shortcut.

• Right-click the label of the viewport you wantto change and click Views. Then, click the viewtype that you want.

• Click the viewport you want to change, andthen press one of the keyboard shortcuts in thefollowing table.

Key View type

T Top view

B Bottom view

F Front view

L Left view

C Camera view. If your scene has only onecamera, or you select a camera before usingthis keyboard shortcut, that camera suppliesthe view. If your scene has more than onecamera, and none are selected, a list ofcameras appears.

P Perspective view. Retains viewing angle ofprevious view.

Controlling Viewport Rendering 25

Key View type

U User (axonometric) view. Retains viewingangle of previous view. Allows use of ZoomRegion (page 3–464).

None Right view. Use viewport right-click menu.

None Shape view. Use viewport right-click menu.Automatically aligns view to the extents of aselected shape and its local XY axes.

See also

Viewport Layout (page 3–588)

Camera Viewport Controls (page 3–467)

Spotlight Parameters (page 2–969)

Precision and Drawing Aids (page 2–617)

Track View (page 2–818)

Default Keyboard Shortcuts (page 3–601)

Controlling Viewport Rendering

Box display, wireframe display, and smooth shading

You can choose from multiple options to displayyour scene. You can display objects as simpleboxes, or render them with smooth shading andtexture mapping. If you want, you can choose adifferent display method for each viewport.

Tip: If you want to display individual objects aswireframe, you can use Wireframe materials. If

you want individual objects to display as boxes,you can select the object and choose Displayas Box on the Display properties rollout on thedisplay panel.

Using Viewport Rendering Controls

Viewport rendering options are found on theRendering Method panel (page 3–586) of theViewport Configuration dialog. Using this panelyou choose a rendering level and any optionsassociated with that level. You can then choosewhether to apply those settings to the activeviewport or all viewports, or to all but the activeviewport.

The rendering level you choose is determinedby your need for realistic display, accuracy, andspeed. For example, Box Mode display is muchfaster than Smooth Shading with Highlights. Themore realistic the rendering level, the slower thedisplay speed.

After choosing a rendering level, you can setrendering options. Different options are availablefor different rendering levels.

Viewport rendering has no effect on finalrenderings produced by clicking Render Scene.

Rendering Methods and Display Speed

The rendering methods not only affect the qualityof your view display, they can also have a profoundeffect on display performance. Using higherquality rendering levels and realistic options slowsdisplay performance.

After setting a rendering method, you canchoose additional options that adjust displayperformance. One of these controls, AdaptiveDegradation, speeds up display performance whenyou use realistic rendering levels.

Tip: If your scene mysteriously disappears and onlydisplays as boxes when you rotate your viewport,


you have pressed the “o” key on the keyboard, andunintentionally turned on Adaptive Degradation.

See Rendering Method (page 3–586).

Controlling Display Performance

Autodesk VIZ contains controls to help you adjustdisplay performance: the balance between qualityand time in displaying objects.

Depending on your needs, you might give up somedisplay speed to work at higher levels of renderingquality, or you might choose to maximize displayspeed by using Wireframe or Bounding Boxdisplay. Which method you choose depends onyour preferences and the requirements of yourwork.

Display Performance Controls

You use display performance controls to determinehow objects are rendered and displayed.

Viewport Preferences

The Customize > Preferences dialog’s Viewportspanel contains options for fine-tuning theperformance of the viewport display software. SeeViewport Preferences (page 3–551).

How Objects Are Displayed

To see and modify an object’s display properties,right-click the object, select Properties, and goto the Display Properties group box; see ObjectProperties (page 1–107). These options affectdisplay performance much the same way asviewport rendering options. For example, turningon Vertex Ticks for an object with a lot of verticeswill slow performance.

Note: Display Properties are only available whenthe By Object/By Layer toggle is set to By Object.

To see and modify how objects are displayed, youcan use layers (page 3–362). You can then quickly

control the visibility and editability of similarobjects from the quad menu.

Which Objects Are Displayed

One way to increase display speed is not to displaysomething. You can use the Hide and Freezefeatures on the Display panel or quad menu tochange the display state of objects in your scene.The Hide and Freeze features also affect finalRendering output. See Hide Rollout (page 1–51)and Freeze Rollout (page 1–51).

Setting Adaptive Degradation

Adaptive Degradation dynamically adjusts yourrendering levels to maintain a desired level ofdisplay speed. You have direct control over howmuch "degradation" occurs and when it occurs.

Active and General Degradation use the samechoices as the viewport Rendering Levels panel.Active Degradation controls rendering in theactive viewport while General Degradationcontrols rendering in all other viewports.

The selected levels determine which renderinglevels Autodesk VIZ falls back to when it cannotmaintain the desired display speed. You canchoose as many levels as you want but you areadvised to choose only one or two levels for eachtype of degradation.

See Adaptive Degradation (page 3–652).

Using Standard View Navigation

To navigate through your scene, use the viewnavigation buttons located at the lower-rightcorner of the program window. All view types,except Camera views, use a standard set of viewnavigation buttons.

Zooming, Panning, and Rotating Views 27

The standard navigation controls

Button Operation

Clicking standard view navigation buttonsproduces one of two results:

• Executes the command and returns to yourprevious action.

• Activates a view navigation mode.

You can tell that you are in a mode because thebutton remains selected and is highlighted. Thismode remains active until you right-click orchoose another command.

While in a navigation mode, you can activate otherviewports of the same type, without exiting themode, by clicking in any viewport. See ViewportControls (page 3–457).

Undoing StandardView Navigation Commands

Use the Undo View Change and Redo View Changecommands (page 1–34) on the Views menu toreset standard view navigation commands withoutaffecting other viewports or the geometry in yourscene. These commands are also found in themenu displayed when you right-click a viewportlabel.

Views menu > Undo and Views menu > Redo areseparate from Undo and Redo on the Edit menuor the toolbar. Autodesk VIZ maintains separateUndo/Redo buffers for scene editing and for eachviewport.

The View Undo/Redo buffer stores your last 20view navigation commands for each viewport.You can step back through the Undo View/RedoView buffer until you have undone all of the storedview-navigation commands.

Zooming, Panning, and RotatingViews

Before and after zooming a viewport

Before and after rotating a viewport

When you click one of the view navigation buttons,you can change these basic view properties:

View magnification—Controls zooming in andout.

View position—Controls panning in anydirection.

View rotation—Controls rotating in anydirection

Zooming a View

Click Zoom (page 3–461) or Zoom All(page 3–461) and drag in a viewport to change theview magnification. Zoom changes only the activeview, while Zoom All simultaneously changes allnon-camera views.

If a perspective view is active, you can alsoclick Field of View (FOV) (page 3–463). The effectof changing FOV is similar to changing the lens ona camera. As FOV gets larger you see more of yourscene and perspective becomes distorted, similarto using a wide-angle lens. As FOV gets smaller


you see less of your scene and the perspectiveflattens, similar to using a telephoto lens.

Warning: Be cautious using extreme Field of View

settings. These can produce unexpected results.

Zooming a Region

Click Zoom Region (page 3–464) to drag arectangular region within the active viewport andmagnify that region to fill the viewport. ZoomRegion is available for all standard views.

In a perspective viewport, Zoom Regionmode is available from the Field of View flyout(page 3–463).

Zooming to Extents

Click the Zoom Extents or Zoom ExtentsAll flyout buttons to change the magnificationand position of your view to display the extentsof objects in your scene. Your view is centered onthe objects and the magnification changed so theobjects fill the viewport.

• The Zoom Extents, Zoom Extents Selectedbuttons (page 3–459) zoom the active viewportto the extents of all visible or selected objectsin the scene.

• The Zoom Extents All, Zoom ExtentsAll Selected buttons (page 3–459) zoom allviewports to the extents of all objects or thecurrent selection.

Panning a View

Click Pan View (page 3–465) and drag ina viewport to move your view parallel to theviewport plane. You can also pan a viewport bydragging with the middle mouse button held downwhile any tool is active.

Rotating a View

Click Arc Rotate, Arc Rotate on Selection, orArc Rotate Sub-Object (page 3–466) to rotate yourview around the view center, the selection, or thecurrent sub-object selection respectively. Whenyou rotate an orthogonal view, such as a Top view,it is converted to a User view.

With Arc Rotate, if objects are near the edges ofthe viewport they might rotate out of view.

With Arc Rotate Selected, selected objectsremain at the same position in the viewport whilethe view rotates around them. If no objects areselected, the function reverts to the standard ArcRotate.

With Arc Rotate Sub-Object, selectedsub-objects or objects remain at the same positionin the viewport while the view rotates aroundthem.

Note: You can rotate a view by holding downthe ALT key while you drag in a viewport usingmiddle-button. This uses the current Arc Rotatemode, whether or not the Arc Rotate button isactive. You can also activate Arc Rotate by pressingCTRL+R.

Using Walkthrough Navigation

Walkthrough navigation lets you move througha viewport by pressing a set of shortcut keys,including the arrow keys, much as you can navigatea 3D world in many video games.

When you enter the walkthrough navigationmode, the cursor changes to a hollow circle thatshows a directional arrow while you are pressingone of the directional keys (forward, back, left, orright).

Using Walkthrough Navigation 29

This feature is available for perspective and cameraviewports. It is not available for orthographicviews or for spotlight viewports.

Animating a Walkthrough

When you use walkthrough navigation in aCamera viewport, you can animate the camerawalkthrough using either Auto Key (page 3–441)or Set Key (page 2–673). In either case, to get ananimated camera you have to change the framenumber manually (the easiest way is to use theTime Slider (page 3–430)), and in the case of SetKey, you have to change the frame number andclick Set Keys.

Tip: Select the camera before you animate it. If thecamera isn’t selected, its keys won’t appear in theTrack Bar (page 3–432).

Procedures

To begin using walkthrough navigation, do one ofthe following:

• Press the UP ARROW key.

• Click the Walk Through button (page3–460) to turn it on.

This button is found on the Pan/Truck AndWalkthrough flyout (page 3–459).

To stop using walkthrough navigation, do one ofthe following:

• Right-click.

• Activate a different viewport.

• Change the active viewport to a different type.

• Turn on a different viewport navigation tool(such as Zoom or Pan).

• Turn on Select Object or one of the transformtools.

Note: You do not exit walkthrough mode whenyou select an object or change the viewport

shading type (between shaded and wireframe, forexample).

Interface

The Walk Through button is the only graphicalelement of the interface to walkthrough navigation.The other features are provided by mouse actionsor by keyboard shortcuts. The following tableshows the keyboard actions:

Command Shortcut

Accelerate Toggle Q

Back S, DOWN ARROW

Decelerate Toggle Z

Decrease RotationSensitivity

Decrease Step Size [

Down C, SHIFT+DOWN-ARROW

Forward W, UP ARROW

Increase Rotation Sensitivity

Increase Step Size ]

Invert Vertical RotationToggle

Left A, LEFT ARROW

Level SHIFT+SPACE

Lock Horizontal Rotation

Lock Vertical Rotation SPACE

Reset Step Size ALT+[

Right D, RIGHT ARROW

Up E, SHIFT+UP-ARROW

If nothing appears in the Shortcut column, nodefault key is assigned to this command. You canset custom keystrokes using the Keyboard panel(page 3–512) of the Customize User Interfacedialog.


Forward, Backward, and Sideways Movement

For movement, you can use either the arrow keys,or letters at the left of the keyboard pad.

Tip: When you are in a Perspective viewport, youcan use Undo View Change and Redo View Change(SHIFT+Z, SHIFT+Y) to undo or redo yournavigation. However, when you are in a Cameraviewport, walkthrough animation transforms thecamera object, so you must use Edit > Undo andEdit > Redo (CTRL+Z and CTRL+Y).

Holding down any of these keys causes the motionto be continuous.

Forward—W or the UP ARROW. Moves thecamera or the viewpoint forward.

Note: If you are not already in walkthroughnavigation mode, pressing the UP ARROW entersit.

Back—S or the DOWN ARROW. Moves thecamera or the viewpoint backward.

When you are in a camera viewport, Forward andBack are equivalent to dollying in or out.

Left—A or the LEFT ARROW. Moves the cameraor the viewpoint to the left.

Right—D or the RIGHT ARROW. Moves thecamera or the viewpoint to the right.

When you are in a camera viewport, Left andRight are equivalent to trucking left or right.

Up—E or SHIFT+UP-ARROW. Moves the cameraor the viewpoint up.

Down—C or SHIFT+DOWN-ARROW. Moves thecamera or the viewpoint down.

Acceleration and Deceleration

Accelerate Toggle and Decelerate Toggle—PressingAccelerate (Q) causes motion to be quicker.Pressing Decelerate (Z) causes movement to beslower. These controls are toggles: pressing the

key a second time restores the default motion rate(and pressing the alternate key turns off the first).They are especially useful when you are navigatingby holding down keys.

The acceleration and deceleration toggles areindependent of the step size.

Adjusting Step Size

Increase Step Size and Decrease Step Size—PressingIncrease Step Size (]) increases the motionincrements when you move the camera orviewpoint. Pressing Decrease Step Size ([) reducesthem. You can press either of these shortcutsrepeatedly, to increase the effect. Changing thestep size is apparent when you navigate either bysingle clicks, or by holding down keys. Step sizechanges are useful for adjusting movement to thescale of the scene. They are saved with the MAXfile.

Reset Step Size—Pressing Reset Step Size (ALT+[)restores the step size to its default value.

The step size is independent of acceleration ordeceleration.

Rotation (Tilting)

Tilt View—Click+drag to tilt the camera orviewpoint.

When you are in a camera viewport, Tilt View isequivalent to panning the camera.

Increase Rotation Sensitivity and Decrease Rotation

Sensitivity—Pressing Increase Rotation Sensitivity(no default key) increases the motion incrementswhen you use Tilt View. Pressing DecreaseRotation Sensitivity (no default key) decreasesthem. You can press either of these shortcutsrepeatedly, to increase the effect. They are usefulfor adjusting movement to the scale of the scene.They are saved with the MAX file.

Navigating Camera and Light Views 31

Lock Horizontal Rotation—Pressing LockHorizontal Rotation (no default key) locks thehorizontal axis, so the camera or viewpoint tiltsonly vertically.

Lock Vertical Rotation—Pressing Lock VerticalRotation (SPACE) locks the vertical axis, so thecamera or viewpoint tilts only horizontally.

Invert Vertical Rotation Toggle—Pressing InvertVertical Rotation (no default key) inverts the tiltdirection when you drag the mouse. When thistoggle is off, dragging up causes scene objects todescend in the view, and dragging down causesthem to rise (this is like tilting a physical camera).When this toggle is on, objects in the view move inthe same direction you are dragging the mouse.

Level—Pressing Level (SHIFT+SPACE) removesany tilt or roll the camera or viewpoint might have,making the view both level and vertical.

Navigating Camera and LightViews

The camera navigation buttons

The Camera and Light view navigation buttonsare the same with a few exceptions. The buttonsare visible when a viewport with a Camera orLight view is active. The Camera and Light viewnavigation buttons do more than adjust your view.They transform and change the parameters of theassociated camera or light object.

Light views treat the light (spotlight or directionallight) as if it were a camera. The light falloff istreated the same as the camera field of view.

Keep in mind the following:

• Using the Camera and Light viewportnavigation buttons is the same as moving or

rotating the camera or Light, or changing theirbase parameters.

• Changes made with Camera or Light viewnavigation buttons can be animated the sameas other object changes.

Zooming a Camera or Light View

Zooming a camera

You zoom a camera view by clicking FOV(page 3–463) and then dragging in the Cameraviewport.

The field of view defines the width of your view asan angle with its apex at eye level and the ends atthe sides of the view. The effect of changing FOV isexactly like changing the lens on a camera. As theFOV gets larger you see more of your scene andthe perspective becomes distorted, similar to usinga wide-angle lens. As the FOV gets smaller yousee less of your scene and the perspective flattens,similar to using a telephoto lens. See Cameras(page 2–995).

Click Light Hotspot (page 3–473) for a lightviewport to achieve the same effect as zooming.

The hotspot is the inner of the two circles orrectangles visible in a light viewport. Objectsinside the hotspot are illuminated with thefull intensity of the light. Objects between thehotspot and falloff are illuminated with decreasing


intensity as objects approach the falloff boundary.See Using Lights (page 2–913).

Moving a Camera or Light View

You move a camera or light view by clicking one ofthe following buttons and dragging in the cameraor light viewport.

• Dolly (page 3–467) moves the camera orlight along its line of sight.

• Truck (page 3–470) moves the camera orlight and its target parallel to the view plane.

• Pan (page 3–470) moves the target in acircle around the camera or light. This buttonis a flyout that shares the same location withOrbit.

• Orbit (page 3–470) moves the cameraor light in a circle around the target. Theeffect is similar to Arc Rotate for non-cameraviewports.

Rolling a Camera or Light View

Rolling a camera

Click Roll (page 3–469), and drag in a cameraor a light viewport to rotate the camera or lightabout its line of sight. The line of sight is definedas the line drawn from the camera or light to its

target. The line of sight is also the same as thecamera’s or the light’s local Z axis.

Changing Camera Perspective

Changing perspective

Click Perspective (page 3–468), and drag ina camera viewport to change the Field of View(FOV) and dolly the camera simultaneously. Theeffect is to change the amount of perspective flarewhile maintaining the composition of the view.

Adaptive Degradation Toggle

Views menu > Adaptive Degradation Toggle

Keyboard > O (the letter O)

When on (the default), the Adaptive DegradationToggle supersedes the adaptive degradation(page 3–652) that can occur when you transformgeometry, change the view, or play back ananimation in a shaded viewport. In this case,the geometry remains shaded even if that slowsdown viewport display and animation playback.Animation playback might drop frames if thegraphics card cannot display frames in real time.

Turn off the Adaptive Degradation Toggle if youhave large models you need to navigate aroundand if you are finding performance sluggish.

Grab Viewport 33

Adaptive degradation causes shaded objects to bereplaced by a quicker display mode. By default,shaded objects are replaced by their boundingboxes.

You can change the display option, and set otheradaptive degradation parameters, on the ViewportConfiguration dialog (Customize menu >Viewport Configuration > Adaptive Degradationpanel (page 3–591)).

Note: When you use arc rotate (page 3–466) in ashaded viewport while the Adaptive DegradationToggle is off, objects degrade to bounding boxesregardless of the adaptive degradation settings.

Procedure

To turn off or override adaptive degradation, do oneof the following:

• Choose Views menu > Adaptive DegradationToggle.

• Press O (the letter O).

To change the level of adaptive degradation in theviewport:

1. Right-click the viewport label and chooseConfigure, or choose Customize > ViewportConfiguration.

2. On the Viewport Configuration dialog, openthe Adaptive Degradation panel.

3. Adjust settings in the General and ActiveDegradation group boxes.

Grab Viewport

Tools menu > Grab Viewport

Grab Viewport creates a snapshot of the activeviewport in the Rendered Frame Window (page2–1318), where you can save it as an Image file(page 3–251).

Procedure

To create a snapshot of a viewport:

1. Activate the viewport you want to capture.

2. Choose Tools menu > Grab Viewport.

A dialog appears that allows you to add a labelto your snapshot.

3. Enter a label for your snapshot, if desired.

The label appears in the lower-right corner ofthe image as you enter it into the dialog.

4. Click Grab.

The Rendered Frame Window opens to displaya snapshot of your viewport.

5. Use the controls in the Rendered FrameWindow to save your image.

Interface

Label—Enter text here to add a label to yourscreenshot. The text you enter is displayed in thelower-right corner of your screenshot.

Grab—Opens the Rendered Frame Window with asnapshot of the active viewport.

Cancel—Cancels the Grab Viewport command.

View-Handling CommandsMenu bar > Views menu

These viewport-handling commands are providedon the default main menu:


Views Menu (page 3–386)

Undo View Change / Redo View Change (page1–34)

Save Active View (page 1–35)

Restore Active View (page 1–35)

Grids Submenu (page 2–649)

Viewport Background (page 1–36)

Viewport Image Dialog (page 1–36)

Select Background Image Dialog (page 1–40)

Update Background Image (page 1–42)

Reset Background Transform (page 1–43)

Show Transform Gizmo (page 1–43)

Show Ghosting (page 1–44)

Show Key Times (page 1–44)

Shade Selected (page 1–45)

Show Dependencies (page 1–45)

Create Camera From View (page 1–46)

Add Default Lights to Scene (page 1–46)

Add Default Lights To Scene Dialog (page 1–47)

Redraw All Views (page 1–48)

Activate All Maps (page 1–48)

Deactivate All Maps (page 1–48)

Update During Spinner Drag (page 1–48)

Adaptive Degradation Toggle (page 1–32)

Smart Object Culling (page 1–56)

Expert Mode (page 1–48)

See also

Viewing and Navigating 3D Space (page 1–19)

Views Menu (page 3–386)

Quad Menu (page 3–399)

Undo View Change / Redo ViewChange

Views menu > Undo View Change or Redo View Change

Keyboard > SHIFT+Z (Undo) or SHIFT+Y (Redo)

Undo View Change cancels the last change made tothe current viewport. Redo View Change cancelsthe last Undo in the current viewport.

These commands act like Undo and Redo on theMain toolbar and Edit menu, but operate on adifferent list of events. They affect changes made tothe viewport, rather than changes made to objectsin the viewport.

Use Undo View Change and Redo View Changewhen you have inadvertently made a view unusableby zooming in too close, or rotating the wrongway. You can keep stepping back until a usefulview appears. The keyboard shortcuts are handyfor multiple commands.

You can also access Undo View Change and RedoView Change of view changes by right-clicking theviewport label and choosing Undo View or RedoView. The last change made in that viewport willbe indicated (for example, "Undo View Zoom").Each viewport has its own independent undo/redostack.

Camera and Spotlight viewports use object-basedUndo and Redo, because the viewport change isactually a change to the camera or spotlight object.In these viewports, use Edit > Undo (CTRL+Z) orEdit > Redo (CTRL+Y).

Interface

Undo View Change—Cancels viewport changes.

Undo is useful when you are working with abackground image in the viewport. You can zoom

Save Active View 35

into the geometry to adjust it, then use UndoViewport Zoom to restore the original alignmentof the geometry with the background.

Redo View Change—Cancels the previous UndoView Change. The name of the change you’reredoing appears in the View menu beside thecommand.

Save Active View

Views menu > Save Active View (the name of the activeviewport is part of the command)

Save Active View stores the active view to aninternal buffer. If you have framed a shot in anyview other than a camera, use Save Active Viewto preserve the viewport’s appearance. The savedactive view is saved with the scene file. Once saved,you can retrieve it using Restore Active View (page1–35).

The viewport that will be restored is displayedin the menu item (for example, "Save ActivePerspective View"). You can save and restore upto eight different views (Top, Bottom, Left, Right,Front, Back, User, Perspective).

Viewport changes that are saved include viewporttype, zoom and rotations, and field-of-view(FOV).

The options available on the viewport right-clickmenu (page 3–453), such as Show Safe Frame andViewport Clipping, are not saved. If these settingsare important to the view, make a note of what theyare so you can reset them after restoring the view.

Procedure

To save an active view:

1. Activate the viewport with the view you wantto save.

2. Choose Views menu > Save Active View. Theview is now saved and can be recalled usingRestore Active View.

Restore Active View

Views menu > Restore Active View (the name of theactive viewport is part of the command.)

Restore Active View displays the view previouslystored with Save Active View (page 1–35).

The viewport to be restored is displayed inthe menu item (for example, "Restore ActivePerspective View").

The active view is restored if the same viewportand layout are active.

If an active view won’t restore with this command,check the following:

• Be sure the viewport is active.

• Make sure the layout is the same as before.Use Viewport Configuration (right-click anyviewport label and choose Configure) andchoose Layout.

• If the layout and active viewport are the same,be sure Viewport Clipping on the ViewportRight-Click Menu (page 3–453) is set the sameas it was when the viewport was saved.

Procedure

To restore a saved view:

1. Activate the viewport where you saved the view.

2. Choose Views menu > Restore Active View.This option is available only in a viewport witha saved view.

3. The viewport returns to the saved view.

If you’re not sure whether a viewport has asaved view, check the Views menu. RestoreActive View is unavailable unless a view is savedin the active viewport.


Viewport Background

Views menu > Viewport Background

Keyboard > ALT+B

This command displays the Viewport Imagedialog (page 1–36), which controls the displayof the background image in the active viewport.Each viewport can display a different background.You can use this for modeling, by placing front,top or side view sketches in the correspondingviewports. Or use Viewport background to match3D elements with digitized camera footage.

Viewport Image Dialog

Views menu > Viewport Background > Viewport Imagedialog

Keyboard > ALT+B

The Viewport Image dialog controls display of animage or animation as the background for oneor all viewports, for example for alignment orrotoscoping (page 3–723). You can assign differentbackground images to different viewports.

You select the image or animation to display inthe active viewport, set the frame synchronizationbetween the animated image file and the currentscene, and turn the assigned image on and off.These changes do not affect the rendered scene.

To place an image in the background of therendered scene, use the Environment And Effectsdialog > Environment panel (page 3–52), accessedfrom the Rendering menu.

Note: When safe frames are displayed in a viewport,and the Aspect Ratio options are set to eitherMatch Viewport or Match Rendering Output, theassigned viewport background image is confinedto the Live area of the safe frames and will correctlymatch the rendered background bitmap.

Tip: If you are using a viewport driver withhardware acceleration (OpenGL or Direct3D),the viewport background might not appear. Ifthis happens, choose Customize > Preferences.In the Viewports preferences (page 3–551), clickConfigure Driver. Then in the Configure OpenGLdialog (page 3–561) or the Configure Direct3Ddialog (page 3–565), go to the Background TextureSize group and turn on Match Bitmap Size AsClosely As Possible (do not change the numericsetting). Click OK in both dialogs to accept yourchange.

See also

Select Background Image Dialog (page 1–40)

Update Background Image (page 1–42)

Reset Background Transform (page 1–43)

Procedures

To assign an image to one or all viewports:

1. Activate a viewport where you want thebackground image.

2. Choose Views menu > Viewport Image todisplay the Viewport Image dialog.

3. In the Background Source group, click Files todisplay the Select Background Image dialog.

4. Select the image or animation you want to use.

5. If you want to display the image in all viewports,click All Views in the Apply Source And DisplayTo group.

6. Click OK.

The image is displayed in a single viewport orall viewports.

To update the image or map in the viewport:

Because of the time it takes to render the image ormap in the viewport, the map is not automaticallyupdated when you alter the bitmap or assign a newbitmap.

Viewport Image Dialog 37

• Choose Views menu > Update BackgroundImage.

The revised image or map is displayed in theviewport.

To display the environment map in a viewport:

1. In the Environment dialog, assign anenvironment map. (See the procedure “Tochoose an environment map.” (page 3–53))

2. In the Environment dialog > Backgroundgroup, be sure Use Map is turned on (thedefault).

3. Activate the viewport where you want the mapdisplayed.

4. Choose Views menu > Background Image.

5. In the Viewport Image dialog > BackgroundSource group, turn on Use EnvironmentBackground.

6. Click OK.

The map is displayed in the viewport.

To display an animated background:

1. Assign an animation file (AVI, FLC, MOV, orIFL file) as the viewport background.

2. Turn on Animate Background.

3. Choose Customize > Preferences. On theViewports panel, turn on Update BackgroundWhile Playing.

Now the background plays when you click Play,or when you drag the time slider.

Tip: If you follow these steps and the backgroundstill doesn’t appear to animate, open the TimeConfiguration dialog (page 3–447) and in thePlayback group, turn off Real Time.

To use the environment map with animationcontrols:

This procedure is useful if you’ve assigned ananimated environment map and want access to theanimation controls in the Viewport Image dialog.

1. In the Viewport Image dialog > BackgroundSource group, turn off Use EnvironmentBackground.

2. In the same group, click File.

3. Select the same map you’re using as theenvironment map.

4. Set parameters in the AnimationSynchronization group.

5. Click OK.

The environment map appears in the viewport.The image is renderable.

To match your viewport background with therendered background:

1. Activate the viewport you plan to render.

2. Right-click the viewport label and choose ShowSafe Frame.

This turns on Safe Frames (page 3–589) in theviewport.

Note: You can also use View menu > Configure> Safe Frame tab. In the Application group,turn on Show Safe Frames In Active View.

3. In the Material Editor, create a materialthat contains the bitmap for your renderedbackground.

4. In the Material Editor > Coordinates rollout,turn on Environ.

In the Mapping field, Screen is automaticallyselected. This is the only mapping type you canuse for this purpose.

5. On the main menu, choose Rendering >Environment.


6. Drag the map from the Material Editor > Mapsrollout to the Environment Map button in theEnvironment dialog. Click OK on the Instance(Copy) Map dialog.

7. In the Viewport Image dialog > BackgroundSource group, click Files to assign the samebitmap.

8. In the Aspect Ratio group, turn on either MatchViewport or Match Rendering Output. ClickOK.

9. Render the viewport.

The background displayed in the renderedscene should exactly match the backgrounddisplayed in the Live area of the safe frames.

Note: When you use the Match Bitmap option,the bitmap reverts to its original aspect ratioand does not match the rendered scene, unlessyou’re rendering to the same aspect ratio.

To remove a background image:

1. Activate the viewport in which the backgroundimage is visible.

2. On the Views menu, choose ViewportBackground.

Notice the name and path of the backgroundfile is displayed in the Current field in theBackground Source group

3. In the Background Source group, click Devices.

4. On the Select Image Input Device dialog,choose No I/O Handlers from the drop-downlist, then click OK.

5. On the Bitmap Manager Error dialog, click OK.

The current field no longer displays thebackground file name. Instead No I/O Handleris listed in the Current field.

6. Click OK to close the Viewport Image dialog.

Next time you open up the Viewport Imagedialog, no file name will be displayed in theCurrent field.

Tip: This technique will work only on systemsthat don’t have any other Image Input Devicesinstalled.

Interface

Background Source group

Options let you select the background image,either from a bitmap image file (page 3–660),a video file, or from a device such as a videorecorder.

Files—Displays the Select Background Imagedialog (page 1–40), which lets you select a file orsequence of files for your background.

Devices—Displays the Select Image Input Devicedialog. This lets you use a background from adigital device. (No device is supported by thedefault Autodesk VIZ installation.)

Use Environment Background—Lets you displayin the viewports the map you’ve assigned as yourenvironment background. If no environment

Viewport Image Dialog 39

map has been assigned in the Environmentdialog, or Use Map in that dialog is off, then theUse Environment Background check box is notavailable.

Animation Synchronization group

Controls how sequences of images (for example,from IFL (page 3–259), AVI (page 3–252), orFLC (page 3–255) files) are synchronized to theviewport for rotoscoping (page 3–723).

Use Frame—The first field sets the first frame of theincoming sequence that you want to use, and thesecond field sets the last one.

Step—Sets the interval between the frames youwant to use. For example, if this spinner is set to 7,Autodesk VIZ uses every seventh frame.

Start At—Specifies the frame number at which youwant the first input frame to appear. What happensin the viewport before the start frame dependson the option you choose for "Start Processing,"below.

Sync Start To Frame—Determines which framefrom your incoming sequence is displayed at theStart At frame. For example, you could have a30-frame .ifl sequence that starts in your scene atframe 10, but you could use the 5th frame from the.ifl on frame 10 by setting Sync Start to 5.

Start Processing group

Determines what happens in the viewportbackground before the start frame.

Blank Before Start—Makes the viewportbackground blank before the start frame.

Hold Before Start—Specifies that the viewportbackground will contain the start frame.

End Processing group

Determines what happens in the viewportbackground after the last input frame.

Blank After End—Makes the viewport backgroundblank after the last input frame.

Hold After End—Specifies that the viewportbackground will contain the last input frame untilthe last frame in the animation.

Loop After End—Specifies that the viewportbackground will loop from the end frame back tothe start frame, ad infinitum.

Aspect Ratio group

Controls the proportions of the viewportbackground by matching it to the bitmap,rendering output, or to the viewport itself.

Match Viewport—Changes the aspect ratio (page3–657) of the image to match the aspect ratio ofthe viewport.

Match Bitmap—Locks the aspect ratio of the imageto the native aspect ratio of the bitmap.

Match Rendering Output—Changes the aspectratio of the image to match the aspect ratio of thecurrently chosen rendering output device.

Note: When the Match Bitmap or Match RenderingOutput option is chosen, Autodesk VIZ centersthe image and clears the edges of the viewport tothe background color.

Display Background

Turns on display of the background image oranimation in the viewport.

Lock Zoom/Pan

Locks the background to the geometry duringzoom and pan operations in orthographic oruser viewports. When you Zoom or Pan theviewport, the background zooms and pans alongwith it. When Lock Zoom/Pan is turned off, thebackground stays where it is, and the geometrymoves independently of it. Use Match Bitmapor Match Rendering Output to enable Lock


Zoom/Pan. This control is disabled if you selectMatch Viewport.

Keyboard shortcut: CTRL+ALT+B

Warning: If you zoom in too far, you can exceed the limit

of virtual memory, and crash Autodesk VIZ. When you

perform a zoom that requires more than 16 megabytes

of virtual memory, an alert asks if you want to display the

background during the zoom. Choose No to perform

the zoom and turn off the background. Choose Yes to

zoom with the background image. Your machine might

run out of memory as a result.

Animate Background

Turns on animation of the background. Shows theappropriate frame of the background video in thescene.

Apply Source And Display To group

All Views—Assigns the background image to allviewports.

Active Only—Assigns the background image toonly the active viewport.

Viewport

The name of the currently active viewport appearsin a list to the left of the OK and Cancel buttons.This reminds you which viewport you’re workingwith and lets you change the active viewport byselecting its name from the list.

Note: When you use different images for differentviewports, the settings for each viewport are storedseparately. Each time you display the ViewportImage dialog, the settings of the currently activeviewport are displayed. If you switch the viewportusing the list, the settings remain the same. Thisis useful for copying settings from one viewportto another.

Select Background Image Dialog

Views menu > Viewport Background > BackgroundSource group > Files > Select Background Image dialog

Viewport Background

The Select Background Image dialog allows youto choose a file or sequence of files for a viewportbackground.

You can also convert a set of sequentially numberedfiles to an Image File List (IFL) (page 3–259).This is the same process used by the IFL ManagerUtility (page 3–261).

Procedures

To select a background image for a viewport:

1. Activate the viewport where you want theimage.

2. Choose Views menu > Viewport Background.

3. Under Background Source in the dialog thatdisplays, click Files.

4. In the Look In field, navigate to the directorycontaining the file you want to use for thebackground.

Note: The Select Background Image File dialoguses the last location where a bitmap waschosen, rather than the default bitmap pathdefined on the Configure User Paths dialog(page 3–529).

Select Background Image Dialog 41

5. Highlight the file name in the file list window.

6. Click Open to select the image and close thedialog.

7. Click OK to close the Viewport Image dialogand display the background image.

To select a set of still images as a viewportbackground:

1. Activate the viewport where you want theimage.

2. Choose Views menu > Viewport Background.

3. Under Background Source, click Files.

4. In the Look In field, navigate to the directorycontaining the sequence of files.

The files must be sequentially numbered(for example, image01.bmp, image02.bmp,image03.bmp).

Tip: If necessary, change Files Of Type to matchthe file extension of the sequence, or chooseAll Formats.

5. Turn on Sequence, and choose the name of thefirst sequential file (for example, image01.bmp).

Tip: Click the Setup button to display the ImageFile List Control dialog (page 3–261).

6. In the Image File List Control dialog, usethe Browse button to set the Target Path to adirectory on your hard disk. Do not set thispath to a CD-ROM drive, because you cannotsave the file there.

7. Choose the options you want, and then clickOK.

The Image File List (IFL) file is saved to thetarget directory.

Interface

History—Displays a list of the directories mostrecently searched.

Look In—Opens a navigation window to move toother directories or drives.

Up One Level—Move up a level in thedirectory structure.

Create New Folder—Lets you create a newfolder while in this dialog.

List—Displays the contents of a directory byfile name.

Details—Displays the contents of a directoryincluding all the file details.

List Window—When Details is on, the contents ofthe directory are displayed with Name, Size, Type,Date Modified, and Attributes. You can sort thefiles by clicking the label of each parameter.

File Name—Displays the name of the file selectedin the list.


Files of Type—Displays all the file types that can bedisplayed. This serves as a filter for the list.

Open—Selects the highlighted file and closes thedialog.

Cancel—Cancels the selection and closes thedialog.

Devices—Lets you select a background image froma digital device. (No device is supported by thedefault Autodesk VIZ installation.)

Setup—Displays the Image File List Control dialog(page 3–261) to create an IFL file. Available onlywhen Sequence is on and there are sequentiallynumbered files in the displayed directory.

Info—Displays expanded information about thefile, such as frame rate, compression quality, filesize, and resolution. The information here isdependent on the type of information that is savedwith the file type.

View—Displays the file at its actual resolution. Ifthe file is a movie, the Media Player is opened toplay the file.

Gamma—Selects the type of gamma to be usedfor the selected file. Available only when EnableGamma Selection is turned on in the Gammapanel (page 3–550).

Use Image’s Own Gamma—Uses the gamma of theincoming bitmap.

Use System Default Gamma—Ignores the image’sown gamma and uses the system default gammainstead, as set in the Gamma panel (page 3–550).

Override—Defines a new gamma for the bitmapthat is neither the image’s own, nor the systemdefault.

Sequence—Creates an "Image File List" to yourspecifications. Each selected image is checked tosee if a valid IFL sequence can be created. If theselected image doesn’t yield a list, this option isstill available, but doesn’t do anything.

Preview—Displays the image as a thumbnail in theImage Window.

Image Window—Displays a thumbnail of theselected file if Preview is on.

Statistics—Displays the resolution, color depth, filetype and number of frames of the selected file.

Location—Displays the full path for the file. Withthis information at the bottom of the dialog, youalways know exactly where you are.

Update Background Image

Views menu > Update Background Image (available onlywhen a viewport background is displayed)

This command updates the background imagedisplayed in the active viewport. If the activeviewport is not displaying a background image,this command is unavailable.

Use this command to update the background forchanges that are not updated automatically, suchas the following:

• Reassigning the map, or changing anyparameters affecting the map in the MaterialsEditor, the Environment dialog, or theViewport Image dialog.

• Changing the rendering resolution and aspectratio.

The following changes update the viewportbackground image automatically:

• Changing the camera view.

• Undo (for views).

• Undo (for objects).

• Assigning a different view type.

• Toggling Safe Frames display on or off.

• Changing the rendering parameters.

• Moving the time slider when the viewportcontains an animated background image.

Reset Background Transform 43

Note: Viewports can use the current EnvironmentMap (set on the Environment panel (page 3–53)of the Environment and Effects dialog) as thebackground image.

Procedure

To update the background image displayed in aviewport:

1. Activate a viewport that contains a backgroundimage.

2. Choose Views menu > Update BackgroundImage.

Reset Background Transform

Views menu > Reset Background Transform (availableonly when a viewport background image is displayed andLock Zoom/Pan is turned on)

Reset Background Transform rescales andrecenters the current background to fit anorthographic or user viewport. Use this commandwhen you want to reset the background to thenew position of your geometry. See Procedure fordetailed requirements.

Procedure

To reset the background to fit the viewport:

1. Activate an orthographic or user viewport thathas a background image.

2. Press ALT+B.

3. Turn on either Match Bitmap or MatchRendering Output, and then turn on LockZoom/Pan.

4. Click OK.

5. Choose Views menu > Reset BackgroundTransform.

The background image readjusts in theviewport.

Show Transform Gizmo

Views menu > Show Transform Gizmo

Keyboard > X

Show Transform Gizmo toggles the display ofthe Transform gizmo axis tripod (page 1–343)for all viewports when objects are selected and atransform is active.

Additional controls for the Transform gizmo arefound on the Gizmo Preferences settings (page3–554).

When the Transform gizmo is turned off, ShowTransform Gizmo controls the display of the axistripod on selected objects.

The state of Transform gizmo is saved in 3dsviz.ini,so it’s maintained between scenes and sessions.

The related entries in the 3dsviz.ini file are:

• INI: Transformgizmo=1 (for Transform Gizmovisibility, controlled by Preferences)

• INI: ShowAxisIcon=1 (for Axis Icon visibility,controlled in Views menu)

The visibility of the Axis tripod overrides thevisibility of the Transform Gizmo. If you turn offthe Transform Gizmo in Preferences, the Axistripod remains on the selected object. If you thenturn off the Show Transform Gizmo in the Viewsmenu, it actually turns off the Axis tripod. Whenthe Axis tripod is disabled, the Transform Gizmois also hidden.

Tip: The converse is not true. If the transformgizmo is turned off, turning on the axis tripodvisibility does not display the transform gizmo.

Procedure

To scale the transform gizmo, do one of the following:

• Press – (hyphen) to shrink the Transformgizmo.


• Press = (equal sign) to enlarge the Transformgizmo.

Show Ghosting

Views menu > Show Ghosting

Ghosting is a method of displaying wireframe"ghost copies" of an animated object at a numberof frames before or after the current frame. Use itto analyze and adjust your animation. Ghosts thatoverlap indicate slower motion; ghosts that arespread further apart show faster motion.

When this command is active, ghosting isdisplayed for selected objects in the scene. Onlycurrently selected objects display the ghosting.

Ghosting helps to visualize animation.

To change Ghosting parameters choose Customize> Preferences. On the Viewport panel of thePreferences dialog you can determine the numberof ghosting frames, whether to ghost before orafter the current frame, or both, and you can alsoshow frame numbers with the ghosts.

Procedure

To show wireframe ghost copies of an animatedobject:

• Choose Views menu > Show Ghosting.

Show Key Times

Select an object with animation. > Views menu > ShowKey Times

Key Times shows the frame numbers along adisplayed animation trajectory (page 2–691).Key times correspond to the settings in TimeConfiguration (page 3–447) for Frames or SMPTE(page 3–732). By default, key times are shown asframe numbers.

Procedure

To display trajectory time values in the viewport:

1. Select an object with animation.

2. On the Display panel > DisplayProperties rollout, turn on Trajectory.

Tip: If the rollout controls are unavailable,right-click the object in the active viewport,choose Properties, and in the Display Propertiesgroup, click By Layer to change to By Object.This will make the Trajectory option becomeavailable.

3. Choose Views menu > Show Key Times.

The time values are displayed as white numbersalong the trajectory. They remain displayed inred when the animated object is deselected.

Shade Selected 45

Keyframes with frame number shown on a trajectory.

Shade Selected

Select an object to be shaded. > Views menu > ShadeSelected

Shade Selected shades only the selected objects inthe scene when the viewport is set to Wireframeor Other. When Smooth + Highlights is on, allobjects are shaded whether they are selected or not.

Shade Selected lets you work with a wireframescene and shade only the selected objects whenyou want to visualize them more clearly. All otherobjects in the scene will appear in wireframe.

Selected objects shaded in a wireframe viewport.

Procedure

To shade only selected objects in a scene:

1. Choose Views menu > Shade Selected.

2. Right-click the viewport label and chooseWireframe.

3. Select the object.

Only the selected object is shaded.

Show Dependencies

Views menu > Show Dependencies

While you are using the Modify panel, thiscommand toggles viewport highlighting of objectsdependent on the currently selected object.

When Show Dependencies is on and the Modifypanel is active, any object that is dependent uponthe currently selected object in any way appearsmagenta. This includes instances (page 3–689),references (page 3–722), and shared modifiers(page 3–701). Default=off.

You can also see similar dependencies in SchematicView (page 3–300).


Procedure

To show dependencies between objects:

1. Select an object with an instanced modifier(page 2–39).

2. On the Modify panel, choose theinstanced modifier in the modifier stack.

3. Choose Views menu > Show Dependencies

Other objects with instances of the samemodifier appear in a different color.

Create Camera From View

Views menu > Create Camera From View

Create menu > Cameras > Create Camera From View

Keyboard > CTRL+C

Create Camera From View creates a Target camera(page 2–1000) whose field of view matches anactive, Perspective viewport. At the same time, itchanges the viewport to a Camera viewport (page3–467) for the new camera object, and makes thenew camera the current selection.

Alternatively, if the scene already contains a cameraand the camera is selected, then Create CameraFrom View does not create a new camera fromthe view. Instead, it simply matches the selected

camera to the active, Perspective viewport. Thisfunctionality was adopted from the Match Camerato View command, which is now available only asan assignable main user interface shortcut (page3–605)

Note: Create Camera From View is available onlywhen a Perspective viewport is active.

To create a camera from a view, assuming anyexisting cameras are unselected:

1. Activate a Perspective viewport.

2. If necessary, adjust the viewport using Pan,Zoom and Arc Rotate until you have a view youlike.

3. Leaving the viewport active, on the Views menuchoose Create Camera From View or pressCTRL+C.

Autodesk VIZ creates a new camera, matchingits view to that of the Perspective viewport, andthen switches the Perspective viewport to aCamera viewport, showing the view from thenew camera.

Add Default Lights to Scene

Views menu > Add Default Lights To Scene

(This menu item is unavailable if the ViewportConfiguration dialog specifies only a single default light.)

This command displays the Add Default Lights ToScene dialog (page 1–47), which provides optionsthat let you convert the default scene lighting intoactual light objects (page 2–911).

The default lighting for viewports consists of akey light, positioned in front and to the left of thescene. and a fill light, positioned behind and to theright of the scene. Both these default lights behaveas omni lights (page 2–934).

Add Default Lights To Scene Dialog 47

Two default lights are placed opposite to each other.

A, the key light is in front of the object, on the upper leftside, while B, the fill light is behind on the lower right side.

Add Default Lights To SceneDialog

Views menu > Add Default Lights To Scene > Add DefaultLights to Scene dialog

(This menu item is unavailable if the ViewportConfiguration dialog specifies only a single default light.)

The Add Default Lights To Scene dialog lets youconvert the default scene lighting into actual lightobjects (page 2–911).

The default lighting for viewports consists of akey light, positioned in front and to the left of thescene, and a fill light, positioned behind and to theright of the scene.

Note: You can use the Viewport Configurationdialog (page 3–585) to change the default lightingto a single key light. In this case, Add DefaultsLight To Scene will not be available.

You can add either the key light, the fill light, orboth. The omni light objects have the namesDefaultKeyLight and DefaultFillLight.

If you have already added one or both defaultlights, a warning prompts you to rename or delete

the previous default light object before you addanother.

Procedure

To add the default lights as objects:

1. Choose Views menu > Add Default Lights ToScene.

2. On the Add Default Lights To Scene dialog,choose Key Light, Fill Light, or both.

3. Activate the Top viewport, and on thestatus bar, click Zoom Extents.

The lights are now visible in the viewport.

Interface

Add Default Key Light—When on, adds the defaultkey light to the scene. The key light is in front ofthe scene and to the left. The key light becomesan omni light (page 2–934) with the name,DefaultKeyLight. Default=on.

Add Default Fill Light—When on, adds the defaultfill light to the scene. The fill light is behind thescene and to the right. The fill light becomesan omni light (page 2–934) with the name,DefaultFillLight. Default=on.

Distance Scaling—Affects how far the lights areplaced from the origin (0,0,0). The default valueleaves the scene’s lighting unchanged. Largervalues move the lights further away, dimmingthe scene, and smaller values move them closer,


brightening the scene. Default=1.0. Range=0.0to 1000.0.

Redraw All Views

Views menu > Redraw All Views

Keyboard > ‘ (accent grave)

Redraw All Views refreshes the display in allviewports. When you move, rotate, scale, orotherwise manipulate geometry, the viewportsmay display the scene with some irregularities,or with objects or parts of objects missing. UseRedraw All Views to redisplay your scene with alllines and shading restored.

Activate All Maps

Views menu > Activate All Maps

Activate All Maps turns on the Show Map InViewport flag for all materials assigned to thescene.

To undo this action, use Views menu > DeactivateAll Maps. This will turn off the maps for allmaterials. If you only want to turn off individualmaps, you need to turn off Show Map In Viewportin the Material Editor.

Deactivate All Maps

Views menu > Deactivate All Maps

Deactivate All Maps turns off the Show Map InViewport flag for all materials assigned to thescene.

To undo this action, use Views menu > Activate AllMaps. This will turn on the maps for all materials.If you only want to turn on individual maps, you

need to turn on Show Map in Viewport in theMaterial Editor.

Update During Spinner Drag

Views menu > Update During Spinner Drag

When Update During Spinner Drag is on, dragginga spinner (such as a Radius spinner for a sphere)updates the effects in real time in the viewports.Default=on.

When Update During Spinner Drag is off, theeffect is updated after the drag, when you releasethe mouse. Use this option when you’re adjustingprocessor-intensive controls.

Expert Mode

Views menu > Expert Mode

Keyboard > CTRL+X

When Expert mode is on, the title bar, toolbar,command panel, status bar, and all of the viewportnavigation buttons are removed from the display,leaving only the menu bar, time slider, andviewports. Use Expert mode when you need toview your composition alone without the rest ofthe interface.

With the ability to customize the user interface inAutodesk VIZ, you can create your own versionsof Expert mode by hiding whatever you wantitem-by-item. Expert mode is only a quick way tohide everything that can be hidden at once.

You can assign keyboard shortcuts to hide andunhide the command panel, toolbars, and so onand then use these while in Expert mode. You canalso use the quad menu to access tools quickly inExpert mode as well.

Controlling Object Display 49

Procedures

To turn on Expert mode, do one of the following:

• Choose Views menu > Expert Mode.

• Press CTRL+X.

To turn off Expert mode and return to full display,do one of the following:

• Click the Cancel Expert Mode button to theright of the time slider.

• Press CTRL+X.

• Choose Views menu > Expert Mode.

Controlling Object DisplayYou use the Display panel or layers (page 3–362)to control how objects and selected objects aredisplayed in viewports, and to hide or freezeobjects.

You can also use layers (page 3–362) to hide orunhide objects in the viewport.

Tip: You can also use the Isolate Selectioncommand (page 1–69) to hide everything exceptyour selection set.

Display Color Rollout (page 1–49)

Hide By Category Rollout (page 1–50)

Hide Rollout (page 1–51)

Freeze Rollout (page 1–51)

Display Properties Rollout (page 1–52)

Link Display Rollout (page 1–55)

Object Display Culling Utility (page 1–56)

See also

Object Properties Dialog (page 1–107)

Display Color Rollout

Display panel > Display Color rollout

The Display Color rollout specifies whetherAutodesk VIZ displays objects using their objectcolors or their diffuse material colors (page3–668), when the objects have their displayproperties (page 1–108) set to By Object. If thedisplay properties of an object is set to By Layer,the layer color will be used for the display. You canchoose one method for wireframe display and adifferent one for shaded display. In each shadingmode you can specify whether the material or theobject color is used.

As a default, all new objects have their displayproperties set to By Layer. The default can bechanged in Customize > Preferences > Preferencesdialog > General panel > Layer Defaults group. Ifyou turn off Default To By Layer For New Nodes,all new objects created in Autodesk VIZ willdisplay in the viewports based on the settingsin the Display Color rollout. You can switchindividual objects between By Object and By Layerby setting the Display Properties in the ObjectProperties dialog (page 1–107), accessible byright-clicking any selected object.

If the object color box displays black and whiterectangles, this indicates that the object has itsdisplay properties set to By Layer.

Interface


Wireframe— Controls the color of objects when theviewport is in wireframe display mode.

Object Color—Displays the wireframes in objectcolor.

Material Color—Displays the wireframes using thematerial color.

Shaded—Controls the color of the object when theviewport is in any shaded display mode.

Object Color—Displays the shaded objects usingthe object color.

Material Color—Displays the shaded objects usingthe material color.

Hide By Category Rollout

Display panel > Hide By Category rollout

The Hide By Category rollout toggles the displayof objects by category (objects, cameras, lights,and so on).

By default, Autodesk VIZ displays all objectsin the scene. Objects hidden by category aren’tevaluated in the scene, so hiding objects bycategory improves performance.

You can use any of the default display filtersprovided, or add new display filters for fastselection of objects to hide.

Interface

Turn on the check boxes to hide objects of thatcategory. You can use the All, None, and Invertbuttons to quickly change the settings of the checkboxes.

The Display Filter box gives you finer control increating categories to hide. Click the Add buttonto display a list of display filters. Hold downthe CTRL key and click the filter name to selectwhatever category you’d like to hide.

Geometry—Hides all geometry in the scene.

Shapes—Hides all shapes in the scene.

Lights—Hides all lights in the scene.

Cameras—Hides all cameras in the scene.

Helpers—Hides all helpers in the scene.

Point—Hides all points in the scene.

All—Hides everything in the scene.

None—Unhides everything in the scene

Invert—Hides everything that is visible andunhides everything currently hidden.

Add—Adds a display filter category to the list.

Remove—Removes a display filter category.

Hide Rollout 51

None—Deselects all highlighted display filters inthe list.

Hide Rollout

Display panel > Hide rollout

The Hide rollout provides controls that let youhide and unhide individual objects by selectingthem, regardless of their category.

You can also hide and unhide objects using theDisplay Floater (page 3–496).

See also

Hide By Category Rollout (page 1–50)

Interface

Hide Selected—Hides the selected object(s).

Hide Unselected—Hides all visible objects exceptthe selected ones. Use this to hide all objects exceptthe one you’re working on. Objects hidden bycategory aren’t affected.

Hide by Name—Displays a dialog you use to hideobjects you choose from a list. See Select ObjectsDialog (page 1–74), which describes nearlyidentical controls.

Hide by Hit—Hides any object you click in theviewport. If you hold the CTRL key while selectingan object, that object and all of its children arehidden. To exit Hide by Hit mode, right-click,press ESC, or select a different function. Thismode is automatically turned off if you hide allobjects in the scene.

Unhide All—Unhides all hidden objects. Theunhide buttons are available only when you havespecifically hidden one or more objects. Theywon’t unhide objects hidden by category.

Note: If you click Unhide All in a scene with hiddenlayers, a dialog will pop up prompting you tounhide all layers. You cannot unhide an object ona hidden layer.

Unhide by Name—Displays a dialog you use tounhide objects you choose from a list. See SelectObjects Dialog (page 1–74), which describesnearly identical controls.

Note: If you select an object on a hidden layer, adialog will pop up prompting you to unhide theobject’s layer. You cannot unhide an object on ahidden layer.

Hide Frozen Objects—Hides any frozen objects.Turn it off to display hidden frozen objects.

Freeze Rollout

Display panel > Freeze rollout

The Freeze rollout provides controls that let youfreeze or unfreeze (page 3–680) individual objectsby selecting them, regardless of their category.

Frozen objects remain on the screen, but you can’tselect, transform, or modify them. By default,frozen objects turn dark gray. Frozen lights andcameras, and their associated viewports, continueto work as they normally do.


You can choose to have frozen objects retain theirusual color or texture in viewports. Use the ShowFrozen In Gray toggle in the Object Propertiesdialog (page 1–107).

Interface

Freeze Selected—Freezes the selected object(s).

Freeze Unselected—Freezes all visible objectsexcept the selected ones. Use this to quickly freezeall the objects except the one you’re working on.

Freeze by Name—Displays a dialog that lets youchoose objects to freeze from a list. See SelectObjects dialog (page 1–74), which describes nearlyidentical controls.

Freeze by Hit—Freezes any object you click in aviewport. If you press CTRL while selecting anobject, that object and all of its children are frozen.To exit Freeze by Hit mode, right-click, pressESC, or select a different function. This mode isautomatically turned off if you freeze all objectsin the scene.

Unfreeze All—Unfreezes all frozen objects.

Note: If you click Unfreeze All in a scene withfrozen layers, a dialog opens prompting you tounfreeze all layers. You cannot unfreeze an objecton a frozen layer.

Unfreeze by Name—Displays a dialog that lets youchoose objects to unfreeze from a list. See SelectObjects dialog (page 1–74), which describes nearlyidentical controls.

Note: If you unfreeze by name an object on a frozenlayer, a dialog opens prompting you to unfreezethe object’s layer. You cannot unfreeze an objecton a frozen layer.

Unfreeze by Hit—Unfreezes any object you click inthe viewport. If you press CTRL while selectingan object, that object and all of its children areunfrozen.

If you select an object on a frozen layer, a dialogwill pop up prompting you to unfreeze the object’slayer. You cannot unfreeze an object on a frozenlayer.

Display Properties Rollout

Display panel > Display Properties rollout

The Display Properties rollout provides controlsthat alter the display of selected objects.

Note: In Autodesk VIZ, by default you set displayproperties by layer rather than by object. To set alayer’s display properties, open the Layer Manager(page 3–364), right-click the layer name, chooseLayer Properties from the menu, and then use theLayer Properties dialog (page 3–369).

See also

Link Display Rollout (page 1–55)

Procedure

To display trajectories using the Display panel:

1. Select one or more animated objects.

2. Right-click the selection, and chooseProperties.

Display Properties Rollout 53

3. In the Display properties group, click By Layerto change it to By Object, and then click OK.

4. Expand the Display Properties rollout in theDisplay panel.

5. Turn on Trajectory.

By default, object trajectories appear with thefollowing properties:

• The trajectory curve is drawn in red.

• Frame increments display as white dots onthe curve.

• Position keys display as red boxessurrounding the appropriate frame dot onthe curve. The boxes are white when theobject is selected.

• If Views > Show Key Times is turned on, thekeyframe numbers are displayed along sidethe keys on the trajectory.

Trajectories can also be displayed throughObject Properties. Right-click any objectand choose Properties, then in the Displayproperties group change By Layer to ByObject. Turn on Trajectories when itbecomes available in the Display Propertiesgroup.

You can change the colors for these items onthe Colors panel (page 3–519) of the CustomizeUser Interface dialog.

You can also use object properties to displaytrajectories: right-click any object and chooseProperties, then turn on Trajectory.

Interface

The first three options reduce the geometriccomplexity of selected objects in a scene, resultingin faster response time because the computer hasless to calculate. These options are also availablein the Display Properties group of the ObjectProperties dialog > General panel (page 1–108)and the Display floater (page 3–496).

Display as Box—Toggles the display of selectedobjects, including 3D objects and 2D shapesas bounding boxes (page 3–663). Producesminimum geometric complexity.

Backface Cull—Toggles the display of faces andvertices with normals (page 3–704) pointing awayfrom view. When turned off, you see through thewireframe to the back faces. Applies to Wireframeviewport display only.


Edges Only—Toggles the display of hidden edgesand polygon diagonals (page 3–668). When on,only outside edges appear. When off, all meshgeometry appears. Applies to Wireframe viewportdisplay mode, as well as other modes with EdgedFaces turned on.

Vertex Ticks—Displays the vertices in the selectedgeometry as tick marks.

If the current selection has no displayed tickmarks, the check box is clear. If some of thevertices in the current selection display tick marks,the check box contains a gray X. If all vertices inthe current selection display tick marks, the checkbox contains a black X.

Trajectory—Toggles trajectory (page 3–741)display for the selected object so its trajectory isvisible in viewports.

See-Through—Makes the object or selectiontranslucent in viewports. This setting has noeffect on rendering: it simply lets you see what’sbehind or inside an object in a crowded scene, andis especially useful in adjusting the position ofobjects behind or inside the See-Through object.This is very handy when you have objects withinother objects in your scene.

This option is also available from Object Propertiesdialog (page 1–107) and the Tools > DisplayFloater (page 3–496).

You can customize the color of see-through objectsby using the Colors panel (page 3–519) of theCustomize > Customize User Interface dialog(page 3–511).

Link Display Rollout 55

Keyboard shortcut (default): ALT+X

Ignore Extents—When turned on, the object isignored when you use the display control ZoomExtents. Use this on distant lights.

Show Frozen in Gray—When on, the object turnsgray in viewports when you freeze it. When off,viewports display the object with its usual color ortexture even when it is frozen. Default=on.

Vertex Colors—Displays the effect of assignedvertex colors. You assign vertex colors using theAssign Vertex Color utility. Once vertex colorshave been assigned they can also be edited in theVertex Properties rollout in the editable mesh oreditable poly in vertex or face sub-object level.

The Shaded button determines whether the objectwith the assigned vertex colors appears shaded inthe viewport. When this button is off, the colorsare unshaded and appear in their pure RGB values,looking a little like self-illuminated materials.When the Shaded button is on, the colors appearlike any other assigned color in the viewports.

Link Display Rollout

Display panel > Link Display rollout

The Link Display rollout provides controls thatalter the display of hierarchical linkages (page3–684).

Interface

Display Links—Displays a wireframe representationof any hierarchical links affecting the selectedobject.

Note: Display Links must be turned on in order tosee Joint Limits on a inverse kinematics chain.

Link Replaces Object—Replaces the selectedobject with the wireframe representation of thehierarchical link. This option offers another wayto reduce the geometric complexity of selectedobjects in a scene. See also Display Propertiesrollout (page 1–52).

The Draw Links As Lines option on the Viewportspanel (page 3–551) of the Preference Settingsdialog further reduces the display of links to asingle line.


Object Display Culling Utility

Utilities panel > More button > Object Display Culling

The Object Display Culling utility lets younavigate and manipulate large and complex scenesmore easily and quickly by intelligently hidingless-important objects as you work.

Interface

Enable—Turns Object Display Culling on and off.Default=off. Keyboard shortcut=ALT+O.

You can also toggle Object Display Culling fromthe Views menu.

Target Framerate—The desired frame rate. If theframe rate drops below this, Autodesk VIZ cullsobjects as necessary to achieve the frame rate,beginning with those farthest from the currentviewpoint.

If Self-Adjust Framerate is on, Autodesk VIZ setsthis value automatically.

Self-Adjust Framerate—When on, Autodesk VIZsets the Target Framerate value automatically. Thesoftware lowers the frame rate as necessary while

minimizing object culling, and then raises it later,if possible.

Affect Scene XRefs—When on, XRef scenes (page3–292) are culled as well as native objects.

Static/Object(s) culled—If no culling is happening,such as when you first open the utility, thisread-only field shows “Static”.

When Object Display Culling is enabled, this fieldshows the number of objects currently hidden ordisplayed as bounding boxes.

Culled Objects—Choose how to prevent display ofculled geometry:

• Hidden: Culled objects don’t appear in theviewports.

• Display as Bounding Box: Culled objectsappear as bounding boxes (page 3–663).

Close—Closes the rollout.

Selecting Objects

Most actions in Autodesk VIZ are performed onselected objects in your scene. You must selectan object in a viewport before you can apply acommand. As a result, the act of selection is anessential part of the modeling and animationprocess.

This section presents the selection tools availablein Autodesk VIZ. Besides the basic techniquesof selecting single and multiple objects usingmouse and keyboard, these topics cover the use ofnamed selection sets and other features that helpyou manage object selection, such as hiding andfreezing objects and layers. Also included is anintroduction to sub-object selection, essential toworking with an object’s underlying geometry.

Lastly, a technique for grouping objects ispresented. Grouping lets you create morepermanent selections that have many of thecharacteristics of independent objects.

This section presents the following topics:

Introducing Object Selection (page 1–57)

Basics of Selecting Objects (page 1–60)

Selecting by Region (page 1–62)

Using Select By Name (page 1–63)

Using Named Selection Sets (page 1–63)

Using Selection Filters (page 1–64)

Selecting with Track View (page 1–65)

Selecting with Schematic View (page 1–66)

Freezing and Unfreezing Objects (page 1–66)

Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Selection (page1–67)

Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Category (page1–68)

Isolate Selection (page 1–69)

Introduction to Sub-Object Selection (page 1–70)

Using Assemblies (page 1–93)

Using Groups (page 1–92)

Introducing Object Selection

Autodesk VIZ is an object-oriented program. Thismeans that each object in the 3D scene carriesinstructions that tell the program what you cando with it. These instructions vary with the typeof object.

Because each object can respond to a differentset of commands, you apply commands byfirst selecting the object and then selecting the

Selecting Objects

58 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects

command. This is known as a noun-verb interface,because you first select the object (the noun) andthen select the command (the verb).

Identifying the Selection Interface

In the user interface, selection commands orfunctions appear in the following areas:

• Main toolbar

• Edit menu

• Quad menu (while objects are selected)

• Tools menu

• Track View

• Display panel

• Schematic View

The buttons on the main toolbar are a direct meansof selection. The Selection Floater, available fromthe Tools menu, is easy to use, while the Edit menuprovides more general selection commands, plusmethods of selecting objects by property. TrackView and Schematic View let you select objectsfrom a hierarchical list.

Selecting From the Quad Menu

The quickest way to select an object is from theTransform quadrant of the quad menu, where youcan easily switch among the Move, Rotate, Scale,and Select modes. Choose any of these and clickon the object you want to select in the viewport.

Selecting by Name

Another quick way to select an object is touse keyboard shortcuts for the Select by Namecommand. Press H on the keyboard then selectthe object by name from the list. This is the mostfoolproof way to ensure you select the correctobject when you have many overlapping objectsin the scene.

Selection Buttons

Another way to select an object is to click one ofthese buttons, then click the object.

Select

Selection Objects

Select And Move Mode

Select And Rotate Mode

Select And Uniform Scale Mode

Select And Manipulate

The main toolbar has several selection-modebuttons. When any of the selection buttons isactive, the program is in a state where you canselect objects by clicking them.

Of the selection buttons, you use Select Objector Selection Floater when you want selectiononly. The remaining buttons let you both selectand transform or manipulate your selection.Use transforms to move, rotate, and scale yourselection. See Moving, Rotating, and ScalingObjects (page 1–341) and Select and Manipulate(page 2–643).

Introducing Object Selection 59

Crossing Versus Window Selection

Above: Window selection selects the trash can and bench,but not the streetlight.

Below: Crossing selection selects all three: trash can, bench,and streetlight.

The Selection toggle, available from thetoolbar, switches between Window and Crossingmodes when you select by region. In Windowmode, you select only the objects within theselection. In Crossing mode, you select all objectswithin the region, plus any objects crossing theboundaries of the region.

Edit Menu Commands

The Edit menu contains selection commands thatoperate globally on your objects.

Edit menu selection commands include:

Select All (page 1–82)

Select None (page 1–82)

Select Invert (page 1–82)

Select By Color (page 1–83)

Select By Name (Edit Menu) (page 1–83) (also atoolbar button)

Select by Rectangular Region (page 1–77)

Select by Circular Region (page 1–77)

Select by Fence Region (page 1–78)

Select by Lasso Region (page 1–78)

Region Window (page 1–84) (also a toolbarbutton)

Region Crossing (page 1–84) (also a toolbarbutton)

Edit Named Selections (page 1–85)

Tools Menu Commands

The Tools menu contains two options for modeless(page 3–701) selection dialogs or "floaters."You can place them anywhere on the screen, orminimize them by right-clicking the title bar andchoosing Minimize.

Selection Floater

• Same features as Select By Name. See SelectionFloater (page 1–76).

Display Floater

• Provides options for hiding and freezingselections as well as some display options. SeeDisplay Floater (page 3–496).

Selection Floater

The Tools menu contains an option for a modeless(page 3–701) selection dialog called the SelectionFloater. You can place it anywhere on the screen.


The Selection Floater has the same features asSelect By Name. See Selection Floater (page 1–76).

Track/Schematic View Selection

Track View (page 2–818) is primarily designedas an animation tool, but you can also use itsHierarchy List window as an alternative methodof selecting objects by name and hierarchy. Thisworks in both the Curve Editor and Dope Sheetmodes of Track View.

Schematic View (page 3–300) is specificallydesigned to let you navigate your scene efficiently,presenting a hierarchical view and letting youselect objects and their properties by name.

Display Panel Selection

The Display panel provides options for hiding andfreezing objects. These techniques exclude objectsfrom other selection methods, and are useful insimplifying complex scenes. Frozen objects arestill visible, but hidden objects are not.

Basics of Selecting Objects

Bed selected in wireframe

Bed selected in smooth and shaded view

The most basic selection techniques use eitherthe mouse, or the mouse in conjunction with akeystroke.

Procedures

To select an object:

1. Click one of the selection buttons on thetoolbar: Select Object, Select by Name, Selectand Move, Select and Rotate, or Select andScale, or Select and Manipulate.

2. In any viewport, move the cursor over theobject you want to select.

Basics of Selecting Objects 61

The cursor changes to a small cross when it’spositioned over an object that can be selected.

The valid selection zones of an object dependon the type of object and the display modein the viewport. In shaded mode, any visiblesurface of an object is valid. In wireframemode, any edge or segment of an object is valid,including hidden lines.

3. While the cursor displays the selection cross,click to select the object (and to deselect anypreviously selected object).

A selected wireframe object turns white. Aselected shaded object displays white bracketsat the corners of its bounding box.

To select all objects do one of the following:

• Choose Edit menu > Select All.

This selects all objects in your scene.

• On the keyboard press CTRL+A.

To invert the current selection do one of thefollowing:

• Choose Edit menu > Select Invert.

This reverses the current selection pattern. Forexample, assume you begin with five objects inyour scene, and two of them are selected. Afterchoosing Invert, the two are deselected, and theremaining objects are selected.

• On the keyboard press CTRL+I.

To extend or reduce a selection:

• Hold down CTRL while you click to makeselections.

This toggles the selection state of the objectsyou select. Use this method to select or deselectobjects. For example, if you have two objectsselected and CTRL+click to select a third, thethird object is added to the selection. If younow CTRL+click any of the three selectedobjects, that object is deselected.

Tip: You can also hold down ALT while you clickto remove objects from selections.

To lock a selection:

1. Select an object.

2. Click the Selection Lock Toggle (page3–436) on the status bar to turn on lockedselection mode.

While your selection is locked, you can drag themouse anywhere on the screen without losingthe selection. The cursor displays the currentselection icon. When you want to deselect oralter your selection, click the Lock button againto turn off locked selection mode. SPACEBARis the keyboard toggle for locked selectionmode.

To deselect an object, do any of the following:

• Click an empty area anywhere outside thecurrent selection.

• Hold down the ALT key, and either click anobject, or drag a region around the object todeselect it.

• Hold down the CTRL key and click to deselecta selected object. This also selects non-selectedobjects.

• Choose Edit menu > Select None to deselectall objects in the scene.


Selecting by Region

Top Left: Selecting face sub-objects with a rectangularregion

Top Right: Selecting vertex sub-objects with a circularregion

Center: Selecting face sub-objects with a painted region

Bottom Left: Selecting edge sub-objects with a fence region

Bottom Right: Selecting edge sub-objects with a lassoregion

The region-selection tools let you use the mouse toselect one or more objects by defining an outlineor area.

Region Selection

By default, when you drag the mouse a rectangularregion is created. When you release the mouseall objects within and touched by the region areselected. The remainder of this topic describeshow you can change each of these settings.

Note: If you hold down CTRL while specifyinga region, the affected objects are added to thecurrent selection. Conversely, if you hold downALT while specifying a region, the affected objectsare removed from the current selection.

Setting Region Type

The type of region you define when you drag themouse is set by the Region flyout button to theright of the Select By Name button. You can useany of five types of region selection:

• Rectangular Region—Dragging the mouseselects a rectangular region. See RectangularSelection Region (page 1–77).

• Circular Region—Dragging the mouse selects acircular region. See Circular Selection Region(page 1–77).

• Fence Region—Draw an irregularselection-region outline by alternatingbetween moving the mouse and clicking (beginwith a drag). See Fence Selection Region (page1–78).

• Lasso Region—Dragging the mouse outlines anirregular selection region. See Lasso SelectionRegion (page 1–78).

• Paint Region—Drag the mouse over objects orsub-objects to be included in the selection. SeePaint Selection Region (page 1–79)

Setting Region Inclusion

This option lets you specify whether to includeobjects touched by the region border. It applies toall region methods.

Using Select By Name 63

Choose Edit menu > Region to display a submenuof the following two items. Only one can be activeat a time. The option is also available on the maintoolbar.

• Window—Selects only objects that arecompletely within the region. See Select RegionWindow (page 1–84)

• Crossing—Selects all objects that are withinthe region and crossing the boundaries of theregion. This is the default region. See SelectRegion Crossing (page 1–84).

The Window/Crossing toggle (page 1–85) on themain toolbar also switches between these twomodes.

You can set up a preference to automaticallyswitch between Window and crossing basedon the direction of your cursor movement. SeeAuto Window/Crossing by Direction in GeneralPreferences (page 3–537).

Procedure

To make a region selection using defaults:

1. Click Select Object (page 1–73).

2. Drag the mouse to define a region.

A rubber-band rectangle appears.

3. Release the mouse button to select all objectswithin or touching the region.

The selected objects turn white.

You can also use the Select and Transform buttonson the main toolbar to select by region. You muststart defining the region over an unselectable areaof the viewport. Otherwise, you’ll transform theobject beneath your mouse when you begin todrag.

Using Select By Name

You can select objects by their assigned names,avoiding mouse clicks completely, from the SelectObjects dialog.

Procedure

To select objects by name:

1. Do one of the following:

• On the main toolbar, click Select ByName.

• Choose Edit menu > Select By > Name.

• Choose Tools menu > Selection Floater.

The Select Objects or Selection Floaterdialog is displayed. By default, these dialogslist all objects in the scene. Any selectedobjects are highlighted in the list.

2. Choose one or more objects in the list. UseCTRL to add to the selection.

3. Click Select to make the selection.

Select Object closes, while Selection Floaterremains active.

For more information, see Select Objects dialog(page 1–74).

Using Named Selection Sets

You can assign a name to the current selection, andthen later reselect those objects by choosing theirselection name from a list.

Named Selection Sets

You can also edit the contents of named setsfrom the Named Selection Sets dialog (page 1–85).


Editing Named Selections

As you model and create a scene, you’re likelyto rearrange the objects making up your namedselection sets. If you do, you’ll need to edit thecontents of those sets.

Procedures

To assign a name to a selection set:

1. Select one or more objects or sub-objects usingany combination of selection methods.

2. Click in the Named Selection field on the maintoolbar.

3. Enter a name for your set. The name can containany standard ASCII characters, includingletters, numerals, symbols, punctuation, andspaces.

Note: Names are case-sensitive.

4. Press ENTER to complete the selection set.

You can now select another combination of objectsor sub-objects and repeat the process to createanother named selection set.

To retrieve a named selection set:

1. In the Named Selection field, click the arrow.

Note: If you’re working with a sub-objectselection set, you must be at the same levelat which you created the selection set (forexample, editable mesh > vertex) for it toappear on the list.

2. On the list, click a name.

To edit named selection sets:

• On the main toolbar, click NamedSelection Sets to display the Named SelectionSets dialog.

Using Selection Filters

You can use the Selection Filter list on the maintoolbar to deactivate selection for all but a specificcategory of object. By default, all categories can beselected, but you can set the Selection Filter so thatonly one category, such as lights, can be selected.You can also create combinations of filters to addto the list.

Using Combos

The Combos feature allows you to combine two ormore categories into a single filter category.

Procedures

To use the selection filter:

• Click the Selection Filter arrow and click acategory from the Selection Filter list.

Selection is now limited to objects defined inthis category. The category remains in effectuntil you change it.

The following categories are available:

All—All categories can be selected. This is thedefault setting.

Geometry—Only geometric objects can beselected. This includes meshes, patches, andother kinds of objects not specifically includedin this list.

Shapes—Only shapes can be selected.

Selecting with Track View 65

Lights—Only lights (and their targets) can beselected.

Cameras—Only cameras (and their targets) canbe selected.

Helpers—Only helper objects can be selected.

Combos—Displays a Filter Combinations dialog(page 1–80) that lets you create custom filters.

Point—Only point objects can be selected.

To create a combination category:

1. From the drop-down list, choose Combos todisplay the Filter Combinations dialog (page1–80).

All single categories are listed.

2. Select the categories you want to combine.

3. Click Add.

The combination appears in a list to the right,abbreviated by the first letter of each category.Click OK.

For example, if you selected Geometry, Lights,and Cameras, the Combo would be namedGLC. This name appears below Combo on thedrop-down list. For more information, seeSelection Filters List (page 1–80).

Selecting with Track View

Track View provides sophisticated methods to edityour animation tracks. In addition, its Hierarchylist displays all objects in the scene by name andhierarchy. Using Track View, you can select anyobject in the scene by clicking its object icon in theHierarchy list.

Procedure

You can use Track View selection functionality inboth the Curve Editor (page 2–826) and the DopeSheet (page 2–826). This procedure illustratesusage of the Curve Editor; the same methods workin the Dope Sheet.


To open Track View and display and select objects:

1. On the main toolbar, click Curve Editor(Open).

2. Click any cube icon in the list to select thenamed object.

You can make the following kinds of selections:

• Select several adjacent objects in the list. Clickthe first object, hold down SHIFT, and clickanother object elsewhere in the list.

• Modify the selection by pressing CTRL whileclicking. CTRL lets you toggle individual itemson and off without deselecting others in the list.

• Select an object and all its descendants. Pressand hold ALT, right-click the object’s cube icon(keep the right mouse button held down), andchoose Select Children from the menu.

You can open a Track View window for thesole purpose of selecting objects by name.Shrink the window until only a portion of theHierarchy appears, and then move the window toa convenient area on your screen.

Selecting with Schematic View

Schematic view is a window that displays theobjects in your scene in a hierarchical view. Itgives you an alternate way to select and choose theobjects in your scene and navigate to them.

When the Modify panel is open, double-clickingan object modifier in Schematic view navigates themodifier stack to that modifier for quick accessto its parameters.

Procedure

To open Schematic View and display and selectobjects:

1. Click Open Schematic View on the maintoolbar.

2. Click the rectangle containing the name of yourobject.

You can select any number of objects in SchematicView using standard methods, including dragginga region. For more information, see UsingSchematic View (page 3–302).

Freezing and Unfreezing Objects

You can freeze any selection of objects in yourscene. By default, frozen objects, whetherwireframe or rendered, turn a dark gray. Theyremain visible, but can’t be selected, and thereforecan’t be directly transformed or modified.Freezing lets you protect objects from accidentalediting and speeds up redraws.

Above: No layers frozen

Below: Trash can and streetlight are frozen, and displayedin gray

You can choose to have frozen objects retain theirusual color or texture in viewports. Use the ShowFrozen In Gray toggle in the General tab of theObject Properties dialog (page 1–107).

Frozen objects are similar to hidden objects.Linked, instanced, and referenced objects behavewhen frozen just as they would if unfrozen. Frozen

Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Selection 67

lights and cameras and any associated viewportscontinue to work as they normally do.

For more information, see Freeze Rollout (page1–51).

Freezing Objects

You can freeze one or more selected objects. Thisis the usual method to put objects "on hold."

You can also freeze all objects that are not selected.This method lets you keep only the selected objectactive, useful in a cluttered scene, for example,where you want to be sure no other objects areaffected.

Procedure

To access Freeze options, do one of the following:

• Open the Display panel, then expandthe Freeze rollout.

• Choose Tools menu > Display Floater. Thismodeless dialog has the same options as theFreeze rollout. It also contains Hide options.

• Access the Object Properties dialog (page1–107) from either the right-click (quad) menuor the Edit menu. Turn on Hide and/or Freeze.

• In the Layer Manager, click in the Freezecolumn to freeze/unfreeze each layer in the list.

• Right-click in the active viewport and choosea Freeze or Unfreeze command from the quadmenu > Display quadrant.

Hiding and Unhiding Objects bySelection

You can hide any selection of individual objects inyour scene. They disappear from view, making iteasier to select remaining objects. Hiding objectsalso speeds up redraws. You can then unhideall objects at once or by individual object name.

You can also filter the names by category, so onlyhidden objects of a certain type are listed.

Note: Hiding a light source doesn’t alter its effect; itstill illuminates the scene.

Original scene

Scene with bed hidden

Hiding objects is similar to freezing objects.Linked, instanced, and referenced objects behavewhen hidden just as they would if unhidden.Hidden lights and cameras and any associatedviewports continue to work normally.

For more information, see Hide Rollout (page1–51).

Hiding Objects

Hiding objects is similar to freezing objects. SeeFreezing and Unfreezing Objects (page 1–66). You


can hide one or more selected objects. You canalso hide all objects that are not selected.

Another option is to hide objects by category. SeeHiding and Unhiding Objects by Category (page1–68).

Unhiding Objects

You can unhide objects in either of two ways:

• Use Unhide All to unhide all objects at the sametime.

• Use All On to display all objects at the sametime.

• Use Unhide By Name to unhide objectselectively. When you click Unhide By Name,the same dialog is displayed as for hiding, nowcalled Unhide Objects.

The Unhide buttons are unavailable when noobject in the scene is hidden.

Objects that were first hidden by selection and thenhidden by category do not reappear. Althoughthey are unhidden at the selection level, they arestill hidden at the category level. See Hiding andUnhiding Objects by Category (page 1–68) formore details.

Important: Objects on a hidden layer cannot be

unhidden. If you try to unhide an object on a hidden

layer, you are prompted to unhide the object’s layer.

Procedure

To access Hide options, do one of the following:

• Open the Layer Manager (page 3–364).

In the Layer Manager, you can easily hidegroups of objects or layers.

• Open the Display panel. Click Hide, ifnecessary, to expand the rollout.

• Choose Tools menu > Display Floater. Thismodeless dialog has the same options as theHide rollout. It also contains Freeze options.

• Access the Object Properties dialog (page1–107) from either the right-click (quad) menuor the Edit menu. Turn on Hide and/or FreezeIf the button is unavailable because By Layeris turned on, click By Layer to change it to ByObject.

• Right-click in the active viewport and choose aHide or Unhide command from the quad menu> Display quadrant.

Hiding and Unhiding Objects byCategory

You can hide objects by category, the basic typesof objects. For example, you can hide all lightsin your scene at one time, or all shapes, or anycombination of categories. By hiding all categories,your scene appears empty. Hidden objects, whilenot displayed, continue to exist as part of thegeometry of your scene but cannot be selected.

Isolate Selection 69

Above: All objects displayed

Below: Lights and shapes are hidden

Effects of Hiding by Category

• If you create an object in a category that ishidden, the category selection is cleared andthe objects in that category are unhidden.

• Unhiding by category has no effect on objectshidden with the controls on the Hide rollout(see Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Selection(page 1–67)). These objects remain hidden.You need to use the controls on that rollout tounhide them.

• Unhiding by selection does not return a hiddenobject to the scene if the category of the object ishidden. The Unhide All and Unhide By Namecontrols continue to work, but the effect is notseen until the category is cleared.

• Lights hidden by category continue to shine.Views through cameras and targeted lights arestill active.

• Linked, instanced, and referenced objectsbehave when hidden just as they would ifvisible.

Procedures

To hide a category of objects:

1. Open the Display panel.

2. Click Hide by Category, if necessary, to expandthe rollout. By default, all categories are turnedoff (unhidden) on this rollout.

3. Choose the category you want to hide. Allobjects of that category disappear from yourscene as soon as you make the choice.

The same Hide By Category options appear on theObject Level panel of the Display Floater (Toolsmenu > Display Floater).

To unhide a category of objects:

• Deselect the category.

All objects in the category reappear, unlesssome have been hidden by selection. See“Effects of Hiding by Category”.

Isolate Selection

Tools menu > Isolate Selection

Right-click to open the quad menu. > Display(upper-right) quadrant > Isolate Selection

Keyboard > ALT + Q

The Isolate Selection tool lets you edit a singleobject or selection set of objects while hiding therest of the scene on a temporary basis. This guardsagainst selecting other objects while workingon a single selection. It allows you to focus on


the objects you need to see, without the visualdistraction of the surroundings. It also reducesthe performance overhead that can come fromdisplaying other objects in the viewports.

When an isolated selection includes multipleobjects, you can select a subset of these, andchoose Isolate Selection once again. This isolatesthe subset. However, clicking Exit Isolationunhides the entire scene. You can’t “step back”through individual levels of isolation.

Note: Isolate Selection works only at the objectlevel. You can’t choose it while at the sub-objectlevel. If you go to a sub-object level while workingwith an isolated object, you can click Exit Isolation,but you can’t isolate sub-objects.

Tip: You can also use Isolate Unselected to isolateall of the unselected objects in your scene.

Interface

While the Isolate tool is active, a dialog labeledWarning: Isolated Selection appears.

Exit Isolation Mode—Click to end isolation, closethe dialog, and unhide the rest of the scene.

The views are restored to what they showed beforeyou chose Isolate Selection.

Introduction to Sub-ObjectSelection

This is a general introduction to sub-objectselection. For specific information, see EditableMesh (page 2–350), Editable Patch (page 2–316),Editable Poly (page 2–377), and Editable Spline(page 1–261); for a discussion of NURBS

sub-object selection, see Sub-Object Selection(page 2–449).

When you model an object, often you edit aportion of its underlying geometry, such asa set of its faces or vertices. Or when you areworking with a model, you may want to applymapping coordinates to a portion of its underlyinggeometry. Use the methods described in this topicto make sub-object selections.

Left: A selection of face sub-objects

Middle: A selection of edge sub-objects

Right: A selection of vertex sub-objects

You can access sub-object geometry through avariety of methods. The most common techniqueis to convert an object into "editable" geometrysuch as a mesh, spline, patch, NURBS, or polyobject. These object types let you select and editgeometry at the sub-object level.

If you have a primitive object and want to retaincontrol of its creation parameters, you can applya modifier such as Edit Mesh (page 2–74), EditSpline (page 2–126), Edit Patch (page 2–74), orMesh Select (page 2–151).

Spline Lines and NURBS curves and surfaces arethe exception: you can edit their sub-objects assoon as you create these kinds of objects.

You choose a sub-object level in the stackdisplay. Click the plus sign that appears next tothe name of an object that has sub-objects. This

Introduction to Sub-Object Selection 71

expands the hierarchy, showing the availablesub-object levels. Click a level to choose it. Thename of the sub-object level highlights in yellow,and the icon for that sub-object level appears tothe right of both its name and the name of thetop-level object.

Stack display shows the sub-object hierarchy, letting youchoose a sub-object level.

Editing at the Sub-Object Level

When you edit an object at the sub-object level,you can select only components at that level, suchas vertex, edge, face sub-objects, and so on. Youcan’t deselect the current object, nor can you selectother objects. To leave sub-object editing andreturn to object-level editing, click the top-levelname of the object in the modifier stack, or clickthe highlighted sub-object level.

Click the top-level object name to exit sub-object editing.

Procedures

To make a sub-object selection:

These methods assume the object has sub-objectlevels. If the object has no sub-object levels (forexample, a primitive such as a sphere), the + iconis not present. In that case, you need to collapsethe object or apply an Edit modifier before you canedit its sub-object geometry.

1. Select the object you want to edit.

2. Apply an Edit Mesh modifier (optional,depending on the object you select).

3. Open the Modify panel.

4. On the modifier stack display, click the +icon to expand the object’s hierarchy.

5. On the stack display, click to choose a level ofselection, such as vertex, edge, face, and so on.

Tip: For some kinds of objects, such as editablemeshes, shaded viewports don’t displaysub-object selections. If this is the case,right-click the viewport label and chooseWireframe or Edged Faces view.

Tip: For a detailed selection, you might want tozoom in on the object.

6. Click one of the toolbar selection buttons, andthen use the same selection methods you’d use


on objects to select the sub-object components.Or from the quad menu > Transform quadrant,choose one of the selection methods and selectthe sub-object components.

There are two alternative ways to go to a sub-objectlevel:

• Select the object and go to the Modifypanel. Then right-click the object, and use thequad menu > Tools 1 (upper-left) quadrant >Sub-objects submenu.

• Choose the selection level using buttonsin the Modify panel’s Selection rollout, if one ispresent for the type of object you’re editing.

Tip: Once you’re at a sub-object level, the INSERTkey cycles through the levels of other kinds ofsub-objects.

To exit sub-object selection mode, do one of thefollowing:

• In the stack display, click the highlightedsub-object name or the top-level name of theobject.

• If the object has a Selection rollout, click to turnoff the button of the active sub-object level.

• Right-click the object, and then in the Tools1 (upper-left) quadrant of the quad menu,choose Top-level.

• Open another command panel. This turns offsub-object editing.

If you think you’ve turned off sub-object editingbut top-level object selection is still not restored, itmight be due to the following reasons:

• Your selection is locked. Click the LockSelection Set button in the prompt line to turnit off.

• You’ve set the Selection Filter (page 1–64) onthe main toolbar to a specific category of object,

so you can’t select any of the other categories.To fix this, select All in the Selection Filter list.

Selection CommandsSelection commands appear on the quad menu,on the main toolbar, on the Edit menu, and on thestatus bar.

The simplest method of selection is to turn onSelect Object mode (page 1–73), and then clickan object in a viewport (or drag to surround theobject). While the method is simple, it is noteffective for selecting multiple objects, especiallyin a crowded scene. Other tools let you selectobjects by name, filter out the kinds of objects youwant to select, and to create named selection setsyou can select repeatedly.

See also

Basics of Selecting Objects (page 1–60)

Isolate Selection (page 1–69)

Selection Commands on the MainToolbar

The following selection commands appear bydefault on the Main toolbar.

Select Object (page 1–73)

Selection Floater (page 1–76)

Rectangular Selection Region (page 1–77)

Circular Selection Region (page 1–77)

Fence Selection Region (page 1–78)

Lasso Selection Region (page 1–78)

Paint Selection Region (page 1–79)

Selection Filter List (page 1–80)

Select Object 73

Window/Crossing Selection Toggle (page 1–85)

Named Selection Sets (page 1–81)

The Window\Crossing toggle determines how theregion selection options (on the toolbars) behave.

Selection Commands on the Edit Menu

The following selection commands appear bydefault on the Edit menu. They complement thetoolbar selection commands.

Select All (page 1–82)

Select None (page 1–82)

Select Invert (page 1–82)

Select By (page 1–83)


Select By Name (Edit Menu) (page 1–83)

Region (page 1–83)

Region Window (page 1–84)

Region Crossing (page 1–84)

Edit Named Selections (page 1–85)

Selection Command on the Status Bar

The Selection Lock Toggle (page 3–436) is locatedon the status bar. Locking a selection is usefulwhen you are doing a lot of editing on a selection,and don’t want to select something else by mistake.

Select Object

Main toolbar > Select Object

Right-click to open quad menu. > Transform quadrant> Select

Select Object lets you select an objects andsub-objects for manipulation.

Object selection is affected by several othercontrols:

• The active Selection Region type: Rectangular(page 1–77), Circular (page 1–77), Fence (page1–78), Lasso (page 1–78), or Paint (page 1–79).

• The active selection filter (All, Geometry,Shapes, Lights, and so forth).

• The state of the crossing selection tool (whichdetermines whether completely surroundedobjects or surrounded and crossing objects areselected).

You can also select objects by name using theSelect By Name list; press the H key to access thelist.

A number of objects selected together are called aselection set (page 1–63). You can name selectionsets in the Named Selection Sets field on the maintoolbar and then recall them for later use.

Note: The Smart Select command activatesthe Select Object function and, with repeatedinvocations, cycles through the available SelectionRegion methods. By default, Smart Select isassigned to the Q key; you can use Customize UserInterface (page 3–511) to assign it to a differentkeyboard shortcut, a menu, etc.

Procedures

To add or remove individual objects from a selectionset:

• Hold down the CTRL key and select the objectsto add or remove.

• Hold down the ALT key and select objects toremove from the current selection set.

Note: Adding and removing objects doesn’tchange a named selection set.


To toggle the selected/deselected state of multipleobjects in the selection set:

• Hold down the SHIFT key and drag toregion-select the objects to toggle.

To select objects and move, rotate, or scale them:

• Use the Select And Move, Select AndRotate, or Select And Scale tools, availablefrom the Main toolbar and the quad menu >Transform quadrant.

When you rotate a selection set, the pivot ofrotation depends on which option is selectedon the Use Center flyout (page 1–366) on thetoolbar.

These tools are restricted to a specific axisor plane, which you choose from the axisconstraints toolbar. Right-click any blank areaof the toolbar and activate the Axis Constraintstoolbar to access these tools.

Select By Name Button

main toolbar > Select By Name

Keyboard > H

Select By Name lets you select objects by choosingthem from a list of all objects currently in the sceneusing the Select Objects dialog (page 1–74).

Note: The Select By Name button and SelectObjects dialog are context dependent. When oneof the transforms (such as Select And Move orSelect And Manipulate) is active, the dialog letsyou choose from all objects in the scene. But whencertain modes are active, the choices in the dialogare more limited. For example, when Select AndLink is active, the dialog is entitled Select Parent,and shows linkable objects but not the child objectalready selected. Similarly, if Group > Attach isactive, the dialog lists groups but not solitaryobjects.

Select Objects Dialog

Main toolbar > Select By Name > Select Objects dialog

Edit menu > Select By > Name

Keyboard > H

The Select Objects dialog allows you to selectobjects by choosing them from a list of all objectsin the scene.

Warning: The Select By Name button and Select

Objects dialog are context dependent. When one of

the transforms (such as Select and Move or Select and

Manipulate) is active, the dialog lets you choose from all

objects in the scene. But when certain modes are active,

the choices in the dialog are more limited. For example,

when Select and Link is active, the dialog is entitled

Select Parent, and shows linkable objects but not the

child object already selected. Similarly, if Group > Attach

is active, the dialog lists groups but not solitary objects.

See also

Selection Floater (page 1–76)

Procedure

To select objects by name:


• Click the Select By Name button on themain toolbar.

• Choose Edit menu > Select By > Name.

• Press H.

The Select Objects dialog appears. Bydefault, it lists all objects in the scene.Currently selected objects are highlightedin the list.

2. Choose one or more objects in the list.

Drag, or click and then SHIFT+click to select acontinuous range of objects and CTRL+click toselect noncontinuous objects.

Select Objects Dialog 75

In the field above the list, you can type a nameto select that object. You can use the asterisk(*) and the question mark (?) as wildcards toselect multiple names.

3. Click Select.

The selection is made as the dialog disappears.

Interface

Select Objects list

Objects are listed according to the current Sortand List Types selections.

All, None, and Invert—These buttons alter thepattern of selection in the list window.

Display Subtree—Displays each item in the listso that its hierarchical branch (page 3–684) isincluded (for example, Window/Frame/Glass).Hierarchical branches are indented.

Case Sensitive—When on, Autodesk VIZ considersthe case of the characters for each item in thelist. Uppercase letters are listed above lowercaseletters. In addition, the field above the list becomescase-sensitive.

Select Subtree—When this is on and you selectan item in the list window, all of its hierarchicalchildren are selected as well.

Select Dependents—When this is on and you selectan item in the list, all of its dependent objects areselected as well. Dependents include instances,references, and objects sharing a commonmodifier (the same objects that appear green whenShow Dependencies is on in the View menu).

When both Select Subtree and Select Dependentsare on, the subtree of any newly selected node isselected, and then the dependents are selected.(Dependents of the subtree are selected, but notthe subtrees of all dependents.)

If you click Select By Name while Select and Linkis active, Select Subtree and Select Dependents arenot available.

Sort group

Specifies the sort order of the items displayed inthe list.

Alphabetical—Sorts from numeric characters atthe top, then A to Z at the bottom.

By Type—Sorts by category, using the same orderas the check boxes in the List Types group.

By Color—Sorts by object wireframe color. Thesorting order is arbitrary; the value of this option isthat objects of the same color are grouped together.

By Size—Sorts based on the number of faces ineach object. The object with the least numberof faces is listed first, followed by objects withsuccessively greater number of faces.

List Types group

Determines the types of objects to display in thelist.

All, None, and Invert—These buttons alter thepattern of activation of the List Types options.

Selection Sets group

Lists any named selection sets that you havedefined in the scene. When you choose a selection


set from the drop-down list, Autodesk VIZhighlights its component objects in the main list.

Selection Floater

Tools menu > Selection Floater

This modeless dialog lets you select objects in thescene.

You can leave this dialog up while you work inyour scene, making it easier to select objects. Theselection options are the same as those in the SelectObjects dialog (page 1–74).

You can display the Selection Floater only from theTools menu. If you use the H key during selection,the modal Select Objects dialog appears instead.

Selection Region Flyout

Main toolbar > Selection Region flyout

Selection Region flyout

The Selection Region flyout provides access to fivemethods you can use to select objects by region.Clicking the Selection Region button displaysa flyout containing the Rectangle (page 1–77),Circular (page 1–77), Fence (page 1–78), Lasso(page 1–78), and Paint (page 1–79) SelectionRegion buttons.

For the first four methods, you can select eitherobjects that are completely within the selectionregion (window method), or objects that arewithin or touched by the selection shape (crossingmethod). Toggle between the window and crossingselection methods by using the Window/CrossingSelection button (page 1–84) on the Main toolbar.


Note: The Smart Select command activates theSelect Object (page 1–73) function and, withrepeated invocations, cycles through the availableSelection Region methods. By default, SmartSelect is assigned to the Q key; you can use

Rectangular Selection Region 77

Customize User Interface (page 3–511) to assign itto a different keyboard shortcut, a menu, etc.

Procedure

To select using a region (general method):

1. Choose a Selection Region method from theflyout.

2. Drag in a viewport, then release the mouse.The first location you click is one corner of therectangle, and where you release the mouse isthe opposite corner.

Important: If you’re using Select Object (page 1–73),

you can start dragging anywhere to select a region:

on an object or off. However, if you’re using one of

the transform tools, such as Select and Move (page

1–360), start the drag operation away from an object;

that is, in an empty part of the viewport. Otherwise,

if you start dragging on an object, most likely the

software will assume you intend to select where

you click and will begin the transform operation

immediately.

To cancel the selection, right-click before yourelease the mouse.

Rectangular Selection Region

Main toolbar > Rectangular Selection Region (SelectionRegion flyout)

The Rectangular Selection Region button,available from the Selection Region flyout (page1–76), provides one of five methods you can useto select objects by region. The other methods areCircular (page 1–77), Fence (page 1–78), Lasso(page 1–78), and Paint (page 1–79).

You can use Rectangular to select either objectsthat are completely within the selection region(window method), or objects that are eitherwithin or touched by the selection shape (crossingmethod). Toggle between the window and crossing

selection methods by using the Window/CrossingSelection button (page 1–84) on the Main toolbar.


Procedure

To select using a rectangle:

1. Click the Rectangular Selection Regionbutton.

2. Drag in a viewport, then release the mouse.The first location you click is one corner of therectangle, and where you release the mouse isthe opposite corner.


Circular Selection Region

Main toolbar > Circular Selection Region (SelectionRegion flyout)

The Circular Selection Region button, availablefrom the Selection Region flyout (page 1–76),provides one of five methods you can use toselect objects by region. The other methods areRectangular (page 1–77), Fence (page 1–78), Lasso(page 1–78), and Paint (page 1–79).

You can use Circular to select either objects that arecompletely within the selection region (windowmethod), or objects that are either within ortouched by the selection shape (crossing method).Toggle between the window and crossing selectionmethods by using the Crossing Selection button(page 1–84) on the main toolbar.

Note: If you hold down CTRL while specifyinga region, the affected objects are added to thecurrent selection. Conversely, if you hold down


ALT while specifying a region, the affected objectsare removed from the current selection.

Procedure

To select using a circle:

1. Click the Circular Selection Region button.

2. Drag in a viewport, then release the mouse.The first location you click is the center of thecircle, where you release the mouse defines thecircle’s radius.


Fence Selection Region

Main toolbar > Fence Selection Region (Selection Regionflyout)

The Fence Selection Region button, available fromthe Selection Region flyout (page 1–76), providesone of five methods you can use to select objectsby region. The other methods are Rectangular(page 1–77), Circular (page 1–77), Lasso (page1–78), and Paint (page 1–79).

You can use Fence to select either objects that arecompletely within the selection region (windowmethod), or objects that are either within ortouched by the selection shape (crossing method).Toggle between the window and crossing selectionmethods by using the Window/Crossing button(page 1–85) on the main toolbar.


Procedure

To select using a fence:

1. Click the Fence Selection Region button.

2. Drag to draw the first segment of a polygon,then release the mouse button.

A "rubber-band line" is now attached to thecursor, anchored at the point of release.

3. Move the mouse and click to define the nextsegment of the fence. You can make as manysteps as you want.

4. To complete the fence, either click the firstpoint, or double-click.

A pair of cross hairs appears when you’re nearenough to click the first point. This creates aclosed fence.

Double-clicking creates an open fence, whichcan select objects only by the crossing method.


Lasso Selection Region

Main toolbar > Lasso Selection Region (Selection Regionflyout)

The Lasso Selection method lets you selectmultiple objects within a complex or irregularregion with a single mouse action.

The Lasso Selection Region button, available fromthe Selection Region flyout (page 1–76), providesone of five methods you can use to select objectsby region. The other methods are Rectangular(page 1–77), Circular (page 1–77), Fence (page1–78), and Paint (page 1–79).

You can use Lasso to select either objects that arecompletely within the selection region (windowmethod), or objects that are either within ortouched by the selection shape (crossing method).

Paint Selection Region 79

Toggle between the window and crossing selectionmethods by using the Window/Crossing button(page 1–85) on the Main toolbar.


Procedure

To select using a lasso:

1. Click the Lasso Selection Region button.

2. Drag to draw a shape around the object(s) thatshould be selected, then release the mousebutton.

Note: To cancel the selection, right-click beforeyou release the mouse.

Paint Selection Region

Main toolbar > Paint Selection Region (Selection Regionflyout)

The Paint Selection method lets you select multipleobjects or sub-objects by dragging the mouse overthem. To change the brush size, right-click thePaint Selection Region button, and then, on thePreference Settings dialog > General tab > SceneSelection group, change the Paint Selection BrushSize value.

If you hold down CTRL while specifying a region,the affected objects are added to the currentselection. Conversely, if you hold down ALTwhile specifying a region, the affected objects areremoved from the current selection.

Tip: You can also create custom tools for changingthe brush size; choose Customize menu >Customize User Interface and set keyboardshortcuts or other user interface items for the

actions Paint Selection Size Up and Paint SelectionSize Down.

Note: Paint Selection Region respects theWindow/Crossing selection toggle (page 1–85)setting. If the toggle is set to Select Region Window(page 1–84) and the brush is smaller than an objector sub-object to be selected, you won’t be able toselect the item. To resolve this, enlarge the brushor choose Select Region Crossing (page 1–84).

Note: With editable poly (page 2–377) and EditPoly (page 2–76) objects, you can also paint softselections (page 2–314) and deformation (page2–386).

The Paint Selection Region button, available fromthe Selection Region flyout (page 1–76), providesone of five methods you can use to select objectsby region. The other methods are Rectangular(page 1–77), Circular (page 1–77), Lasso (page1–78), and Fence (page 1–78).

Procedure

To select by painting a region:

1. Choose Paint Selection Region from theflyout.

2. Drag over the object(s) to select, then releasethe mouse button. As you drag, a circle showingthe brush radius appears attached to the mouse.

Note: To cancel the selection, right-click beforeyou release the mouse.

3. To change the brush size, right-click thePaint Selection Region button, and then, onthe Preference Settings dialog > General tab> Scene Selection group, change the PaintSelection Brush Size value.

You can also set keyboard shortcuts forchanging the brush size. To do so, use thePaint Selection Size Up and Paint Selection SizeDown action items. See Main User InterfaceShortcuts (page 3–605).


Selection Filter List

Main toolbar > Selection Filter

The Selection Filter list lets you restrict to specifictypes and combinations of objects that can beselected by the selection tools. For example, if youchoose Cameras, you can select only cameras withthe selection tools. Other objects do not respond.When you need to select objects of a certain type,this is useful as a quick method of freezing all otherobjects.

Use the drop-down list to select a single filter.Choose Combos from the drop-down list to usemultiple filters from the Filter Combinationsdialog (page 1–80).

Filter Combinations Dialog

Main toolbar > Selection Filter list > Combos > FilterCombinations dialog

Use the Filter Combinations dialog to create yourown custom combinations of categories to add tothe Selection Filters list (page 1–80).

You can also add specific types of objects, or ClassIDs, to the list. For example, you can set a filterthat lets you select only Sphere primitives.

Procedures

To create a combination filter:

1. Open the Selection Filter list and chooseCombos.

The Filter Combinations dialog appears.

2. Turn on one or more of the check boxes in theCreate Combination group.

3. Click the Add button.

The specified combination appears in theCurrent Combinations list to the right as acombination of the first letters of each selectedcategory.

4. Click OK.

The new combo item appears at the bottom ofthe Select Filter list.

Combos are stored in the 3dsviz.ini file, sothey remain in effect for all scenes through allsessions.

To delete a combination filter:

1. Open the Selection Filter list and chooseCombos.

The Filter Combinations dialog appears.

2. Choose one or more of the combos in theCurrent Combinations list.

3. Click the Delete button.

4. Click OK.

Named Selection Sets 81

Interface

Create Combination group

Geometry, Shapes, Lights, Cameras,

Helpers—Choose the category or categoriesyou want included in the combination.

Add—After choosing the categories to includein a combination, click this button to place thecategories, labeled with the categories’ initials, inthe Current Combinations list, as well as at thebottom of the Selection Filter list.

Current Combinations group

Current Combinations list—Lists currentcombinations. To delete one or morecombinations, choose them, and then click Delete.

Delete—After choosing one or more combinationsin the Current Combinations list, click this buttonto delete them.

All Class ID group

Class ID list—Lists all the available categories thatcan be added to custom filters for display andselection. Highlight a category to add, then clickAdd.

Add—After choosing a class to include in thefilter list, click this button to place the class in theCurrent Class ID Filter list, as well as at the bottomof the Selection Filter list.

Current Class ID Filter group

Class ID list—Lists current classes to filter. To deletea class, choose it, and then click Delete.

Delete—After choosing a class in the Current ClassID Filter list, click this button to delete the class.

Named Selection Sets

Main toolbar > Named Selection Sets

The Named Selection Sets list allows you to name aselection set and recall the selection for later use. Itsupports selection sets both at the object level andat sub-object levels. You edit named object-levelselection sets with the Named Selections Setsdialog (page 1–85)and sub-object level sets withthe Edit Named Selections dialog (page 1–88).

A named selection set is removed from the list ifall of its objects have been deleted from the scene,or if all of its objects have been removed from thenamed set in the Named Selections Sets dialog.


Selection set names are case sensitive at both theobject level and at sub-object levels.

You can transfer sub-object named selections fromone level in the stack to another. The Copy andPaste buttons let you copy named selections fromone modifier to another.

While at a specific sub-object level, such as Vertex,you can make selections and name those selectionsin the Named Selection Sets field of the toolbar.The named sets are specific to both the selectionlevel and the level on the stack.

Keep in mind the following restrictions:

• You can transfer named selections only betweenthe same type of sub-object level. In otherwords, you can transfer named selectionsfrom vertex sub-object to another vertexsub-object, but you can’t transfer it to face oredge sub-object level.

• You must transfer the selection betweenmodifiers that handle like geometry. You cancopy and paste between an editable mesh anda mesh select modifier, but you can’t copy andpaste between a mesh select modifier and aneditable spline.

• You can copy and paste between two modifiersin two different objects, as long as you’re at thesame level and both modifiers handle the sametype of geometry.

• If you change the topology of a mesh aftercreating a named selection (such as deletingsome vertices), the named selections willprobably no longer select the same geometry.

Procedures

To create a named selection set:

1. Select the objects you want to be in a set.

2. Type the name of the set in the Named SelectionSet field and press ENTER.

3. Whenever you want to access the selection,choose its name from the Named Selection Setslist.

To select a named selection set, do one of thefollowing:

• To select a single item, click it in the list.

• To select more than one item in the list, selectone, and then select others while holding downthe CTRL key.

• To deselect single items after you’ve selectedmultiple items, hold down the ALT key.

Select All

Edit menu > Select All

Keyboard > CTRL + A

This command selects all objects in the scenematching the current selection filter type (page1–80) on the main toolbar.

Select None

Edit menu > Select None

Keyboard > CTRL + D

This command deselects all objects in the sceneconforming to the current selection filter type(page 1–80) on the main toolbar.

Select Invert

Edit menu > Select Invert

Keyboard > CTRL + I

This command inverts the current selection set.All objects not currently selected are selected,and all objects currently selected are deselected,

Select By 83

respecting the current selection filter type (page1–80) on the main toolbar.

Select By

Edit menu > Select By

The Select By command provides options forselecting objects in the scene by color or by name.The Select By command also gives quick access toRectangular (page 1–77), Circular (page 1–77),Fence (page 1–78) and Lasso Selection (page1–78) Regions.

Rectangular Selection Region (page 1–77)

Circular Selection Region (page 1–77)

Fence Selection Region (page 1–78)

Lasso Selection Region (page 1–78)

Paint Selection Region (page 1–79)


Select By Name (Edit Menu) (page 1–83)

Select By Color

Edit menu > Select By > Color

Select By Color lets you select all objects havingthe same color as the selected object. Selectionis made by wireframe color (see Object ColorDialog (page 1–130)), rather than by any materialsassociated with the objects.

After you choose this command, click any objectin the scene to determine the color for the selectionset.

Tip: To select objects by material, use SchematicView (page 3–302).

Select By Name (Edit Menu)

Edit menu > Select By > Name

Keyboard > H

Select By Name lets you select objects by choosingthem from a list of all objects in the scene.

For a full description of the Select By Namefunction, see Select By Name button (page 1–74).

Tip: To select objects by material, use SchematicView (page 3–302).

Region

Edit menu > Region

Main toolbar > Window Selection or Crossing Selection

When dragging the mouse to select one or moreobjects, the Region options let you switch betweenselecting objects within, or crossed by, a windowregion that you draw with the mouse. Choose theappropriate Region submenu command.

You can automatically switch between Windowand Crossing Region Selection based on cursormovement direction. To set this up, chooseCustomize > Preferences and on the Generaltab in the Scene Selection group turn on AutoWindow/Crossing Selection by Direction.

See also

Select Region Window (page 1–84)

Select Region Crossing (page 1–84)


Select Region Window

Edit menu > Region > Window

Main toolbar > Window/Crossing Selection

Select Region Window selects only those objects completelyinside the window: the trash can and bench.

Select Region Window selects objects within aselection region (page 1–76).

After you choose this command, draw a selectionregion around any objects in the scene. Only thoseobjects that are entirely inside the region boundaryare selected.

Procedure

To select objects within a selection region:


• Choose Edit > Region > Window.

• Click the Window/Crossing Selection Toggle(page 1–85) to display the Window icon.

2. From the Main toolbar, click the SelectionRegion flyout (page 1–76) and choose amethod: Rectangular, Circular, Fence or LassoSelection region.

Note: This setting also applies to Paint SelectionRegion, but in this case the boundary is that ofthe brush, not the region. In other words, when

painting a selection region, the brush mustcompletely encompass an object or sub-objectto select it.

3. Drag to specify the region and select the objects.

Select Region Crossing

Edit menu > Region > Crossing

Main toolbar > Crossing Selection

Select Region Crossing selects objects within the windowand also objects it crosses: the trash can, bench, andstreetlight.

Select Region Crossing selects objects withinand crossed by a selection region (page 1–76)boundary.

After you choose this command, draw a selectionregion around or crossing objects in the scene.Objects within the region boundary as well asthose that intersect the boundary are selected.

Procedure

To select objects within and crossed by a selectionregion:


1. Choose Edit > Region > Crossing.

2. Click the Window/Crossing Selection Toggle(page 1–85) to display the Crossing icon.

Window/Crossing Selection Toggle 85

2. From the Main toolbar, click the SelectionRegion flyout (page 1–76) and choose amethod: Rectangular, Circular, Fence or LassoSelection region.

Note: This setting also applies to Paint SelectionRegion, but in this case the boundary is that ofthe brush, not the region. In other words, whenpainting a region in Crossing mode, the brushselects every object or sub-object it touches orencompasses.

3. Drag to specify the region and select the objects.

Window/Crossing Selection

Toggle

Main Toolbar > Crossing Selection or Window Selectionfrom the Window/Crossing toggle

Edit menu > Region > Window or Crossing

The Window/Crossing Selection toggle switchesbetween window and crossing modes when youselect by region.

• In Window mode (page 1–84), you select onlythe objects or sub-objectswithin the selection.

• In Crossing mode (page 1–84), you selectall objects or sub-objects within the region,plus any objects or sub-objects crossing theboundaries of the region.

Tip: If you’re making sub-object selections of facesand you select more faces than you want, makesure you’re in Window mode.

The Selection Region flyout (page 1–76) on thetoolbar allows you to create different-shapedboundaries.

Autodesk VIZ automatically saves theWindow/Crossing setting in the 3dsviz.ini file.

Named Selection Sets Dialog

Edit menu > Edit Named Selections

Main toolbar > Named Selection Sets

The Named Selection Sets dialog, available fromthe Edit menu, is a modeless dialog (page 3–701)that lets you create named selection sets or selectobjects to add to (or remove from) a selection set,directly from the viewport. The dialog also letsyou organize your current named selection sets,browse their members, delete or create new sets, oridentify which named selection sets a particularobject belongs to.

Note: This dialog applies to objects only. Forediting sub-object named selection sets, see EditNamed Selections Dialog (page 1–88).

See also

Named Selection Sets (page 1–81)

Using Named Selection Sets (page 1–63)

Edit Named Selections Dialog (page 1–88)

Procedures

To create a named selection:

1. In the viewport, select the objects you want togather as a selection set.

2. Click the toolbar Named Selection Setsbutton or choose Edit > Edit Named Selections.

3. On the Named Selection Sets dialog, clickCreate New Set.

4. Enter a name for the new selection set.

To add objects to a named selection set:


2. Choose the named selection set in the dialog.


3. Select one or more objects in the viewport.

4. In the dialog, click Add Selected Objects.

To remove objects from a named selection set:


2. Choose the named selection set in the dialog.

3. In the viewport, select the objects you want toremove.

4. In the dialog, click Subtract SelectedObjects.

Note: You can also remove objects byselecting them in the Named Selection Sets dialog,then clicking Remove or pressing DELETE.

To move an object from one set to another:


2. In the Named Selection Sets dialog, expand theselection sets.

3. Drag an object from one set to another.

The object is moved into the second set. If youuse CTRL+drag, the object will be copied intothe second set.

Tip: You can also copy the contents of an entireset into another, by dragging them into thedesired selection set.

To select objects in a set:

1. Highlight the set in the Named Selection Setsdialog.

2. Click Select Objects In Set to select all ofthe objects in the highlighted set.

Tip: You can also double-click the selection setto select all of its objects.

Interface

In the Named Selection Sets dialog, all of thecurrent named selection sets are displayed. Byclicking the plus (+) or minus (-) icon, you canexpand or collapse (respectively) the object list foreach set.

The buttons along the top of the dialog let youcreate or delete sets, add or remove objects from aset, select objects (independently or as a selectionset), and see which named selection set(s) aparticular object belongs to.

Create New Set—Creates a new selectionset, including any currently selected objects asmembers.

Note: If no objects are selected, an empty set iscreated.

Remove—Removes the selected object orselection set.

Note: Deleting an object or its selection set does notdelete the object; it only destroys the named set.

Named Selection Sets Dialog 87

Add Selected Objects—Adds the currentlyselected objects to the selected named selection set.

Subtract Selected Objects—Removes currentlyselected objects from the selected named selectionset.

Select Objects in Set—Selects all members ofthe current named selection.

Select Objects by Name—Opens the SelectObjects dialog (page 1–74), where you can selecta group of objects. The selected objects can thenbe added to or removed from any named selectionset.

Highlight Selected Objects—Highlights all ofthe named selection sets that contain the currentscene selection.

Status Bar—Displays thecurrent named selection set, as well as what’scurrently selected in the scene. If more than oneobject is selected, the number of selected objects isdisplayed.

Right-click menu

Additional commands are available when youright-click in the Named Selection Sets dialog.

Rename—Lets you rename the selected set orobject.

Tip: You can rename objects or sets by pressing F2on your keyboard.

Cut—Removes the selected object or set and storesit in a buffer for reuse with the Paste command,similar to the Cut command in Windows.

Tip: You can cut an object or set by pressingCTRL+X on your keyboard.

Copy—Copies the selected object or set and storesit in a buffer for reuse with the Paste command,similar to the Copy command in Windows.

Tip: You can copy an object or set by pressingCTRL+C on your keyboard.

Paste—Adds a Cut or Copied object or set intoanother set.

Tip: You can paste an object or set by pressingCTRL+V on your keyboard.

Collapse All—Collapses all expanded selection sets.

Expand All—Expands all collapsed selection sets.

Create New Set—Creates a new selection set,including any currently selected objects asmembers.

Remove—Removes the selected object or selectionset.

Add Selected Objects—Adds currently selectedobjects to the selected named selection set.

Subtract Selected Objects—Removes currentlyselected objects from the selected named selectionset.

Select Objects in Set—Selects all members of thecurrent named selection.

Select Objects by Name—Opens the Select Objectsdialog (page 1–74), and adds all objects selectedthere to the current named selection set.

Highlight Selected Objects—Highlights all of thenamed selection sets that contain the current sceneselection.

Find Next—Toggles through selection setscontaining the selected object, when used incollaboration with the Highlight Selected Objectscommand.

Tip: You can use CTRL+G to toggle through thesets.


Edit Named Selections Dialog

Make a sub-object selection. > Edit menu > Edit NamedSelections

Make a sub-object selection. > Main toolbar > NamedSelection Sets

Edit Named Selections displays the Edit NamedSelections dialog, letting you manage namedselection sets of sub-objects (page 1–70). Unlikethe Named Selection Sets dialog (page 1–85),which applies to objects only, it is a modal dialog,which means that you must close it in order towork in other areas of Autodesk VIZ. Also, youcan work only with existing named sub-objectselections; you cannot use the dialog to create newselections.

Procedure

To edit named sub-object selections:

1. At a sub-object level, create one or more namedselection sets (page 1–81).

2. Click the toolbar Named SelectionSets button or choose Edit > Edit NamedSelections.

The Edit Named Selections dialog opens,listing all named selection sets for the currentsub-object level.

3. Use the dialog controls to edit the namedselection sets.

Interface

The dialog window lists all named selections atthe current sub-object level. The buttons beneaththe windows let you delete, merge, and edit thelisted items. Use standard mouse-plus-keyboardmethods (using CTRL or SHIFT) to highlightlist items and designate them for subsequentoperations.

To rename a set, click it in the list, and then edit itsname in the one-line window immediately belowthe list.

Combine—Merges all objects from the highlightedselection sets into a single, new selection set. Select

Edit Commands 89

two or more selection sets, and then click Combineand enter a new name for the selection set. UseDelete to delete the original sets.

Delete—Deletes all highlighted items from theNamed Selections window. This affects onlyselection sets, not the sub-objects they refer to.

Subtract (A-B)—Removes the sub-objects containedin one selection set from another. Select oneitem in the Named Selections window, and thenselect the other. The top highlighted item in thewindow is operand A, and the bottom is operandB (regardless of the order of their selection). ClickSubtract (A-B) to subtract the sub-objects in thebottom item from those in the top item. Theremust be some overlap between the two selectionsets for this command to have any effect.

Subtract (B-A)—Subtracts the sub-objects in thetop selected item from those in the bottom item.

Intersection—Creates a selection set that consistsonly of sub-objects that all highlighted selectionsets have in common. Highlight two or more itemsin the Named Selections window, and then clickIntersection. In the dialog that appears, enter anew set name and click OK.

Edit CommandsThese commands on the Edit menu (page 3–385)are for basic edit manipulations of selections.

Undo and Redo work as in standard Windowsapplications. These commands are available on thedefault main toolbar as well. Autodesk VIZ alsoprovides a history of commands. Right-clickingthe Undo or Redo buttons displays a list ofcommands you can undo or redo. Not alloperations are reversible using Undo.

Note: Viewport changes such as panning andzooming have a separate Undo and Redo. SeeView-Handling Commands (page 1–33).

The Hold and Fetch command pair serves as analternative to Undo and Redo. Hold saves thecurrent state of the scene. After using Hold, youcan restore that state at a later point by using Fetch.Sometimes, when you are about to perform a riskyoperation, an alert prompts you to first use Hold.

Autodesk VIZ does not have the Cut or Pastefunctions found in many Windows applications.The Delete command simply removes the selectionfrom the scene.

Undo/Redo (page 1–89)

Undo (page 1–90)

Redo (page 1–90)

Hold (page 1–91)

Fetch (page 1–91)

Delete (page 1–91)

Undo/Redo

Edit menu > Undo or Redo

Keyboard > CTRL+Z (Undo) or CTRL+Y (Redo)

The Undo command reverses the last operationperformed on any selected objects. Redo reversesthe last operation performed by the Undocommand.

When you create an object, the Create operation isrecorded by Autodesk VIZ and displayed next tothe activated Undo command in the Edit menu.When you undo the Create operation, the RedoCreate operation is displayed next to the activatedRedo command in the Edit menu. The Undo andRedo commands in the Edit menu are unavailable


when no valid operation was performed orrecorded.

By default, there are 20 levels of Undo. You canchange the number of levels with the Customize >Preferences > General tab (page 3–537) > SceneUndo group.

Some actions cannot be undone: for example,applying the Collapse utility or Reset Transformutility, and saving a file, thus overwriting theprevious version. When you know somethingcannot be undone, use Hold (page 1–91) first.Then if you want to undo it, use Fetch (page 1–91).Hold and Fetch are also commands on the Editmenu (page 3–385).

Undo (page 1–90) and Redo (page 1–90) arealso available as buttons on the main toolbar.When you right-click the Undo or Redo button, ahistory list box opens, listing the last operationsperformed. You can highlight and reverse anynumber of these operations in sequence with therespective Undo or Redo command.

Undo

Main toolbar > Undo

Edit menu > Undo

Keyboard > CTRL+Z

Undo reverses the effect of the last action.

Right-click the Undo button to display a list ofrecent actions, where you can choose the level ofUndo.

On the Edit menu, the name of the function toundo is also displayed. By default, there are 20levels of Undo. You can change the number oflevels with the Customize > Preferences > Generaltab (page 3–537) > Scene Undo group.

Some actions cannot be undone: for example,applying the Collapse utility or Reset Transform

utility, and saving a file, thus overwriting theprevious version. When you know somethingcannot be undone, use Hold (page 1–91) first.Then if you want to undo it, use Fetch (page 1–91).Hold and Fetch are also commands on the Editmenu (page 3–385).

Procedures

To undo the most recent action:

• Click Undo, choose Edit menu > Undo, orpress CTRL+Z.

To undo several actions:

1. Right-click Undo.

2. From the list, select the level where you wantto return. You must choose a continuousselection; you can’t skip over items in the list.

3. Click the Undo button.

To exit the list without performing an action,click the Cancel button, or click somewhereoutside of the list.

Redo

Main toolbar > Redo

Edit menu > Redo

Keyboard > CTRL+Y

Use Redo to cancel the last Undo (page 1–90).

On the Edit menu, the name of the function to beredone is displayed.

Right-clicking the Redo button displays a list ofthe last actions where you can choose the level ofRedo. You must select a continuous selection; youcannot skip over any items in the list.

Hold 91

Procedure

To redo an action, do one of the following:

• Click Redo.

• Edit menu > Redo.

• Press CTRL+Y.

To redo several actions:

1. Right-click Redo.

2. From the list, click the action to return to.

3. Click the Redo button.

To exit the list without performing an action,click the Cancel button or click somewhereoutside of the list.

Hold

Edit menu > Hold

Use Hold before performing any operation thatis new or unfamiliar to you. You should also useSave or Save As before performing an operationthat can not be undone, for example, applying theCollapse utility or Reset Transform utility.

The Fetch command (page 1–91) restores thecontents of the Hold buffer containing the savedscene and its settings. If you experience anunexpected end of operation or crash after youperform Hold, you can retrieve your scene fromthe buffer with the Fetch command after yourestart Autodesk VIZ.

Additional Details

• The Hold buffer is a temporary file (vizhold.mx)in the directory specified as the AutoBackuppath in the Configure Paths dialog > Generalpanel (page 3–533).

• Fetch also deletes all recorded operations in theUndo and Redo History lists.

See also

Fetch (page 1–91)

Fetch

Edit menu > Fetch

Fetch restores the scene and settings previouslystored by the Hold (page 1–91) command.Information stored includes all geometry, lights,cameras, viewport configuration, and selectionsets.

Use Hold before you undertake an operation thatmay not work as expected or any operation thatcannot be undone. The Fetch command restoresthe contents of the Hold buffer, allowing you to getback to a particular point if you need to.

See also

Hold (page 1–91)

Delete

Make a selection. > Edit menu > Delete

Make a selection. > Keyboard > DELETE

The Delete command deletes the current selectionfrom the model.

The Undo (page 1–90) menu command restoresthe deleted selection to the model. The Undocommand is also available as a button on the maintoolbar.

Note: Actively file-linked objects (page 3–323)cannot be deleted.


See also

Undo/Redo (page 1–89)

Assemblies and Groups

Using Groups

Object on the right is a group and treated as a single entity.

Grouping lets you combine two or more objectsinto a single grouped object. The grouped objectis given a name, and then treated much like anyother object.

Group names are similar to object names, exceptthat they’re carried by the group object. In lists likethe one for the Select Object dialog, group namesappear in square brackets, for example [Group01].

The commands to manage groups are on thedefault Group menu (page 3–386).

General Features of Groups

Once you group objects, you can treat them asa single object in your scene. You can click anyobject in the group to select the group object.

When you create a group, all of its member objectsare rigidly linked to an invisible dummy object.The group object uses the pivot point and thelocal transform coordinate system of this dummyobject.

Groups can be nested. That is, groups can containother groups, up to any level.

Transforming and Modifying a Group

You can transform or modify a group as if it were asingle object, and you can animate the transforms.

When you apply a modifier to the group, thisapplies an instance of the modifier to each objectin the group. A grouped object retains its modifierinstance, even if you later remove it from thegroup.

When you apply a transform to the group, onthe other hand, this applies only to the group asa whole. More precisely, Autodesk VIZ appliestransforms to the dummy object that representsthe group.

You can transform and animate individual objectswithin a group independently from the groupitself. However, when you transform the groupitself, the transform affects all grouped objectsequally. The group transform is uniformly addedto objects that have independent motions. Ananalogy is a cage of birds, each flying around onits own, while the cage itself is being moved. Inthe case of groups, the "cage" (the dummy object)expands to surround all objects in the group,wherever the objects’ independent transforms takethem.

Accessing Objects in a Group

You can open and close groups to access theindividual objects contained in them withoutdissolving the group. These commands maintainthe integrity of the group.

Using Assemblies 93

• Open (page 1–99): Temporarily opens thegroup so that you can access its memberobjects. While a group is open, you can treatthe objects (or nested groups) as individuals.You can transform them, apply modifiers, andaccess their modifier stacks.

• Close (page 1–99): Restores the group whenyou’re finished working with the individualobjects.

Dissolving Groups

You can permanently dissolve groups by eitherungrouping or exploding them. Both commandsdissolve groups, but to different levels.

• Ungroup (page 1–99): Goes one level deep inthe group hierarchy. It separates the currentgroup into its component objects (or groups),and deletes the group dummy object.

• Explode (page 1–100): Similar to Ungroup,but dissolves all nested groups as well, leavingindependent objects.

When you Ungroup or Explode a group, theobjects within the group lose all group transformsnot on the current frame. However, objects retainany individual animation.

To transform or modify the objects within a group,you must first remove them from the group, eithertemporarily or permanently. The Open commandlets you do this.

Comparing Groups with Other SelectionMethods

Compared to the other methods you can useto combine objects in Autodesk VIZ, groupingis more permanent than selection sets, but lesspermanent than attaching objects.

• Selection sets (page 1–60): Form a temporarycollection of objects to which you apply thecurrent commands. As soon as you selectanother object, the selection set is gone.

• Named selection sets (page 1–63): Let youreselect the same pattern of objects, but thepositional relationship between those objects(their transforms) might be different each timeyou recall the named set.

• Grouped objects: Maintain their positionalrelationships unless you open the group andrearrange them. A group also keeps its identityas an individual object.

Each object in a group retains its modifier stack,including its base parameters. At any time, youcan open the group to edit an object, and thenclose the group to restore the group identity.

• Attached objects (see Editable Mesh (Object)(page 2–354)): Attached objects form asingle object. The modifier stacks of theoriginal objects are lost, including their baseparameters. You can regain the form of theoriginal objects by detaching them, but theybecome plain meshes.

• Assemblies (page 1–93) are useful for creatingcombinations of geometry and light objectsthat act as lighting fixtures.

Using Assemblies

Object on the right is an assembly and is treated as a singleentity.


Some of the objects you may merge from 3ds Maxor Autodesk VIZ are collections of objects knownas assemblies.

Assemblies are useful for creating combinationsof geometry and light objects that act as lightingfixtures; you use them to represent the housing ofa lamp and its light source or sources. You can useassemblies to represent lighting fixtures such assimple desk lamps, lighting strips, track systems,wall sconces with fluorescent or incandescentlights, chandelier systems, line voltage cablesystems, and so on.

When you create light assemblies, first you createyour objects and build a hierarchy, then set jointparameters and assign inverse kinematics (IK)(page 2–781). As a final step, you assemble theobject hierarchy. The lights you use in the assemblyhave light-multiplier and filter color controls. Youwire (page 2–758) the Dimmer and Filter Colorparameters of the Luminaire helper object to theparameters of the light sources that are membersof the light assembly.

Assemblies and Groups

Assembly functionality is a superset of grouping(page 1–92). Like grouping, creating an assemblylets you combine two or more objects and treatthem as a single object. The assembled objectis given a name, and then treated much like anyother object.

The main difference with assemblies is that,when you assemble (page 1–101) the memberobjects, you specify a head object (page 1–105): aLuminaire helper object (page 1–105). The headobject acts as a front end for the assembly, and itsparameters appear in the Modify panel when theassembly is selected. You can use these parametersto control the light sources in the assembly viaparameter wiring (page 2–758). You can createother types of head objects with MAXScript;for further information, open the MAXScript

Reference, available from the Help menu, and lookin Creating MAXScript Tools > Scripted Plug-ins> Scripted Helper Plug-ins.

Assembly names are similar to object names,except that they’re carried by the assembly. In listslike the one in the Select Object dialog, assemblynames appear in square brackets, for example[Assembly01].

You’ll find the commands to manage assemblieson the Group menu (page 3–386) > Assemblysubmenu (page 1–100).

Tip: After you’ve created one fixture and assembledthe parts, use instancing (page 3–689) to copy(page 2–1) the fixture, and then distribute them inyour scene. That way, if you change the attributesfor a light source in an assembly, the change willbe reflected in all the instanced light sources. Forexample, in the early design stages, you mightuse shadow maps, but later you might want toswitch to advanced ray-trace shadows for greateraccuracy in rendering. Using instancing makes iteasier to change such settings globally.

General Features of Assemblies

Once you assemble objects, you can treat them asa single object in your scene. You can click anyobject in the assembly to select the entire assembly.

When you create an assembly, all of its memberobjects are rigidly linked to an invisible Luminairehelper object. The assembly uses the pivot pointand the local transform coordinate system of thishelper object.

You can nest assemblies. That is, assemblies cancontain other assemblies (or groups), up to anylevel.

The head object parameters appear in the Modifypanel when the assembly is selected. You can usethe Autodesk VIZ Wire Parameters (page 2–758)functionality to connect these parameters to thoseof light objects in the assembly. For a step-by-step

Using Assemblies 95

procedure, see To wire a head object to a lightsource (page 1–102).

Luminaire types

Left: Fixed

Middle: Orientable

Right: Multiple lights

Transforming and Modifying anAssembly

You can transform or modify an assembly as ifit were a single object, and you can animate thetransforms.

Unlike a group, when you apply a modifier to theassembly, only the luminaire receives the modifier.Thus, deforming modifiers such as Bend don’thave any effect on assemblies.

When you apply a transform to the assembly, itapplies to the assembly as a whole. More precisely,Autodesk VIZ applies transforms to the dummyobject that represents the assembly. To modifymember objects, you must first open the assembly,select the objects, and then apply modifiers. Suchmodifiers do not appear in the modifier stackwhen the assembly is closed.

You can transform and animate individual objectswithin an assembly independently from theassembly itself. However, when you transform theassembly itself, the transform affects all assembledobjects equally. The assembly transform isuniformly added to objects that have independentmotions. An analogy is a cage of birds, each flyingaround on its own, while the cage itself is being

moved. In the case of assemblies, the "cage" (thedummy object) expands to surround all objects inthe assembly, wherever the objects’ independenttransforms take them.

Accessing Objects in an Assembly

You can open and close assemblies to access theindividual objects contained in them withoutdissolving the assembly. These commandsmaintain the integrity of the assembly.

• Open (page 1–103): Temporarily opens theassembly so that you can access its memberobjects. While an assembly is open, you cantreat the objects (or nested assemblies/groups)as individuals. You can transform them, applymodifiers, and access their modifier stacks.

• Close (page 1–103): Restores the assemblywhen you’re finished working with theindividual objects.

Using Make Unique with Assemblies

When you clone assemblies using instancing,and then make the clones unique, it’s importantto consider how this affects parameter wiring.Consider the following typical usage case:

1. Drag an assembly, such as a light fixture, intothe scene.

2. Clone the assembly several times using theInstance option and position the instances inthe scene.

3. To make the scene look more realistic, givingthe appearance of randomness to the objects inthe scene, make some of the assembly instancesunique and adjust their parameters to differfrom the rest of the instances.

When you clone-instance an assembly, all objectsin the assembly, along with all the parameter wires,are instanced. So if you change a wired luminaireparameter, all instanced assemblies are affected.


When the modifier stack displays an assemblyhead that is an instance or reference, the MakeUnique (page 3–491) button is active. By clickingit, the assembly head object is made uniquewith respect to its instances and all the assemblymembers are also made unique.

The parameter wiring between the uniqueassembly head and its members is de-coupled fromthe other instances of the assembly. Changing theparameters of the unique assembly head objectaffects only the parameters of its own members,not the members of the other instances of theassembly.

When multiple assembly instances are selected, theMake Unique command works the same as whenmultiple instances of an object are selected. You’reasked whether you want to make the selectedassemblies unique one with respect to each other.

• If you answer Yes, Autodesk VIZ makes theassemblies unique one with respect to anotherand parameter wires are reconnected insideeach unique assembly. That is, the parametersof each unique assembly head drives only theparameters of its own members, not that of themembers in any other assembly instances.

• If you answer No, then the selected assembliesare made unique only with respect to the otherassembly instances. The parameters of uniqueassembly heads drive only the parameters oftheir members, not the members of the otherassembly instances.

Note: If you chose to instance the controllerswhen you instanced the assembly, the Modifypanel > Make Unique command does not makethe controllers unique. You can make themunique by doing the following: Open TrackView, select the Transform track for objectwhose controller you want to make unique, andclick the Make Unique button in the Track Viewtoolbar.

Dissolving Assemblies

You can permanently dissolve assemblies byeither disassembling or exploding them. Bothcommands dissolve assemblies, but to differentlevels.

• Disassemble (page 1–104): Goes one leveldeep in the assembly hierarchy. It separates thecurrent assembly into its component objects (orassemblies/groups), and deletes the assemblyhead object.

• Explode (page 1–104): Similar to Disassemble,but dissolves all nested assemblies and groupsas well, leaving independent objects.

When you disassemble or explode an assembly,any transform animation applied to the assembly islost, and objects remain as they were in the frameat which the dissolution is performed. However,objects retain any individual animation.

To transform or modify the objects within anassembly, you must first remove them from theassembly, either temporarily or permanently. TheOpen command lets you do this.

Comparing Assemblies with OtherSelection Methods

Compared to the other methods you can use tocombine objects in Autodesk VIZ, assemblingis more permanent than selection sets, but lesspermanent than attaching objects.

• Selection sets (page 1–60): Form a temporarycollection of objects to which you apply thecurrent commands. As soon as you selectanother object, the selection set is gone.

• Named selection sets (page 1–81): Let youreselect the same pattern of objects, but thepositional relationship between those objects(their transforms) might be different each timeyou recall the named set.

• Assembled and grouped (page 1–92) objects:Maintain their positional relationships unless

Using Assemblies 97

you open the assembly and rearrange them. Anassembly also keeps its identity as an individualobject.

Each object in an assembly retains its modifierstack, including its base parameters. At anytime, you can open the assembly to edit anobject, and then close the assembly to restorethe assembly identity.

• Attached objects (see Editable Mesh (Object)(page 2–354)): Attached objects form asingle object. The modifier stacks of theoriginal objects are lost, including their baseparameters. You can regain the form of theoriginal objects by detaching them, but theybecome plain meshes.

See also

Lights (page 2–911)

Procedures

To insert and place an existing assembly:

1. Turn on AutoGrid (page 2–623).

2. Drag the assembly from a Web page (if it’s ani-drop object (page 3–134)) or from your localdisk and drop it into your scene, placing it onany existing surface.

3. On the main toolbar, click Use PivotPoint Center (page 1–367).

4. Position the assembly as you would any otherobject to aim it in a specific direction.

5. If necessary, wire (page 1–102) the assemblyluminaire to its light source or sources.

6. Select the assembly, and then use the Modifypanel settings to adjust the intensity of the lightwith the Dimmer control.

To create your own luminaire:

1. Create the geometry of the lighting fixture.

2. Create a light source (page 2–913) or on theCreate panel, click Lights to add a standardor photometric light to the geometry of thelighting fixture you just made.

3. Select all the objects in the assembly, includinggeometrical objects and lights.

Note: If using IK, leave the light targets out ofthe assembly so that you can manipulate themindependently.

4. Choose Assembly menu > Assemble.

A dialog appears requesting a name for theassembly and that you specify a head object.The only head object type available by default isLuminaire (page 1–105).

5. Enter a name for the assembly and click OK.

6. Wire (page 1–102) the assembly luminaire toits light source or sources. More informationon parameter wiring is available at the link inthis step.

If more than one light source is presentinside the assembly, create a chain of wiredparameters. Then enter the desired relationshipexpression in the expression text box.

To adjust the pivot location of an assembly:

• When you adjust the pivot point of a closedgroup or assembly, the pivot point of all groupand assembly members are affected, not onlythe pivot point of the group or assembly headobject. Therefore, we recommend that youopen the assembly, adjust the pivot of the headobject, and then close the assembly.

To use an assembly with radiosity:

• Right-click the Luminaire, choose Properties,and on the Object Properties dialog (page1–107) choose the Radiosity tab. You canexclude and control radiosity parameters of thegeometry and lights independently.


To adjust the properties of an assembly:

1. After wiring the Dimmer and Filter Colorparameters, select the Luminaire, and thengo to Modify panel to display the luminaireparameters.

2. Adjust the parameters.

The effect is visible in the viewport.

Group CommandsThe commands to manage groups are on theGroup menu (page 3–386).

Group (page 1–98)

Open Group (page 1–99)

Close Group (page 1–99)

Ungroup (page 1–99)

Attach Group (page 1–100)

Detach Group (page 1–100)

Explode Group (page 1–100)

See also

Using Groups (page 1–92)

Group

Group menu > Group

The Group command combines a selection set ofobjects or groups into a single group.

Once you group objects, you can treat them asa single object in your scene. You can click anyobject in the group to select the group object. Youcan transform the group as a single object, and youcan apply modifiers as if it were a single object.

Groups can contain other groups, up to any level.

Group names are similar to object names, exceptthat they’re carried by the group object. In listslike the one in the Select by Name dialog, groupnames appear in square brackets. For example:[Group01].

If a group is selected, its name will appear in“bolded” text in the Name And Color rollout.

All members of a group inherit the visibility ofthe parent when a visibility controller is assignedto the parent.

Groups are considered whole objects in the LightExclude/Include dialog, so you can exclude (orinclude) all objects in a group by selecting thegroup in the list. If a group is nested withinanother group, only the "outer" group is availablein the list. To exclude only certain objects ina group, open the group before displaying theExclude/Include dialog.

Procedures

To define a group:

1. Select two or more objects.

2. Choose Group menu > Group.

A dialog appears requesting a name for thegroup.

3. Enter a name for the group and click OK.

To define a nested group:

1. Select two or more groups or any combinationof groups and objects.

2. Choose Group > Group.

A dialog appears requesting a name for thegroup.

3. Enter a name for the new group object and clickOK.

Open Group 99

Open Group

Select one or more groups. > Group menu > Open

The Open command lets you ungroup a grouptemporarily, and access objects within a group.

You can transform and modify the objects withinthe group independently from the rest of thegroup, then restore the original group using theClose command.

Procedures

To open a group:

1. Select one or more groups.

2. Choose Group > Open. A pink bounding boxappears, and the objects in the group are nowaccessible.

To open nested groups:

1. Select the group within the opened group.

2. Choose Group > Open.

Close Group

Select the pink dummy object of an opened group. >Group menu > Close

The Close command regroups an opened group.For nested groups, closing the outermost groupobject closes all open inner groups.

When you link an object to a closed group, theobject becomes a child of the group parent ratherthan of any member of the group. The entire groupflashes to show that you’ve linked to the group.

Procedures

To close all opened groups nested within a maingroup:

1. Select the pink bounding box representing themain group.

2. Choose Group > Close.

To close a nested group:

1. Select any object in the nested group or itsdummy.

2. Choose Group > Close.

Ungroup

Select one or more groups. > Group menu > Ungroup

Ungroup separates the current group into itscomponent objects or groups.

The Ungroup command ungroups one level,unlike Explode (page 1–100), which ungroups alllevels of nested groups.

When you Ungroup a group, the objects within thegroup lose all group transforms that were appliedon nonzero frames, but they retain any individualanimation.

All ungrouped entities remain in the currentselection set.

Procedure

To ungroup a group:


2. Choose Group > Ungroup.

All components of the group remain selected,but are no longer part of the group. The groupdummy is deleted.


Explode Group

Select one or more groups. > Group menu > Explode

The Explode command ungroups all objects in agroup, regardless of the number of nested groups,unlike Ungroup (page 1–99), which ungroups onelevel only.

As with the Ungroup command, all explodedentities remain in the current selection set.

Warning: Ungroup and Explode remove all transform

animations that have been applied to the group as a

whole. As with the Ungroup command, all exploded

entities remain in the current selection set.

Procedure

To explode a group:


2. Choose Group > Explode.

All objects in the groups remain selected but nolonger belong to groups. All nested groups areexploded. All group dummies in the selectionare deleted.

Detach Group

Select a group. > Group menu > Open > Select one ormore objects detach. > Group menu > Detach

The Detach command detaches the selected objectfrom its group.

This command becomes active when you open thegroup by choosing the Open command from theGroup menu.

Procedure

To detach an object from a group:

1. Open the group.

2. Choose Group > Detach.

The selected objects are now separate,independent objects, no longer members of thegroup.

Attach Group

Select one or more objects. > Group menu > Attach

The Attach command makes the selected objectpart of an existing group.

With an object selected, choose this command,and then click a group in the scene.

Procedure

To attach an object to a group:

1. Select one or more objects to attach.

2. Choose Group > Attach.

3. Click any member of a closed group.

The selected objects become part of the group,which is now selected.

Note: To attach an object to an open group, clickthe pink bounding box.

Assembly CommandsThe commands to manage assemblies are availablefrom the Group > Assembly submenu.

Assemble (page 1–101)

Disassemble (page 1–104)

Open Assembly (page 1–103)

Close Assembly (page 1–103)

Attach Assembly (page 1–104)

Detach Assembly (page 1–104)

Explode Assembly (page 1–104)

Assemble 101

See also


Assemble

Select the objects to assemble. > Group menu >Assembly menu > Assemble

The Assemble command combines a selection setof objects, assemblies, and/or groups into a singleassembly, and adds a Luminaire helper object(page 1–105) as a head object (page 1–105).

Once you assemble objects, you can treat them asa single object in your scene. You can click anyobject in the group to select the entire assembly.You can transform the assembly as a single object,and you can apply modifiers as if it were a singleobject.

Assemblies can contain other assemblies and/orgroups, up to any level.

Assembly names are similar to object names,except that they’re carried by the assembly. Inlists like the one in the Select Objects dialog (page1–74), assembly names appear in square brackets.For example: [Assembly01].

Each member of an assembly inherits the visibilityof the parent when a visibility controller is assignedto the parent, providing its Object Properties> Rendering Control group > Inherit Visibilitycheck box is turned on, or if its Rendering Controlis set to By Layer and Inherit Visibility is turnedon for its layer.

Assemblies are considered whole objects in theLight Exclude/Include dialog, so you can exclude(or include) all objects in an assembly by selectingthe assembly in the list. If an assembly is nestedwithin another assembly, only the "outer" assemblyis available in the list. To exclude only certainobjects in an assembly, open the assembly beforedisplaying the Exclude/Include dialog.

See also


Procedures

To define an assembly:

1. Select two or more objects.

2. Choose Group menu > Assembly > Assemble.

The Create Assembly dialog (page 1–102)appears requesting a name for the assembly andthat you specify a head object (page 1–105).The default head object type is Luminaire (page1–105).

3. Enter a name for the assembly, chooseLuminaire (page 1–105) from the list, and clickOK.

The selected objects are assembled. Theassembly head object position and orientationis determined as follows:

• If there are multiple immediate childrenof the assembly head (for example, you’reassembling several non-hierarchicalobjects), the head object is aligned withcenter of bottom face of the assemblybounding box.

• If there’s only one immediate child of theassembly head, the assembly head pivotpoint is aligned with that object’s pivotpoint. For example, if you’re assembling asingle hierarchy, the topmost object in thehierarchy would be the single immediatechild of the assembly head.

To define a nested assembly:

1. Select two or more assemblies or anycombination of assemblies and objects.

2. Choose Group menu > Assembly > Assemble.

The Create Assembly dialog (page 1–102)appears requesting a name for the assemblyand a head object.


3. Enter a name for the new assembly object andclick OK.

To wire a head object to a light source:

1. Create a hierarchy of lights and geometricalobjects that models a lighting fixture. Sets up allthe necessary IK chains and other constraintsthat make the model behave properly when theuser interacts with it (orients, positions, aims,etc.).

Important: For any photometric lights that

you want to control with the head object, be

sure to turn on the Multiplier check box on the

Intensity/Color/Distribution rollout.

2. Select all objects in the fixture and define themas an assembly.

When the assembly is selected, the luminaireparameters Dimmer and Filter Color appear inthe Modify panel.

3. From the Animation menu, choose WireParameters > Parameter Wire Dialog.

4. The Parameter Wiring dialog (page 2–759)appears.

5. On one side of the dialog, find the assemblyand expand the branch titled Object(LuminaireHelper). Click the Dimmer item tohighlight it.

6. On the other side, find the assembly andexpand its hierarchy branch (click the + symbolin the square box). Find and expand the branchfor the light source, and then expand its Objectbranch. Click the Multiplier item to highlight it.

7. Between the two hierarchy lists, click theControl Direction arrow button that pointsfrom the selected Dimmer item to the selectedMultiplier item.

8. If you’re wiring a photometric light, skip thisstep. If you’re wiring a standard light, or anylight whose default Multiplier setting is 1.0, dothis:

• The Expression box below the selectedMultiplier item contains the word "Dimmer."Edit this to read "Dimmer/100". This dividesthe Dimmer value by 100, giving a 1:1 valueratio between it and the Multiplier setting.

9. Click the Connect button.

Now, when you change the luminaire’s Dimmersetting, the light source intensity changes aswell.

10.If you like, use the same method to wire theluminaire to any additional light sources in thelight fixture.

You can also use this method to wire theluminaire’s Filter Color parameter to any lightsources’ color settings.

Create Assembly Dialog

Select one or more objects. > Assembly > Assemble

Use the Create Assembly dialog to name a newassembly (page 1–93) and specify a head object(page 1–105) for the assembly.

Open Assembly 103

Interface

Name—Specifies the name of the new assembly.The default name is "Assembly" followed bya two-place number starting with 01 andincremented by one for each new assembly.

Choose Head Object—Lets you choose the type ofobject to serve as the assembly head object. Bydefault, this is a Luminaire helper object (page1–105), but you can create other helper objectsusing MAXScript.

Open Assembly

Select one or more assemblies. > Group menu >Assembly > Open

The Open command lets you temporarilydisassemble an assembly and access its head andmember objects individually.

You can transform and modify the headand member objects within the assemblyindependently from the rest of the assembly, thenrestore the original assembly using the Closecommand (page 1–103).

Procedure

To open nested assemblies:

1. Select the assembly within the opened assembly.

2. Choose Group menu > Assembly > Open.

Close Assembly

Select the luminaire. > Group menu > Assembly > Close

The Close command reassembles an openedassembly. For nested assemblies, closing theoutermost assembly object closes all open innerassemblies.

When you link an object to a closed assembly,the object becomes a child of the assembly parentrather than of any member of the assembly. Theentire assembly flashes to show that you’ve linkedto the assembly.

Procedures

To close all opened assemblies nested within a mainassembly:

1. Select any object in the main assembly or itsluminaire head object.

Note: If you select an object within an openedinner assembly, using Close will close only thatassembly.

2. Choose Group menu > Assembly > Close.

To close a nested assembly:

1. Select any object in the nested assembly or itsluminaire.

2. Choose Group menu > Assembly > Close.


Disassemble

Select one or more assemblies. > Group menu >Assembly menu > Disassemble

Disassemble separates the current assembly intoits component objects or assemblies.

The Disassemble command separates one level,unlike Explode (page 1–104), which separates alllevels of nested assemblies.

When you disassemble an assembly, allcomponents of the assembly remain selected, butare no longer part of the assembly. Any transformanimation applied to the assembly is lost, andobjects remain as they were in the frame at whichthe dissolution is performed. However, objectsretain any individual animation.

All disassembled entities remain in the currentselection set.

Note: If you have wired the luminaire head toany other parameters, those parameters are stillcontrolled by the wiring setup after disassemblyand are not adjustable until you apply a standardcontroller, such as Bezier Float. Use Track Viewto do this.

Explode Assembly

Select one or more assemblies. > Group menu >Assembly menu > Explode

The Explode command separates all objects inan assembly, regardless of the number of nestedassemblies and/or groups, unlike Disassemble(page 1–104), which separates one level only.

When you explode an assembly, all components ofthe assembly remain selected, but are no longerpart of the assembly. Any transform animationapplied to the assembly is lost, and objects remainas they were in the frame at which the dissolution is

performed. However, objects retain any individualanimation.

Note: If you have wired the luminaire head toany other parameters, those parameters are stillcontrolled by the wiring setup after explodingand are not adjustable until you apply a standardcontroller, such as Bezier Float. Use Track Viewto do this.

Detach Assembly

Select an assembly. > Group menu > Assembly > Open> Select one or more objects to detach. > Assembly >Detach

Select one or more objects to detach in an open assembly.> Group menu > Assembly > Detach

The Detach command detaches the selected objectfrom its assembly. If the object is a member of anested assembly, after you detach it, it is no longera member of any assembly.

This command becomes active when you open theassembly by choosing Open (page 1–103) fromthe Assembly menu.

Attach Assembly

Select one or more objects. > Group menu > Assembly> Attach

The Attach command makes the selected objectpart of an existing assembly.

With an object selected, choose this command,and then click either a closed assembly in thescene, or the head object of an open assembly.

Procedure

To attach an object to an assembly:

1. Select one or more objects to attach.

2. Choose Group menu > Assembly > Attach.

Assembly Head Helper Object 105

3. Click any member of an assembly.

The selected objects become part of theassembly, which is now selected.

Assembly Head HelperObjects

Assembly Head Helper Object

When you create an assembly (page 1–93) inAutodesk VIZ, the program automatically addsa special type of helper object called a headobject, or assembly head. This object serves asthe fulcrum of the assembly and also exposesparameters, available in the Modify panel whenthe assembly is selected, that you can wire (page2–758) to properties of objects inside the assembly.Thus, you can change and animate parameters ofassembly member objects without having to openthe assembly, as you would with a group.

Luminaire Helper Object

Create panel > Helpers > Assembly Heads > Object Typerollout > Luminaire

The Luminaire helper object serves primarily as ahead, or control, object for light fixtures. Whenyou assemble (page 1–101) a set of objects intoa light fixture, you specify that a new luminaireobject should be used as the assembly head object.The luminaire’s parameters, available from theModify panel, let you control the light sources inthe fixture. See Using Assemblies (page 1–93) formore information.

You can also add a Luminaire object separatelyfrom the Create panel, but in general it’s notnecessary.

A luminaire object groups and manages the componentsas a whole.

Interface

When a selected assembly is closed, the Modifypanel displays the Luminaire parameters.However, when you open an assembly,Autodesk VIZ shows you the parameters of thewhichever object is selected. The Luminaire objectprovides Dimmer and Filter Color parameters.You wire these to the light objects that are part ofthe assembly.

Luminaire icon in the viewport

Luminaire rollout

Dimmer—Emulates the dimmer switch of areal-world lighting fixture. The setting determinesthe percentage of the default light intensity isemitted by the light source of a lighting fixture.


You wire this parameter to one or more lightsources’ Multiplier settings.

Filter Color—An RGB color parameter that youlink to a light source’s color or filter color.

The Dimmer option can control the intensity of all the lightsin the luminaire

Select object or objects. > Edit menu > Object Properties

Select object or objects. > Right-click a viewport. >Transform (lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu >Properties

Choosing this option displays the ObjectProperties dialog (page 1–107), which lets youview and edit the properties of selected objects.

Object Properties DialogSelect object or objects. > Edit menu > Object Properties

Select object or objects. > Right-click the active viewport.> Transform (lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu> Properties

The Object Properties dialog lets you inspect anobject’s state, and set a variety of parameters thatrelate to how the object behaves in viewports andrenderings.

Although the Object Properties dialog lets youview the properties of any object, you cannotnecessarily edit all properties. Parameters thatapply to renderable geometry are unavailable fornon-renderable objects. However, parametersthat apply to any object, such as Hide/Unhide,

Freeze/Unfreeze, Trajectory, and so on, remainavailable for these non-renderable objects.

Through the Object Properties dialog you cantoggle between settings per object and By Layer(page 3–663). Object settings affect only theobject or objects selected. When an object is set toBy Layer, it inherits its properties from the layersettings, which are set in the Layer Propertiesdialog (page 3–369).

Object Properties

108 Chapter 4: Object Properties

Interface

General Panel (Object Properties Dialog) (page1–108)

Advanced Lighting Panel (Object PropertiesDialog) (page 1–114)

mental ray Panel (Object Properties Dialog) (page1–116)

User Defined Panel (Object Properties Dialog)(page 1–117)

Object Properties DialogPanels

General Panel (Object PropertiesDialog)

Edit menu > Object Properties > Object Properties dialog> General panel

Select object or objects. > Right-click. > Transform(lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu > Properties >Object Properties dialog > General panel

Layer manager > Click the icon next to an object’s name.> Object Properties dialog > General panel

This panel of the Object Properties dialog displaysgeneral object information, as well as controls forrendering the object and displaying it in viewports.

Interface

General Panel (Object Properties Dialog) 109

Object Information group

This group displays information about the selectedobject, including the following:

Name—Shows the name of the object. When asingle object is selected, you can edit this field togive the object a new name. When multiple objectsare selected, this field shows "Multiple Selected,"and cannot be edited.

Color—The color swatch shows the object’s color.You can click it to display the Object Color dialog(page 1–130) and select a different color.

Dimensions—Displays the X, Y, and Z dimensionsof the object’s extents (page 3–673).

Vertices and Faces—Display the number of verticesand faces in the object. For shapes (page 1–234),these values are the values used if you have madethe shape renderable. Faces for renderable shapesare generated only at rendering time.

Shape Vertices and Shape Curves—Appear onlyfor shape objects. Shape Vertices is the numberof vertices in the shape, and Shape Curves is thenumber of polygons. (Shape Curves is the valuethat appeared as "Polygons" in previous releases.)

These values can change over time: they are validonly for the current frame and the current view.

Parent—Displays the name of the object’s parent ina hierarchy. Shows "Scene Root" if the object hasno hierarchical parent.

Material Name—Displays the name of the materialassigned to the object. Displays "None" if nomaterial is assigned.

Num. Children—Displays the number of childrenhierarchically linked to the object.

In Group/Assembly—Displays the name of thegroup or assembly to which the object belongs.Displays "None" if the object is not part of a group.

Layer—Displays the name of the layer which theobject is assigned to.

Interactivity Group

Hide— Hides the selected object or objects.

Hidden objects exist in the scene, but do notappear in the viewports or rendered images. Tounhide hidden objects, use the Display panel (page3–496) or choose Tools > Display Floater (page3–496).

Note: Objects residing on a hidden layer areautomatically hidden, regardless of this setting.

Tip: The Layer Manager (page 3–364) is the easiestway to hide groups of objects or layers.

Freeze—Freezes the selected object or objects.

Frozen objects appear in the viewports, but cannotbe manipulated. To unfreeze frozen objects, usethe Display panel (page 3–496) or choose Tools >Display Floater (page 3–496).

Note: Objects residing on a frozen layer areautomatically frozen, regardless of this setting.

Tip: The Layer Manager (page 3–364) is the easiestway to freeze groups of objects or layers.

Display Properties group

By Object/By Layer—Toggles between objectsettings or object layer settings. Object settingsaffect only the object or objects selected. Objectlayer settings affect all objects on the same layer asthe selected object.

Note: If multiple objects are selected and havedifferent By Layer settings, this button will read‘Mixed’.

See-Through—Makes the object or selectiontranslucent in viewports. This setting has noeffect on rendering: it simply lets you see whatis behind an object in a crowded scene, andespecially to adjust the position of objects behindthe see-through object. Default=off.


Note: This option is also available in the Displaypanel (page 3–496) and by choosing Tools >Display Floater (page 3–496).

You can customize the color of see-through objectsby using the Colors panel (page 3–519) of theCustomize > Customize User Interface dialog(page 3–511).

Keyboard shortcut (default): ALT+X

Display as Box—Toggles the display of selectedobjects, both 3D objects and 2D shapes, asbounding boxes (page 3–663). Producesminimum geometric complexity for rapid displayin viewports. Default=off.


Backface Cull—Toggles the display of faces withnormals (page 3–704) that point away from theview. When on, you see through the wireframe

to the backfaces. Applies only to wireframeviewports. Default=on.


Edges Only—Toggles the display of hidden edgesand polygon diagonals (page 3–668). When on,only outside edges appear. When off, all meshgeometry appears. Applies to Wireframe viewportdisplay mode, as well as other modes with EdgedFaces turned on.


Vertex Ticks—Displays the object’s vertices as tickmarks. Default=off.



Trajectory—Displays the object’s trajectory (page3–741). Default=off.


Ignore Extents—When on, this object is ignoredwhen you use the display control Zoom Extents(page 3–459).


Keyboard shortcut: No default, but you cancustomize it using the Keyboard panel (page3–512) of the Customize > Customize UserInterface dialog (page 3–511).

Show Frozen in Gray—When on, the object turnsgray in viewports when you freeze it. (This is howall frozen objects appeared in versions prior tov4.) When off, viewports display the object with

its usual color or texture even when it is frozen.Default=on.


Vertex Channel Display—For editable mesh (page2–350), editable poly (page 2–377), and editablepatch (page 2–316) objects, displays the assignedvertex colors in viewports. The drop-down listlets you choose to display Vertex Color, VertexIllumination, Vertex Alpha, Map Channel Color,or Soft Selection Color. Default=off.

You can assign vertex colors at all sub-object levelsexcept Edge.

Note: This option is also available on the Displaypanel (page 3–496).

Map Channel—Sets the map channel for the vertexcolor. Available only when the Map Channel Coloroption is active.

Shaded—When on, shaded viewports add shadingto the vertex coloring. When off, colors areunshaded. Default=off.

Note: This option is also available on the Displaypanel and by choosing Tools > Display Floater(page 3–496).

Rendering Control group

You can set rendering control for lights to ByObject or By Layer (the latter is the default setting),and you can also change their Renderable setting.This allows you to turn individual lights on and off


in your renderings, but more importantly, you canquickly turn large groups of lights on or off usingthe Layer Manager (page 3–364).

By Object/By Layer—Toggles between objectsettings or object layer settings. Object settingsaffect only the object or objects selected. Objectlayer settings affect the rendering controls of allobjects on the same layer as the selected object.


Visibility—Controls the rendered visibility of theobject. At 1.0, the object is fully visible. At 0.0,the object is completely invisible when rendered.Default=1.0.

You can animate this parameter. AnimatingVisibility assigns a visibility controller to theobject. By default this is a Bezier float controller(page 2–699).

Renderable—Makes an object or selected objectsappear or disappear from the rendered scene.Nonrenderable objects don’t cast shadows oraffect the visual component of the rendered scene.Like dummy objects, nonrenderable objects canmanipulate other objects in the scene.

Shape (page 1–234) objects have the Renderableoption turned on by default. In addition, theyhave a Renderable check box in their creationparameters. When both check boxes are on, theshape is renderable. If Renderable in the ObjectProperties dialog is off, the shape is not renderableregardless of the state of its local Renderable checkbox.

If you apply a modifier that converts the shapeinto a mesh object, such as a Lathe modifier(page 2–142) or Extrude modifier (page 2–127),the shape automatically becomes renderableregardless of the state of its local Renderable checkbox.

For shapes, the Renderable check box in theObject Properties dialog affects the main object,so the check box also affects all instances of andreferences to the shape.

Inherit Visibility—Causes the object to inherita percentage of the visibility of its parent (asdetermined by the parent’s Visibility track in TrackView). When a group parent is assigned a visibilitytrack, Inherit Visibility is automatically turned onfor all children in the group. The children will havethe maximum visibility of the parent. Transparentmaterials and hidden objects have no effect on thisfunction.

Visible to Camera—When on, the object is visibleto cameras in the scene. When off, cameras donot view this object; however, its shadows andreflections are rendered. Default=on.

Visible to Reflection/Refraction—When on, theobject has “secondary” visibility: it appears inrendered reflections and refractions. When off,the object does not appear in rendered reflectionsor refractions. Default=on.

Note: An object can have Visible To Camera on butVisible To Reflection/Refraction off, in which casethe object renders in the scene but does not appearin reflections or refractions.

Receive Shadows—When on, the object can receiveshadows. Default=on.

Cast Shadows—When on, the object can castshadows. Default=on.

Apply Atmospherics—When on, atmosphericeffects are applied to the object. When off,atmospheric effects do not change the renderedappearance of this object. Default=on.

Render Occluded Objects—Allows special effectsto affect objects in the scene that are occluded bythis object. The special effects, typically appliedby plug-ins (page 3–716) such as Glow (page3–7), use G-buffer (page 3–681) layers to access


occluded objects. Turning on this control makesthe object transparent for the purposes of specialeffects. This makes no difference when you renderto most image files. When you render to eitherthe RLA (page 3–273) or RPF (page 3–274) fileformat, however, occluded objects appear with theeffect applied on their designated G-buffer layer.Default=off.

G-Buffer group

Allows you to tag an object as a target for a rendereffect (page 3–2) based on the G-buffer (page3–681) channel. Assigning the object a nonzero IDcreates a G-buffer channel that can be associatedwith a render effect.

Warning: The mental ray renderer (page 2–1377) does

not recognize Z-depth with G-buffers. G-buffer data is

saved on a single layer. Also, the mental ray renderer

does not support the following effects:

• Glow lens effect (page 3–7) (rendering effect)

• Ring lens effect (page 3–11) (rendering effect)

Object Channel—Setting this spinner to a nonzeronumber means that the object will receive therendering effects associated with that channel inRender Effects.

To save the channel data with the rendering,render to either the RLA (page 3–273) or RPF(page 3–274) file format.

Motion Blur group



Multiplier—Affects the length of the motion-blurstreak.

If you choose either form of motion blur here inthe Object Properties dialog, you must also chooseto apply that type of blur in the Render Scenedialog (page 2–1316).

The rendering speed of object motion blurdepends on the complexity of the geometry towhich it’s assigned. The rendering speed of imagemotion blur depends on the amount of renderedscreen space taken up by the blurring object.In most cases image motion blur renders morequickly. Object motion blur renders more quicklywhen applied to very simple objects, and imagemotion blur renders more slowly when the objecttakes up a lot of screen space, and moves all theway across the screen in a single frame.

Changing the Object Blur Multiplier value.

Enabled—When on, enables motion blur forthis object. When off, motion blur is disabledregardless of the other blur settings. Default=on.

You can animate the Enabled check box. Themain use of animating Enable is to apply motionblur over only a limited range of frames. This cansave a tremendous amount of time when you arerendering an animation.

You can enable motion blur for lights andcameras. With the mental ray renderer, movinglights and cameras can generate motion blur.However, they do not generate motion blur withthe default scanline renderer.

• None—Turns off the state of motion blur for theobject.


• Object—Object motion blur (page 3–706)provides a time-slice blur effect.

• Image—Image motion blur (page 3–688) blursthe object’s image based on the velocity of eachpixel.

Advanced Lighting Panel (ObjectProperties Dialog)

Select object or objects. > Edit menu > Object Properties> Object Properties dialog > Advanced Lighting panel

Select object or objects. > Right-click. > Transform(lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu > Properties >Object Properties dialog > Advanced Lighting panel

Layer manager > Click the icon next to an object’s name.> Object Properties dialog > Advanced Lighting panel

This panel of the Object Properties dialog lets youcustomize how objects behave under advancedlighting (radiosity (page 2–1350)).

Interface

Selection Information rollout

Num. Geometric Objects—The number ofgeometric objects present in the current selection.

Num. Light Objects—The number of lights presentin the current selection.

Geometric Object Radiosity Properties rollout

Exclude from Adv. Lighting Calculations—When on,the current selection is excluded from advancedlighting (radiosity). Objects excluded fromadvanced lighting will not contribute to indirectillumination.

By Layer/By Object—Toggles between objectsettings and object layer settings. Object settingsaffect only the object or objects selected. Objectlayer settings affect all objects on the same layer as

Advanced Lighting Panel (Object Properties Dialog) 115

the selected object. Most settings on this rolloutare available only when this toggle is set to ByObject. Default=By Layer.

Note: If multiple objects with different settings areselected, this button will read “Mixed.”

Adv. Lighting General Properties group

Cast Shadows—Determines whether objects willcast shadows in the radiosity solution.

Note: When disabling Cast Shadows, you shouldalso turn off Diffuse (reflective & translucent)and Specular (transparent) in the Radiosity-onlyProperties group. If these switches are left turnedon, objects will still generate light that can produceartifacts in the solution.

Receive Illumination—Determines whether objectswill receive indirect illumination.

Num. Regathering Rays Multiplier— Lets youadjust the number of rays cast by this object, perpixel. If an object looks “blotchy” after rendering,Increasing this value can improve its appearance.Default=1.0.

Tip: Increasing this setting is most useful forobjects with large, smooth surfaces. More complexgeometry tends not to show advanced lightingartifacts as much as smooth surfaces do.

Radiosity-only Properties group

Diffuse (reflective & translucent)—When on, theradiosity solution will process diffuse reflectionand translucency (page 3–743) of the selectedobjects.

Specular (transparent)—When on, radiosity willprocess transparency of the selected objects.

Exclude from Regathering—When on, objectsare excluded from the regathering process whenrendering.

For more information on the Radiosity-onlyProperties group, see Radiosity Control Panel(page 2–1360).

Object Subdivision Properties group

Use Global Subdivision Settings—When on, theobject’s meshing settings correspond to the globalsubdivision settings on the Radiosity ControlPanel. When off, you can change the meshingsettings for each object. Default=on.

• Subdivide—When on, a radiosity mesh iscreated for the objects regardless of theglobal meshing state. The subdivision that isperformed is determined by the Use AdaptiveSubdivision switch. When off, the settingsin the Mesh Settings group are unavailable.Default=on.

• Use Adaptive Subdivision—Toggles adaptivesubdivision. Default=on.

Tip: Adaptive meshing is computed for an objectonly if Shoot Direct Lights is turned on in theRadiosity Meshing Parameters rollout (page2–1367).

Note: The Mesh Settings group parametersContrast Threshold, Min Mesh Size, and InitialMesh Size are available only when Use AdaptiveSubdivision is turned on.

Mesh Settings group

Max Mesh Size—The size of the largest faces afteradaptive subdivision. Default=36” for imperialunits and 100cm for metric units.

When Use Adaptive Subdivision is off, Max MeshSize sets the size of the radiosity mesh in worldunits.

Min Mesh Size—Faces are not divided smaller thanthe minimum mesh size. Default=3 inches forImperial units and 10cm for metric units.


Contrast Threshold—Faces that have vertexilluminations that differ by more than the ContrastThreshold setting are subdivided. Default=75.0.

Initial Mesh Size—When improving the face shape,faces that are smaller than the Initial Mesh Sizeare not subdivided. The threshold for decidingwhether a face is poorly shaped also gets largeras the face size is closer to the Initial Mesh Size.Default=12 inches for Imperial units and 30cm formetric units.

Radiosity Refine Iterations—The number of refineiterations in the radiosity process for the currentselection.

Iterations Done—The number of refine iterationsperformed on the current selection.

Light Object Radiosity Properties rollout

These options are available only for light objects.

Exclude from Radiosity Processing—When on, thecurrent selection is excluded from the radiositysolution. When lights are excluded from radiosity,their direct contribution is only used for rendering.This option is available only when By Object isselected.


Note: If multiple objects are selected and havedifferent settings, this button reads “Mixed.”

Store Direct Illumination in Mesh—When on, thelight’s direct illumination is added to the radiositymesh, even if the global rendering mode is RenderDirect Illumination. This is comparable to theRe-Use Direct Illumination option when renderingradiosity, but only for this particular light.

When off, the light’s direct illumination isused only when you render the scene. This iscomparable to the Render Direct Illuminationoption.

for more information about the Re-Use DirectIllumination and Render Direct Illuminationoptions, see Rendering Parameters Rollout(Radiosity) (page 2–1371). In general, re-usingdirect illumination stored in the radiosity meshimproves render time, but shadows appear coarseand inaccurate unless the mesh is very fine.Rendering direct illumination and shadows (usingthe radiosity mesh to provide only indirect light)takes more time but gives you a more finished andaccurate image.

mental ray Panel (ObjectProperties Dialog)

Edit menu > Object Properties > Object Properties dialog> mental ray panel

Select object or objects. > Right-click. > Transform(lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu > Properties >Object Properties dialog > mental ray panel

Layer manager > Click the icon next to an object’s name.> Object Properties dialog > mental ray panel

This panel of the Object Properties dialog supportsmental ray rendering (page 2–1377); specifically,the indirect illumination features caustics (page2–1391) and global illumination (page 2–1392).They control whether objects generate or receivecaustics or global illumination.

These settings are ignored where they aren’tappropriate. For example, lights can be set togenerate caustics, but for a light, the ReceiveCaustics setting has no effect, as lights aren’trenderable. Similarly, these settings have nomeaning for cameras.

User Defined Panel (Object Properties Dialog) 117

Interface

The mental ray panel contains parameters for the mentalray renderer.

Indirect Illumination group

Generate Caustics—When on, the object cangenerate caustics. (For this to happen, Causticsmust also be enabled using the Render Scenedialog’s Caustics And Global Illumination rollout(page 2–1404).) When off, the object does notgenerate caustics. Default=off.

Receive Caustics—When on, the object can receivecaustics. That is, caustic effects are cast ontothis object. (For this to happen, Caustics mustalso be enabled using the Caustics And GlobalIllumination rollout.) When off, the object doesnot receive caustics. Default=on.

Generate Global Illumination—When on, the objectcan generate global illumination. (For this to

happen, Global Illumination must also be enabledusing the Caustics And Global Illuminationrollout.) When off, the object does not generateglobal illumination. Default=off.

Receive Global Illumination—When on, the objectcan receive global illumination. That is, reflectedlight is cast onto this object. (For this to happen,Global must also be enabled using the CausticsAnd Global Illumination rollout.) When off,the object does not receive global illumination.Default=on.

User Defined Panel (ObjectProperties Dialog)

Edit menu > Object Properties > Object Properties dialog> User Defined panel

Select object or objects. > Right-click. > Transform(lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu > Properties >Object Properties dialog > User Defined panel

Layer manager > Click the icon next to an object’s name.> Object Properties dialog > User Defined panel

This panel of the Object Properties dialog letsyou enter properties or comments that you defineyourself.


Interface

URL—This field lets you assign a URL to theselected object. This does not affect the object inany way; it is only for reference.

User Defined Properties—In this text box, you canenter properties for the object, or comments aboutit, that you define yourself. Autodesk VIZ doesn’tuse these properties, but it saves them with thescene, and they reappear whenever you view theObject Properties dialog for the object.

Rename Objects Tool

Tools menu > Rename Objects

The Rename Objects tool helps you rename severalobjects at once.

Interface

Selected—When chosen, renaming affectscurrently selected objects.

Pick—Click to display a Pick Objects to Renamedialog (page 1–74) to choose which objects torename.

Base Name—Enter a base name for all objects. Thetoggle enables or disables this name.

Prefix—When on, lets you enter a string that willbe a prefix to the name of all renamed objects.

Remove First N Digits—When on, the first Ncharacters in the base name are removed fromobject names. The spinner sets the value of N.

Suffix—When on, lets you enter a string that willbe a suffix to the name of all renamed objects.

Remove Last N Digits—When on, the last Ncharacters in the base name are removed fromobject names. The spinner sets the value of N.

Numbered—When on, lets you number objectnames incrementally.

• Base Number—The base number appended tothe name of the first renamed object.

Expression Techniques 119

• Step—The step by which the base number isincremented in succeeding renamed objects.

Rename—Click to rename the affected objects andhave your changes take effect.

Expression TechniquesIn Autodesk VIZ, you can use mathematicalexpressions (rather than constant numbers) toexpress parameter values. For example, you coulduse the expression 24*6 to represent the number144.

You can use mathematical expressions to controlthe following object properties:

• Object parameters, such as length, width, andheight

• Transform and modifier values, such as anobject’s position coordinates

Parameter wiring (page 2–758) and the numericalexpression evaluator (page 1–12) use expressions,which are described in this topic.

An expression is a mathematical function thatreturns a value. You can use expressions to controlthe following scene elements:

Scene element Calculatable property

Creationparameters

Any numeric creation parameter

Transforms Position [X, Y, Z]

X Rotation

Y Rotation

Z Rotation

Scale [X%, Y%, Z%]

Modifiers Any numeric modifier parameter(including creation parameters)

Materials Colors [R, G, B]

Any numeric material parameter

Note: Expressions only work with the individualXYZ components of Euler rotation. You can’tassign an expression to TCB rotation or otherkinds of rotation controllers.

The links below are to the sections that follow inthis topic.

Operators (page 1–119)

Variables (page 1–120)

Functions (page 1–121)

See also

Trigonometric Functions (page 1–122)

Vectors (page 1–123)

Operators

In the following tables, p and q are any scalar valueor expression, V and W are any vector value orexpression. (The character "x" is used as the vectorcross-product operator.)

Scalar Operators

These are the arithmetic operators for scalarvalues:

Operator Use Meaning

+ p+q Addition

- p-q Subtraction

- -p Additive inverse

* p*q Multiplication

/ p/q Division

^ p^q power (p to thepower of q)

** p**q ^ and ** are thesame operation

You can also use logical (Boolean) operators withscalar values. These operators all return 1 if true, 0otherwise:



= p=q equal to

< p<q less than

> p>q Greater than

<= p<=q less than or equalto

>= p>=q Greater than orequal to

| p|q Logical OR,returns 1 if eitherp or q is nonzero;otherwise, returns0

& p&q Logical AND,returns 1 if p and qare both nonzero;otherwise, returns0

Tip: Logical operators are useful with the "if "function.

Vector Operators

For vectors that have a variable name, you can usea special component operator (.) to refer to thethree scalar components of the vector:

Use Meaning

V.x first component (X)

V.y second component (Y)

V.z third component (Z)

These are the operators for vector arithmetic:


+ V+W Addition

- V-W subtraction

* p*V scalar multiplication

* V*p scalar multiplication

* V*W dot product

X VxW cross product

/ V/p scalar division

Operator Precedence

Expressions have eight levels of precedence. Thehigher the operator is on the list, the earlier it isevaluated.

Operator Level of Precedence

- + as unary operators, as in -8, +25

. the component operator, as in V.x

** ^

X cross product

* /

+ -

= < > <= >=

| &

Parentheses are a special case. They are a groupingor subexpression operator that is provided so youcan override the precedence order of the otheroperators.

Variables

In expressions used for parameter wiring (page2–758) and the numerical expression evaluator(page 1–12), you can use predefined variables withconstant values.

Predefined Variables with Constant Values

These are the predefined variables that have aconstant value (variable names are case-sensitive):

VariableName

ConstantValue

Use

pi 3.14159 Ratio of a circle’scircumference to its diameter.

e 2.71828 Base of natural logarithms.

TPS 4800 Ticks per second. The tickis the basic time unit ofAutodesk VIZ animation.

Expression Techniques 121

Functions

Following is a list of the functions provided forexpressions. In this list, p, q, and r represent scalarvalues or scalar expressions. V and W representvector values or vector expressions.

To use a function in an expression, enter the nameof the function and appropriate arguments to it.

Trigonometric Functions

The sine, cosine, and tangent functions take anangle in degrees and return a floating-point value.The arc functions take a floating-point value andreturn a value in degrees.

Function Meaning

sin(p) sine

cos(p) cosine

tan(p) tangent

asin(p) arc sine

acos(p) arc cosine

atan(p) arc tangent

Hyperbolic Functions

Hyperbolic functions take a floating-point valueand return a floating-point value.

Function Meaning

sinh(p) hyperbolic sine

cosh(p) hyperbolic cosine

tanh(p) hyperbolic tangent

Conversion Between Radians and Degrees

Function Meaning

radToDeg(p) takes p in radians andreturns the same angle indegrees

degToRad(p) takes p in degrees andreturns the same angle inradians

Rounding Functions

Function Meaning

ceil(p) smallest integer greaterthan or equal to p

floor(p) largest integer less than orequal to p

Standard Calculations

Function Meaning

ln(p) natural (base e) logarithm

log(p) common (base 10)logarithm

exp(p) exponential functionexp(p)=e^p

pow(p,q) p to the power of q (p^q)

sqrt(p) square root

abs(p) absolute value

min(p,q) minimum returns p or q,depending on which issmaller

max(p,q) maximum returns p or q,depending on which isgreater

mod(p,q) remainder of p divided by q

Conditional Functions

Function Meaning

if(p,q,r) works like the commonspreadsheet "if" (If p isnonzero then "if" returns q,otherwise "if" returns r.)

vif(c,V1,V2) "Vector If" (Value is V1 if c istrue, else V2.)

Vector Handling Functions

Function Meaning

length(V) length of V


Function Meaning

comp(V,i) i’th component (I=0,1,2):comp([5,6,7],1)=6

unit(V) returns a unit vector in thesame direction as V

Note: The comp function is an alternative to thenotation V.x, V.y, V.z.

Special Animation Function

Function Meaning

noise(p,q,r) 3D noise: returns a randomlygenerated position

The arbitrary values p, q and r, are used as arandom-generation seed. You can reuse thesevalues to ensure that noise() returns the samevalue.

Trigonometric Functions

This topic is a quick review for readers who need areminder about this area of mathematics. If you’refamiliar with trigonometry, you can skip this topic.If you find this topic difficult to follow, you mightconsult a more basic reference on mathematics.

Trigonometric functions are principally used tomodel or describe:

• The relation between angles in a triangle (hencethe name).

• Rotations about a circle, including locationsgiven in polar coordinates.

• Cyclical or periodic values, such as soundwaves.

The three basic trigonometric functions arederived from an angle rotating about a unit circle.

Trigonometric functions based on the unit circle

The tangent function is undefined for x=0.Another way to define the target is:

Because XYR defines a right-angled triangle, therelation between the sine and cosine is:

The graphs of the basic trigonometric functionsillustrate their cyclical nature.

Graphs of basic trigonometric functions

The sine and cosine functions yield the samevalues, but the phase differs along the X axis by∏/2: in other words, 90 degrees.

The inverse functions for the trigonometricfunctions are the arc functions; the inverse only

Vectors 123

applies to values of x restricted by –∏/2 ≤ X ≤ ∏/2.The graphs for these functions appear like thebasic trigonometric function graphs, but turnedon their sides.

Graphs of basic arc functions

The hyperbolic functions are based on theexponential constant e instead of on circularmeasurement. However, they behave similarly tothe trigonometric functions and are named forthem. The basic hyperbolic functions are:

Graphs of basic hyperbolic functions

Vectors

This topic is a quick review for readers who needa reminder about vector arithmetic. If you’refamiliar with vectors and vector calculations,you can skip this topic. If this topic is difficult tofollow, you might consult a more basic referenceon mathematics.

A vector expresses a length and a direction ina particular space. The vector is expressed as apoint; for example, [5, 5, 7]. The length is thedistance from the origin to that point, and thedirection is similarly from the origin to (andthrough) the point.

In Autodesk VIZ, vectors have three values anddescribe positions in three-dimensional space.They can also represent percent scaling in X, Y,and Z; and (more abstractly) describe locations inRGB color space.

Unit Vectors and Basic Vectors

A unit vector has a length of one. Unit vectors areoften used to express direction only. The threebasic vectors are unit vectors that describe thethree axes (X, Y, and Z) of 3D space.

Basic vectors and the XYZ axes

Adding and Subtracting Vectors

Adding two vectors creates a new vector thatcombines the length and direction of the


original two. Vector addition is commutative:V+W=W+V.

Adding two vectors

Subtracting two vectors gives the vector betweenthe two points.

Subtracting two vectors

Scalar Multiplication and Division

Multiplying a vector by a scalar changes thevector’s length, as does dividing the vector by ascalar.

Vector Length and Direction

The length of a vector is obtained from thePythagorean theorem.

In Autodesk VIZ expressions, the length()function returns this value.

The direction of the vector is the vector dividedby its length; this gives you a unit vector with thesame direction.

The distance between two points is the length ofthe vector between them.

Subtracting vectors to obtain a distance

Creating Geometry

The solid 3D objects in the scene, and the objectsused to create them, are known as geometry.Usually, geometry comprises the subject of yourscene and the objects that you render.

This section describes the types of geometry youcan create using the Create panel (page 3–479).

Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects (page1–125)

Geometric Primitives (page 1–139)

Shapes (page 1–234)

Compound Objects (page 1–285)

Systems (page 1–334)

See also

Surface Modeling (page 2–311)

Basics of Creating andModifying ObjectsIn Autodesk VIZ, you model basic parametric(page 3–711) objects into more complex ones by:

• Changing parameters (page 3–711)

• Applying modifiers

• Directly manipulating sub-object geometry

This section provides an introduction totechniques for creating and modeling objects.

The Create panel (page 3–479) contains controlsfor creating new objects, the first step in buildinga scene. Despite the variety of object types, thecreation process is consistent for most objects.

The Modify panel (page 3–480) provides controlsto complete the modeling process. Any objectcan be reworked, from its creation parametersto its internal geometry. Both object-space andworld-space modifiers let you apply a wide rangeof effects to objects in your scene. The modifierstack allows editing of the modifier sequence.

These topics will help you start creating andmodifying objects:

Using the Create Panel (page 1–126)

Identifying the Basic Building Blocks (page 1–127)

Creating an Object (page 1–128)

Using the Modify Panel (page 2–28)

Using the Modifier Stack (page 2–30)

Editing the Stack (page 2–32)

Creating Geometry

126 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry

Modifying at the Sub-Object Level (page 2–35)

Using the Stack at the Sub-Object Level (page2–36)

Modifying Multiple Objects (page 2–38)

How Instanced Modifiers Work (page 2–39)

Transforms, Modifiers, and Object Data Flow(page 2–24)

Using the Create Panel

The Create panel provides the controls for creatingobjects and adjusting their parameters.

To access the Create panel:

1. Click the Create tab in the commandpanels (page 3–478).

By default, this panel is open when you startthe program. If the command panel isn’tvisible, choose it from the Customize Displayright-click menu (page 3–507).

2. Click an object type to display its Parametersrollout.

The Creation Process

The actual creation of objects is accomplishedwith a single click of the mouse, a drag, or somecombination, depending on the object type. Thisis the general sequence:

• Choose an object type.

• Click or drag in a viewport to create an objectof approximate size and location.

• Adjust the object’s parameters and position,either immediately or later.

See Creating an Object (page 1–128).

Create Panel Interface

Controls in the Create panel vary depending onthe kind of object you are creating. However,certain controls are always present, and others areshared by nearly all object types.

Category—Buttons at the top of the panel accessthe six main categories of objects. Geometry is thedefault category.

Subcategory—A list lets you select subcategories.For example, subcategories under Geometryinclude Standard Primitives, Extended Primitives,Compound Objects, Patch Grids, NURBSSurfaces, AEC Extended, Stairs, Doors, andWindows.

Each subcategory contains one or more objecttypes. If you’ve installed plug-in components foradditional object types, these might be groupedas a single subcategory.

Object Type—A rollout contains labeled buttonsfor creating objects in a particular subcategory.

Name and Color—The Name shows theautomatically assigned name of the object. Youcan edit this name or replace it with another.(Different objects can have the same name, thoughthis is not recommended.) Clicking the squarecolor swatch brings up an Object Color dialog(page 1–130) to change the color of the object as itappears in viewports (the wireframe color).

Creation Method—This rollout provides a choice ofhow you use the mouse to create an object. Forexample, you can use either the center (radius) oredge (diameter) to define the size of a Circle shape.

A default creation method is always selectedwhen you access the tool. If you want to use analternate method, choose the option before youcreate the object. The creation method has noeffect on a finished object; the options are for yourconvenience during creation.

Identifying the Basic Building Blocks 127

Keyboard Entry—This rollout lets you entercreation parameters from the keyboard forgeometric primitive and shape objects.

Parameters—This rollout shows creationparameters: the defining values for an object.Some parameters can be preset, while othersare only for adjustment after an object has beencreated.

Other rollouts—Additional rollouts can appearon the Create panel, depending on what kind ofobject you create.

Identifying the Basic BuildingBlocks

On the Create panel, the categories for Geometryand Shapes supply the "building blocks" tocombine and modify into more sophisticatedobjects. These parametric (page 3–711) objectsare ready to use. By adjusting values and turningsome buttons on or off, you can create dozens of"new" building blocks from the ones listed here.

You can choose these types from the sub-categorieslist on the Create panel.

Geometry Types

Standard Primitives—Relatively simple 3D objectssuch as Box, Sphere, and Cylinder, as well asTorus, Plane, Cone, GeoSphere, Tube, Teapot, andPyramid.

Extended Primitives—More complex 3D objectssuch as Capsule, OilTank, Spindle, Hedra, TorusKnot, and Prism.

Compound Objects—Compound objects includeScatter, Connect, ShapeMerge, Booleans, Terrain,and Loft. Booleans combine the geometry of twoobjects using union, intersection, and differenceoperations. ShapeMerge lets you embed a splineshape into a geometric mesh. Loft (page 1–312)

uses shapes as cross sections along a path toproduce a 3D object.

Patch Grids—Simple 2D surfaces ready formodeling or repairing existing meshes.

NURBS Surfaces—Analytically generated surfacesespecially suited for modeling surfaces withcomplicated curves.

AEC Extended—Elements useful for AEC design,including Terrain, Foliage (plants and trees),Railing, for creating custom railings, and Wall, forthe production of Wall objects.

Stairs—Four types of stairs: Spiral, L-Type,Straight, and U-Type.

Doors—Parametric door styles include Pivot,BiFold, and Sliding.

Windows—Parametric window styles includeAwning, Fixed, Projected, Casement, Pivoted, andSliding.

Note: Default materials are automatically appliedto Foliage, as well as to the following object types:Railing, Stairs, Doors, and Windows.

Shape Types

Splines—Common 2D shapes such as a Line,Rectangle, Circle, Ellipse, Arc, Donut, NGon, andStar. Text shapes support TrueType fonts. Sectioncreates a spline from the cross-section of an object.Helix is a 3D shape.

NURBS Curves—A Point Curve and CV Curveprovide the starting points for complex surfaces.See Introduction to NURBS Modeling (page2–443).

Extended Splines—More complex 2D shapesincluding Walled Rectangle, Channel Spline,Angle Spline, Tee Spline, and Wide Flange Spline.Extended splines can be used in architectural andsimilar applications.


Varying the Parameters

Unlike physical building blocks, with fixed shapeand size, you can change the parameters of objectsand shapes to dramatically alter topology. Here aresome examples of changes you can make:

• Turn a cone into a four-sided pyramid byreducing the number of sides and turning theSmooth option off.

• Slice any circular object as if it were a pie.

• Render splines directly at any assigned width.

• Break, detach, and divide wall segments.

• Change the number of risers without affectingthe overall rise of the stairs.

Collapsing Primitives to Base Geometry

You can collapse a building-block object to oneof a variety of base geometric types once you nolonger need access to its creation parameters. Forexample, you can convert any standard primitiveto an editable mesh (page 2–350), editable poly(page 2–377), editable patch (page 2–316), orNURBS (page 2–456) object, and you can converta spline shape to an editable mesh, editable spline(page 1–261), or NURBS object. The easiest wayto collapse an object is to select it, right-click it,and choose a "Convert to" option from the quadmenu > Transform quadrant. This lets you useexplicit editing methods with the object, such astransforming vertices. You can also use the Modifypanel to collapse a primitive.

Mapping Coordinates

Most Geometry objects have an option forgenerating mapping coordinates. Objects needthese mapping coordinates if you plan to applya mapped material to them. Mapped materialsinclude a wide range of rendered effects, from2D bitmaps to reflections and refractions. SeeMapping Coordinates (page 2–1036) and UsingMaps to Enhance a Material (page 2–1033). If

mapping coordinates have already been applied toan object, the check box for this feature is turnedon.

Creating an Object

With some variations, the steps shown in thefollowing images apply to creating any type ofobject on the Create panel. For specific examples,see the Procedures section in any object’s topic.

1. Diameter defined

2. Height defined

3. Sides increased

4. Height segments defined

Creating an Object 129

To choose an object category:

1. Click the Create tab to view the Createpanel.

2. Click one of the buttons at the top of the Createpanel. For example, Geometry.

3. Choose the subcategory Standard Primitivesfrom the list.

A number of buttons appear on the ObjectType rollout.

To choose an object type:

• Click the button for the type of object you wantto create.

The button highlights, showing that it isactive. Four rollouts appear: Name andColor, Creation Method, Keyboard Entry, andParameters.

To choose a creation method (optional):

You can accept the default method and skip thisstep.

• Choose a method in the Creation Methodrollout.

To preset the creation parameters (optional):

You can adjust all creation parameters after youcreate an object. Skip this step if you prefer.

• In the Parameters rollout, you can setparameters before you create an object.However, the values of parameters you set bydragging the mouse (for example, the Radiusand Height of a cylinder) have no effect untilafter you create the object.

To create the object:

1. Put the cursor at a point in any viewport whereyou want to place the object, and hold themouse button down (do not release the button).

2. Drag the mouse to define the first parameterof the object; for example, the circular base ofa cylinder.

3. Release the mouse button. The first parameteris set with this release.

4. Move up or down without touching the mousebutton. This sets the next parameter; forexample, the height of a cylinder.

If you want to cancel: Until you complete thenext step, you can cancel the creation processwith a right-click.

5. Click when the second parameter has the valueyou want, and so on.

The number of times you press or release themouse button depends on how many spatialdimensions are required to define the object.(For some kinds of objects, such as Line, thenumber is open-ended.)

When the object is complete, it is in a selected stateand ready for adjustments.

To name the object (optional):

• Highlight the default object name in the Nameand Color rollout, and then enter a name. Thisoption is available only when a single object isselected.

Naming objects is a good practice fororganizing your scenes. To name a set ofselected objects, see Named Selection Sets(page 1–63).

To change the object’s display color (optional):

• The color swatch next to the object name fielddisplays the selected object’s color and lets youselect a new one. The color is the one used todisplay the object in viewports. Click the colorswatch to display the Object Color dialog (page1–130).

You can also change object colors with Layers(page 3–364).


To adjust the object’s parameters:

• You can change the creation parametersimmediately after you complete an object, whileit’s still selected. Or, you can select the objectlater and adjust its creation parameters on theModify panel.

While making adjustments, you can use viewportnavigation controls like Zoom, Pan, and ArcRotate to change your view of the selected object.You can also adjust the time slider.

To end the creation process:

While the object type button remains active, youcan continue creating objects of the same typeuntil you do one of the following:

• Select an object other than the one you createdmost recently.

• Transform an object.

• Change to another command panel.

• Use commands other than viewport navigationor the time slider.

After you end the creation process, changingparameters on the Create panel will have no effecton the object; you must go to the Modify panelto adjust the object’s parameters. See Using theModify Panel (page 2–28).

Assigning Colors to ObjectsAutodesk VIZ is a truecolor (page 3–743)program. When you pick a color in the program,you are specifying 24 bits of color data, whichprovide a range of over 16 million colors.

Object wireframe colors are used primarily as anorganizational tool. Object naming strategies,named selection sets, and object wireframe color

strategies provide a rich set of tools for organizingeven the most complex scenes.

You can use two dialogs to specify colors:

• The Object Color dialog (page 1–130) containstwo preset palettes of colors that you use to setan object’s wireframe color. This is also thesurface color you see in a rendered viewport.The two color palettes are Default palette andAutoCAD ACI palette.

• The Color Selector (page 1–132) is a genericdialog that you use to define any color in the24-bit color range. For the purpose of definingcolors to assign to objects, it is available onlythrough the Default palette.

Note:

The Layers functionality lets you organize yourscene and can also be used for assigning objectcolors. For more information, see Layer Manager(page 3–364).

Object Color Dialog

Click the color swatch by the object’s name in anycommand panel.

The Object Color dialog contains two presetpalettes of colors that you use to set an object’swireframe color. This is also the surface color yousee in a shaded viewport.

Using Random Color Assignment

By default, Autodesk VIZ assigns colors to objectsby layer. This means each object receives thewireframe color set by the current layer. You canchange the color of the current layer with the LayerManager (page 3–364). If you turn off Customize> Preferences > General tab (page 3–537) >Default to By Layer for New Nodes, new objectsare assigned colors by object rather than layer.

Object Color Dialog 131

For individual objects, you can click the By Layer/ By Object button on the Object Color dialog tochange the method used to set the object color.

Defining Custom Colors

When using the Default palette, the Object Colordialog contains a palette of 16 custom colorswatches. You can define any color for each of the16 color swatches by selecting a swatch from theCustom Colors group, then clicking Add CustomColors.

Switching Between Palettes

You can alternate between two versions of theObject Color dialog at any time by clicking theappropriate Basic Colors toggle:

• Default palette: Contains a fixed palette of 64colors, plus a custom palette of 16 user-definedcustom colors.

Use this version when you want to work with asmaller palette of colors or when you want todefine custom object wireframe colors.

• AutoCAD-compatible version: Contains afixed palette of 256 colors matching the colorsin the AutoCAD Color Index (ACI).

Use this version when you want to assign objectcolors that match the AutoCAD Color Index.Using ACI colors is useful if you plan to exportobjects to AutoCAD and want to organizethem by object color, or when you want a wideselection of colors to choose from.

Procedures

To set object color:

This is the general procedure for selecting objectcolor.

1. Select one or more objects.

2. In any command panel, click the color swatchto the right of the Object Name field to displaythe Object Color dialog.

3. On the Object Color dialog, click the By Layer /By Object toggle to set it to By Object.

4. Click a color swatch from the palette, and clickOK to apply the color to the selection.

To define a custom color:

1. On the Default palette of the Object Colordialog, click one of the 16 custom colorswatches.

2. Click Add Custom Colors to display the ColorSelector (page 1–132).

3. Define a custom color and click Add Color.

The custom color is stored in the selected colorswatch of the Object Color dialog and is set asthe current color.

To copy a custom color from an object in your sceneto one of your custom color swatches:

• Drag the Current Color swatch up to one of thecustom color swatches.

The Current Color swatch is in the Object Colordialog, to the left of the OK button.

To select objects by color:

• Click Select By Color. This displays theSelect Objects dialog (page 1–74). All objectsthat have the same color as the current objectare highlighted in the list. Click Select.


Interface

Default palette—When this option is selected,Basic Colors and Custom Colors are shown, andyou have the option to add custom colors.

AutoCAD ACI palette—When this option is selected,the AutoCAD ACI palette is shown. When youselect a color, its ACI# is displayed at the bottomof the dialog.

Basic Colors—A set of 64 default colors, availableonly when Default palette is selected.

Custom Colors—Displays 16 custom colors whenDefault palette is selected. To select a custom color,click its swatch. To redefine a custom color, clickits swatch, and then click Add Custom Colors.

Add Custom Colors—This option is available onlywith the Default palette. Clicking this optiondisplays the Color Selector (page 1–132), whichallows you to modify the currently selected customcolor. If you click Add Custom Colors with abasic color chosen, the dialog switches to the firstcustom color before opening the Color Selector.

By Layer / By Object—Sets the object’s color by layeror by object. If color is set by object, choosing anew color on the Object Color dialog will changethe object’s wireframe color in viewports.

ACI#—Displays the ACI number for the selectedcolor. Available only when AutoCAD ACI paletteis selected.

Select by Color—Displays a Select Objectsdialog (page 1–74) listing all objects that use theCurrent Color as their wireframe color.

Note: This button is available only if at least oneobject in the scene has the Current Color as itswireframe color.

Assign Random Colors—When on, Autodesk VIZwill assign a random color to each object created.When off, Autodesk VIZ will assign the same colorto every object created until the color swatch ischanged. This setting affects wireframe colors onlywhen By Object is turned on as the color method.

Current Color—Displays the active color. Whenyou click the color swatch, this displays the ColorSelector, where you can mix a custom color.

Color Selector Dialog

Any command panel > Name and Color fields > Clickcolor swatch. > Object Color dialog > Add Custom Colorsbutton or Current Color swatch.

Material Editor > Click any color swatch.

Select a light object. > Modify panel >Intensity/Color/Distribution rollout > Click FilterColor swatch.

Rendering menu > Environment > Environment andEffects dialog > Click color swatch for Background, Tint,and Ambient components of Global Lighting, and variouscomponents of atmospheric effects such as Fire, Fog, andso on.

You use the Color Selector whenever you specifya custom color parameter in Autodesk VIZ. Youcan work simultaneously with three different colormodels to help you zero in on the exact color youwant.

The Color Selector is used to specify many colorparameters, such as light colors, material colors,background colors, and custom object colors.(Another way to choose an object’s viewport color

Color Selector Dialog 133

is to use the predefined colors in the Object Colordialog (page 1–130).)

In most contexts, the Color Selector is modeless(page 3–701); that is, it remains on the screenuntil you dismiss it, and you can use otherAutodesk VIZ controls or work in a viewportwhile the dialog is still visible. In other contexts,the Color Selector is modal, and you must clickOK or Cancel before proceeding.

The dialog is divided into three different colorselection models. You can use the controls for anymodel to define a color. The three color modelsare:

• Hue/Blackness/Whiteness (HBW)

The most prominently displayed and intuitivecolor model is the HBW model. This modelrepresents a natural, pigment-based way ofmixing color by starting with a pure color (hue)and then making it darker by adding black, orlighter by adding white.

The main feature of the HBW model is a largesquare box displaying the color spectrum.Across the top of this box you have the spectrumof pure colors, or hue. Down the side of the boxyou see increasing levels of blackness, makingthe color dark as you approach the bottom.

To the right of the color spectrum box is theWhiteness box, which controls the amountof white in the color. Use higher positions todecrease the whiteness, or lower positions toincrease the whiteness.

• Red/Blue/Green (RGB)

The RGB model adjusts the mix of Red,Green, and Blue to define a color. This modelrepresents the way colored light can be mixed.This is additive color mixing, as opposed to thesubtractive color mixing for paint and otherpigments. You can adjust values using the colorsliders, the numeric fields to their right (via the

keyboard), or the spinners to the right of thenumeric fields.

• Hue/Saturation/Value (HSV)

The HSV color model adjusts Hue, Saturation,and Value. Hue sets the color; Saturation(labeled "Sat") sets the color’s purity; and Valuesets the color’s brightness, or intensity. Youcan adjust values using the color sliders, thenumeric fields to their right (via the keyboard),or the spinners to the right of the numeric fields.

As you adjust the controls of one color model, thecontrols of the other two models change to match.The color defined by the color model is displayedin the right half of the Color Output box. Theoriginal color, before you began making changes,is displayed in the left half.

Procedures

To display the Color Selector:

1. Click the color swatch of a color parametersuch as the color of a light or of a materialcomponent.

Note: The object color displayed by an object’sname in command panels use a different,Object Color dialog (page 1–130). In the ObjectColor dialog, clicking the Current Color swatchor the Add Custom Colors button displays aColor Selector.

2. Make a color selection and click Close.

3. To keep the original color, click Reset.

To choose the hue of a color, do one of the following:

• Click the Hue rainbow.

• Drag the Hue slider at the top of the rainbow.

• Drag the Red, Green, and Blue sliders.

• Drag the Hue slider.

• Use the Red, Green, Blue, or Hue spinners.


To make a color lighter, do one of the following:

• Drag the vertical Whiteness slider (at the rightof the Hue rainbow) downward.

• Drag the vertical Blackness slider (at the left ofthe Hue rainbow) upward.

• Drag the Saturation (Sat.) slider to the left.

• Use the Saturation spinner to decreasesaturation.

• Drag the Value (Val.) slider to the right.

• Use the Value spinner to increase the value.

To make a color darker, do one of the following:

• Drag the vertical Whiteness slider (at the rightof the Hue rainbow) upward.

• Drag the vertical Blackness slider (at the left ofthe Hue rainbow) downward.

• Drag the Saturation (Sat.) slider to the right.

• Use the Saturation spinner to increasesaturation.

• Drag the Value (Val.) slider to the left.

• Use the Value spinner to decrease the value.

To return to the original color:

• Click Reset.

The new color is replaced by the original color,and all parameter values are reset.

To dismiss the Color Selector, do one of the following:

• Click Close.

• Click the dialog’s Close (X) button.

Interface

Hue—Define a pure color by dragging the huepointer across the top of the box.

Blackness—Drag the blackness pointer down theside to darken the pure color by adding black. Youcan also click or drag inside the box to change hueand blackness at the same time.

Whiteness—The vertical bar to the right controlsthe amount of whiteness. The color set by the hueand blackness pointers is displayed at the top ofthe bar and pure white at the bottom. Drag thewhiteness pointer down to lighten the color byadding white.

Red, Green, and Blue—When a red, green, or blueslider is all the way to the left, its field reads 0. Noneof the color controlled by that slider is used. If theslider is all the way to the right, the field reads 255.The maximum amount of that color is being used.

The spinners to the right of each slider are anotherway of setting the red, blue, or green component.

The colors in the sliders change to show anapproximation of what the color result will beif you move the slider to that location, withoutadjusting any other color parameter.

Hue—Sets the pure color. Locating the slider allthe way to the left gives you pure red. As youdrag the slider to the right you move throughthe spectrum of Red, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue,Magenta, and back to Red again. Hue is moreaccurately represented as a color wheel rather thana linear slider. That is why the Hue slider is red at

Color Clipboard Utility 135

both ends. Think of the hue range from 0 to 255 asbeing points on a circle where the numbers 0 and255 are right next to each other.

Saturation ("Sat")—Sets the purity or strength ofthe color. A weak color, with a saturation near 0,is dull and gray. A strong color, with a saturationnear 255 is very bright and pure.

Value—Sets the lightness or darkness of a color.Low values darken the color toward black. Highvalues lighten the color toward white. A value inthe middle, at a setting of 127, gives you the colordefined only by hue and saturation.

Color Output—This pair of color swatches, belowthe Value slider, lets you compare the new color,shown on the right, to the original color, shownon the left.

Reset—Click to restore color settings to theoriginal color.

Color Selector for mental ray Materials andShaders

When you click a color swatch in the interface for amental ray material (page 2–1165) or mental rayshader (page 2–1281), you see a variation of theColor Selector.

This dialog differs from the standard ColorSelector in two ways:

• The RGB and HSV values appear as normalizedvalues between 0.0 and 1.0, rather than as 8-bitintegers (0–255).

• An additional Alpha slider and spinner let youexplicitly set the alpha value for this color. Thisvalue is also normalized, where 0.0 representsfully transparent, and 1.0 represents fullyopaque.

This version of the Color Selector also appearswhen you use the mental ray renderer’s SamplingQuality rollout (page 2–1397).

Color Clipboard Utility

Tools menu > Color Clipboard

Utilities panel > Utilities rollout > More button > Utilitiesdialog > Color Clipboard button

The Color Clipboard utility stores color swatchesfor copying from one map or material to another.

For example, if in the Material Editor, you wantto copy a color from a swatch in one level of amaterial to a swatch in another level (or fromanother material), there would be no way to doit with drag and drop. This is because you can’thave two materials/maps visible at the same time.However, you can drag the color from one materialto the color clipboard, switch to the other material,and then drag the color from the clipboard to theswatch in the new material.

You can save and load color clipboard files. Thesaved file, which is given a .ccb (color clip board)extension, is an ASCII file that contains a palettedescription. The first 12 lines of the file consist ofthree RGB numbers, so you can easily edit or createyour own clipboard files. This file format is alsoused by the VertexPaint modifier (page 2–286).

Procedure

To copy a color from a swatch to the color clipboard:

1. On the Utilities panel, click Color Clipboard.

2. Open the Material Editor.

3. Select a color from any swatch in a material.


4. Drag the color to a swatch in the colorclipboard.

5. A dialog appears asking if you want to copy orswap the material. Choose copy to replace theswatch in the color clipboard with the swatchfrom the material you selected. Choose swapto swap colors on the Color Clipboard swatchand material swatch.

Interface

Color swatches—Click a color swatch to edit itsvalue with the Color Selector.

Note: The Color Selector invoked by this utilityuses decimal numbers in the range 0.0 to 1.0,instead of integers in the range 0 to 255 as withother color-selection dialogs in Autodesk VIZ.

New Floater—Displays a floating clipboard with 12slots, plus buttons for opening and saving colorclipboard files. You can open up as many of thesefloaters as you want and you can minimize them.If you exit the Utilities panel or select the Closebutton to exit the Color Clipboard utility, anyvisible floaters remain open. When you close afloater, any changed values are lost.

Close—Exits the Clipboard utility.

Adjusting Normals andSmoothingIn general, you adjust normals and smoothing toprepare objects for rendering.

A normal (page 3–704) is a unit vector thatdefines which way a face or vertex is pointing. Thedirection in which the normal points representsthe front, or outer surface of the face or vertex,which is the side of the surface that is normallydisplayed and rendered.

You can manually flip or unify face normals to fixsurface errors caused by modeling operations orby importing meshes from other programs.

Smoothing groups define whether a surface isrendered with sharp edges or smooth surfaces.Smoothing groups are numbers assigned to thefaces of an object. Each face can carry any numberof smoothing groups up to the maximum of 32.If two faces share an edge and share the samesmoothing group, they render as a smooth surface.If they don’t share the same smoothing group, theedge between them renders as a corner. You canmanually change or animate smoothing groupassignment. Changing smoothing groups does notalter geometry in any way; it only changes the wayfaces and edges are shaded.

Viewing and Changing Normals 137

See also

Viewing and Changing Normals (page 1–137)

Viewing and Changing Smoothing (page 1–138)

Viewing and Changing Normals

When you create an object, normals (page 3–704)are generated automatically. Usually objects rendercorrectly using these default normals. Sometimes,however, you need to adjust the normals.

Left: The normals shown as spikes indicate the orientationof faces on the pyramid.

Right: Flipping normals can make faces invisible (or visible)in shaded viewports and renderings.

Undesired normals can appear in these objects:

• Meshes imported from other applications.

• Geometry generated by complex operationssuch as Boolean objects, lathe objects, or lofts.

Normals are used to define which side of a face orvertex is considered the "out" side. The out side ofa face or vertex is the side that gets rendered unlessyou are using two-sided materials, or turn on theForce 2-Sided option in the Render Scene dialog> Common panel > Common Parameters rollout(page 2–1334).

Do one of the following to view or change facenormals:

• Apply a Normal modifier (page 2–167). If aFace sub-object selection is active, Normalapplies to the selected faces. If no faces areselected, Normal applies to the entire object.

• Apply an Edit Mesh modifier (page 2–74),enable Face, Polygon or Element sub-objectmode, and then use the features on the SurfaceProperties rollout to change the directions inwhich normals point.

• Convert the object to an editable mesh (page2–350), enable Face, Polygon or Elementsub-object mode, and use the features on theSurface Properties rollout

Viewing Normals

The easiest way to view normals is to look at anobject in a shaded viewport. In this case, you arenot viewing the normal arrows themselves, butrather their effects on the shaded surface. If theobject looks as if it is inside-out, or has holes, thensome of the normals might be pointing in thewrong direction.

You can display the normal vectors for selectedfaces or vertices by enabling Show Normals on theSelection rollout of an editable mesh object or theEdit Mesh modifier.

Unifying Normals

Use Unify Normals to make normals point in aconsistent direction. If an object has normals thatare inconsistent (some point outward and othersinward) the object will appear to have holes in itssurface.

Unify Normals is found on the Surface Propertiesrollout and on the Normal modifier.

If you are animating the creation of a complexobject such as a nested Boolean or a loft, and youthink the operation might result in inconsistentfaces, apply a Normal modifier (page 2–167) to theresult, and turn on Unify Normals.


Flipping Normals

Use Flip Normals to reverse the direction of allselected faces. Flipping the normals of an objectturns it inside-out.

Flip Normals is found on the Surface Propertiesrollout and on the Normal modifier.

The Lathe modifier (page 2–142) sometimescreates an object with normals pointing inward.Use the Flip Normals check box on the Lathemodifier’s Parameters rollout to adjust thenormals. You can also use the Normal modifierwith both Unify and Flip turned on to fixinside-out lathed objects.

Viewing and Changing Smoothing

Smoothing blends the shading at the edgesbetween faces to produce the appearance of asmooth, curved surface. You can control howsmoothing is applied to a surface so your objectscan have both smooth surfaces and sharp facetededges at the appropriate places.

The face labeled “1-2” shares smoothing groups withadjacent faces, so the edges between them are smoothedover in renderings.

The face labeled “3” does not share a smoothing group, soits edge is visible in renderings.

Smoothing does not affect geometry. It affects onlythe way geometry is colored when rendered.

Smoothing is controlled by smoothing groups,which are numbered groups ranging from 1 to 32.Each face is assigned to one or more smoothinggroups. When a scene is rendered, the rendererchecks each adjacent pair of faces to see if theyshare a smoothing group, and renders the objectas follows:

• If faces have no smoothing groups in common,the faces are rendered with a sharp edgebetween them.

• If faces have at least one smoothing groupin common, the edge between the faces is“smoothed”, meaning it is shaded in such away that the area where the faces meet appearssmooth.

Because each face has three edges, only threesmoothing groups can be in effect for any face.Extra smoothing groups assigned to a face areignored.

Do one of the following to view or changesmoothing group assignments:

• Turn on the Smooth check box on theParameters rollout of a parametric object to setdefault smoothing for the object.

• Turn on the Auto Smooth check box on theRendering rollout of a spline shape to turn onsmoothing.

• Apply a Smooth modifier (page 2–199). If aFace sub-object selection is active, Smoothapplies to the selected faces. If no faces areselected, Smooth applies to the entire object.

• Apply an Edit Mesh modifier (page 2–74),enable Face (or Polygon or Element) sub-objectmode, then use the features on the SurfaceProperties rollout.

• Convert the object to an editable mesh (page2–350), enable Face (or Polygon or Element)sub-object mode, then use the features on theSurface Properties rollout.

Geometric Primitives 139

Viewing Smoothing Groups

The easiest way to view smoothing is to look at anobject in a shaded viewport. In this case, you arenot viewing the smoothing groups themselves butrather their effects on the shaded surface.

You can see the smoothing group numbers forselected faces of an editable mesh object or the EditMesh modifier by looking at the Smoothing Groupbuttons on the Surface Properties rollout, or ofan editable poly object on the Polygon Propertiesrollout.

Smoothing Group buttons appear as follows:

• Group numbers not used by any face in theselection, appear normal.

• Group numbers used by all faces in theselection, appear selected.

• Group numbers used by some, but not all, facesin the selection, appear blank.

Automatically Smoothing an Object

Click Auto Smooth to assign smoothingautomatically. You set a Threshold angle todetermine whether to smooth adjacent faces.

• If the angle between face normals is less than orequal to the threshold, the faces are assigned toa common smoothing group.

• If the angle between face normals is greaterthan the threshold, the faces are assigned toseparate groups.

Auto Smooth is found on the Surface Propertiesrollout and on the Smooth modifier.

Manually Applying Smoothing Groups

You manually assign smoothing groups to aselection of faces by clicking Smoothing Groupbuttons on the Surface Properties rollout or theSmooth modifier. The smoothing group of eachbutton you click is assigned to the selection.

Selecting Faces by Smoothing Group

You can also select faces according to the assignedsmoothing groups. Click Select By SG on theSurface Properties rollout (editable mesh) orPolygon Properties rollout (editable poly) and thenclick the smoothing group of the faces to select.

This is a convenient way to examine smoothinggroups on an object someone else created.

Creating GeometricPrimitives

Geometric Primitives

Geometric primitives are basic shapes thatAutodesk VIZ provides as parametric objects(page 3–711). Primitives are divided into twocategories:

Standard Primitives (page 1–141)

Extended Primitives (page 1–157)

See also

Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects (page1–125)

Creating an Object (page 1–128)

Creating Primitives from the Keyboard (page1–140)


Creating Primitives from theKeyboard

Create panel > Geometry > Standard or ExtendedPrimitives > Keyboard Entry rollout

You can create most geometric primitives fromyour keyboard using the Keyboard Entry rollout.In a single operation, you define both the initialsize of an object and its three-dimensionalposition. The object’s name, color, and defaultmaterial (optional), are automatically assigned.See Object Name and Wireframe Color (page3–479).

This method is generally the same for allprimitives; differences occur in the type andnumber of parameters. The Hedra primitive, acomplex and highly visual family of objects, isunsuited to this method and has no keyboardentry.

Procedures

To open the Keyboard Entry rollout:

1. On the Create panel for Standard or ExtendedPrimitives, click any of the primitive ObjectType rollout buttons, except Hedra orRingWave.

2. Click the Keyboard Entry rollout to open it.This rollout is closed by default.

Note: The buttons on the Creation Methodrollout have no effect on keyboard entry.

To create a primitive from the keyboard:

1. On the Keyboard Entry rollout, select a numericfield with the mouse and then enter a number.

2. Press TAB to move to the next field. You donot have to press ENTER after entering a value.Press SHIFT+TAB to reverse direction.

3. When you have all fields set, press TAB to movethe focus to the Create button. Press ENTER.

4. The object appears in the active viewport.

Once created, a new primitive is unaffected by thenumeric fields in the Keyboard Entry rollout. Youcan adjust parameter values on the Parametersrollout, either immediately after creation or on theModify panel.

Interface

The Keyboard Entry rollout contains a commonset of position fields, labeled X, Y, and Z. Thenumbers you enter are offsets along the axes of theactive construction plane; either the home grid ora grid object. Plus and minus values correspondto positive and negative directions for these axes.Defaults=0,0,0; the center of the active grid.

The location set by X,Y is equivalent to the firstmouse-down position in the standard method ofcreating objects.

Each standard primitive has the followingparameters on its Keyboard Entry rollout.

Primitive Parameters XYZ point

Box Length, Width,Height

Center of base

Cone Radius 1, Radius 2,Height

Center of base

Sphere Radius Center

GeoSphere Radius Center

Cylinder Radius, Height Center of base

Standard Primitives 141

Primitive Parameters XYZ point

Tube Radius 1, Radius 2,Height

Center of base

Torus Radius 1, Radius 2 Center

Pyramid Width, Depth,Height

Center of base

Teapot Radius Center of base

Plane Length, Width Center

Standard PrimitivesGeometric primitives are familiar as objects inthe real world such as beach balls, pipes, boxes,doughnuts, and ice cream cones. In Autodesk VIZ,you can model many such objects using a singleprimitive. You can also combine primitives intomore complex objects, and further refine themwith modifiers.

A collection of standard primitive objects

Autodesk VIZ includes a set of 10 basic primitives.You can easily create the primitives with the mousein the viewport, and most can be generated fromthe keyboard as well.

These primitives are listed in the Object Typerollout and on the Create menu:

Box Primitive (page 1–142)

Cone Primitive (page 1–143)

Sphere Primitive (page 1–145)

GeoSphere Primitive (page 1–147)

Cylinder Primitive (page 1–148)

Tube Primitive (page 1–150)

Torus Primitive (page 1–151)

Pyramid Primitive (page 1–153)

Teapot Primitive (page 1–154)

Plane Primitive (page 1–156)

Also available from the Object Type rollout is theAutoGrid option (page 2–623).

You can convert standard primitive objects toeditable mesh objects (page 2–350), editablepoly objects (page 2–377), and NURBS surfaces.(page 2–480) You can also convert primitives topatch objects; see the path annotation at EditablePatch (page 2–316) (the information at the startof the topic that tells you how to create this typeof object).


All primitives have name and color controls, andallow you to enter initial values from the keyboard.See these topics:

Object Name and Wireframe Color (page 3–479)

Creating Primitives from the Keyboard (page1–140)

The remaining rollouts are covered in the topic foreach primitive.

Box Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives >Object Type rollout > Box button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Box

Box produces the simplest of the primitives. Cubeis the only variation of Box. However, you can varythe scale and proportion to make many differentkinds of rectangular objects, from large, flat panelsand slabs to tall columns and small blocks.

Examples of boxes

Procedures

To create a box:

1. On the Object Type rollout, click Box.

2. In any viewport, drag to define a rectangularbase, then release to set length and width.

3. Move the mouse up or down to define theheight.

4. Click to set the finished height and create thebox.

To create a box with a square base:

• Hold down CTRL as you drag the base of thebox. This keeps length and width the same.Holding the CTRL key has no effect on height.

To create a cube:

1. On the Creation Method rollout, choose Cube.

2. In any viewport, drag to define the size of thecube.

3. As you drag, a cube emerges with the pivotpoint at the center of its base.

4. Release to set the dimensions of all sides.

Interface

Creation Method rollout

Cube—Forces length, width, and height to be equal.Creating a cube is a one-step operation. Starting atthe center of the cube, drag in a viewport to set allthree dimensions simultaneously. You can changea cube’s individual dimensions in the Parametersrollout.

Box—Creates a standard box primitive from onecorner to the diagonally opposite corner, withdifferent settings for length, width, and height.

Cone Primitive 143

Parameters rollout

The defaults produce a box with one segment oneach side.

Length, Width, Height—Sets the length, width, andheight of the Box object. These fields also actas readouts while you drag the sides of the box.Default=0,0,0.

Length, Width, Height Segments—Sets the numberof divisions along each axis of the object. Can beset before or after creation. By default, each side ofthe box is a single segment. When you reset thesevalues, the new values become the default during asession. Default=1,1,1.

Tip: Increase the Segments settings to give objectsextra resolution for being affected by modifiers.For example, if you’re going to bend (page 2–53) abox on the Z axis, you might want to set its HeightSegments parameter to 4 or more.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the box.Default=on.

Real-World Map Size—Controls the scaling methodused for texture mapped materials that are appliedto the object. The scaling values are controlledby the Use Real-World Scale settings found inthe applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page2–1199). Default=off.

Cone Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives> Object Type rollout > Cone button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Cone

The Cone button on the Creation command panellets you produce round cones, either upright orinverted.

Examples of cones

Procedure

To create a cone:

1. On the Create menu choose StandardPrimitives > Cone.

2. In any viewport, drag to define a radius for thebase of the cone, then release to set it.

3. Move to up or down to define a height, eitherpositive or negative, then click to set it.

4. Move to define a radius for the other end of thecone. Decrease this radius to 0 for a pointedcone.

5. Click to set the second radius and create thecone.


Interface


Edge—Draws a cone from edge to edge. You canchange the center location by moving the mouse.

Center—Draws a cone from the center out.

Parameters rollout

The defaults produce a smooth, round cone of24 sides with the pivot point at the center of thebase. There are five height segments and one capsegment. For improved rendering, increase thenumber of height segments for smoothly shadedcones, particularly those with pointed tips.

Radius 1, Radius 2—Sets first and second radius forthe cone. The minimum setting is 0. Minus valuesare converted to 0. You can combine these settingsto create pointed and flat-topped cones, upright orinverted. The following combinations assume apositive height:

Radius Combinations Effect

Radius 2 is 0 Creates a pointed cone

Radius Combinations Effect

Radius 1 is 0 Creates an inverted pointedcone

Radius 1 is larger thanRadius 2

Creates a flat-topped cone

Radius 2 is larger thanRadius 1

Creates an invertedflat-topped cone

If Radius 1 and 2 are the same, a cylinder iscreated. If the two radius settings are close in size,the effect is similar to applying a Taper modifierto a cylinder.

Effect of Radius settings

Height—Sets dimension along the central axis.Negative values create the cone below theconstruction plane.

Height Segments—Sets the number of divisionsalong the cone’s major axis.

Cap Segments—Sets the number of concentricdivisions around the center of the cone’s top andbottom.

Sides—Sets the number of sides around the cone.Higher numbers shade and render as true circleswith Smooth selected. Lower numbers createregular polygonal objects with Smooth off.

Smooth—Blends the faces of the cone, creating asmooth appearance in rendered views.

Slice On—Enables the Slice function. Default=off.

When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On,the complete cone reappears. You can use thischeck box to switch between the two topologies.

Slice From, Slice To—Sets the number of degreesaround the local Z axis from a zero point at thelocal X axis.

Sphere Primitive 145

For both settings, positive values move the end ofthe slice counterclockwise; negative values move itclockwise. Either setting can be made first. Whenthe ends meet, the whole cone reappears.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the cone.Default=on.


Sphere Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives >Object Type rollout > Sphere button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Sphere

Sphere produces a full sphere, or a hemisphere orother portion of a sphere. You can also "slice" asphere about its vertical axis.

Examples of spheres

Procedures

To create a sphere:

1. On the Create menu choose StandardPrimitives > Sphere.

2. In any viewport, drag to define a radius.

As you drag, a sphere emerges with its centerat the pivot point.

3. Release the mouse to set the radius and createthe sphere.

To create a hemisphere:

You can reverse the order of the following steps,if you like.

1. Create a sphere of desired radius.

2. Type 0.5 in the Hemisphere field.

The sphere is reduced to exactly the upper half,a hemisphere. If you use the spinner, the spherechanges in size.

Interface


Edge—Draws a sphere from edge to edge. You canchange the center location by moving the mouse.

Center—Draws a sphere from the center out.


Parameters rollout

The defaults produce a smooth sphere of 32segments with the pivot point at its center.

Radius—Specifies the radius of the sphere.

Segments—Sets the number of polygonal divisionsfor the sphere.

Smooth—Blends the faces of the sphere, creating asmooth appearance in rendered views.

Hemisphere—Increasing values progressively will"cut off " the sphere, starting at the base, to create apartial sphere. Values range from 0.0 to 1.0. Thedefault is 0.0, producing a full sphere. A setting of0.5 produces a hemisphere, and 1.0 reduces thesphere to nothing. Default=0.0.

Chop and Squash toggle creation options forHemisphere.

Chop—Reduces the number of vertices and facesin the sphere by "chopping" them out as thehemisphere is cut off. Default=on.

Squash—Maintains the number of vertices andfaces in the original sphere, "squashing" thegeometry into a smaller and smaller volumetoward the top of the sphere.

Effects of Chop and Squash during hemisphere creation

Slice On—Uses the From and To angles to createa partial sphere. The effect is similar to lathing asemicircular shape fewer than 360 degrees.

Slice From—Sets the start angle.

Slice To—Sets the stop angle.

For both settings, positive values move the end ofthe slice counterclockwise; negative values move itclockwise. Either setting can be made first. Whenthe ends meet, the whole sphere reappears.

Smoothing groups are assigned to sliced spheresas follows: The surface of the sphere is alwaysassigned group 1; the bottom, when Smooth is on,gets group 2. Facing the pie-slice surfaces, the cuton the left gets group 3, and the cut on the rightgets group 4.

Material IDs are assigned to sliced spheres asfollows: The bottom is 1 (when Hemisphere isgreater than 0.0), the surface is 2, and the slicesurfaces are 3 and 4.

Base To Pivot—Moves a sphere upward along itslocal Z axis so the pivot point is at its base. Whenoff, the pivot point is on the construction plane atthe center of the sphere. Default=off.

Turning on Base To Pivot lets you place spheres sothey rest on the construction plane, like pool ballson a table.

GeoSphere Primitive 147

Effect of using Base To Pivot setting

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the sphere.Default=on.


GeoSphere Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives >Object Type rollout > GeoSphere button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > GeoSphere

Use GeoSphere to make spheres and hemispheresbased on three classes of regular polyhedrons.

Examples of geospheres

Geospheres produce a more regular surface thanstandard spheres. They also render with a slightlysmoother profile than a standard sphere giventhe same number of faces. Unlike a standardsphere, a geosphere has no poles, which can be anadvantage when you apply certain modifiers suchas Free-Form Deformation (FFD) modifiers (page2–132).

Procedures

To create a geosphere:

1. On the Create menu choose StandardPrimitives > Geosphere.

2. In any viewport, drag to set the center andradius of the geosphere.

3. Set parameters such as Geodesic Base Type andSegments.

To create a geo-hemisphere:

1. Create a geosphere.

2. In the Parameters rollout, turn on theHemisphere check box. The geosphere isconverted to a hemisphere.


Interface


Diameter—Draws a geosphere from edge to edge.You can change the center location by moving themouse.

Center—Draws a geosphere from the center out.

Parameters rollout

Radius—Sets the size of the geosphere.

Segments—Sets the total number of faces in thegeosphere. The number of faces in a geosphere isequal to the sides of the base polyhedron times thesegments squared.

Lower segment values work best. Using themaximum segment value of 200 can generate up to800,000 faces, impairing performance.

Geodesic Base Type group

Lets you choose one of three types of regularpolyhedrons for the geosphere’s basic geometry.

• Tetra—Based on a four-sided tetrahedron. Thetriangular facets can vary in shape and size. Thesphere can be divided into four equal segments.

• Octa—Based on an eight-sided octahedron.The triangular facets can vary in shape and

size. The sphere can be divided into eight equalsegments.

• Icosa—Based on a 20-sided icosahedron. Thefacets are all equally sized equilateral triangles.The sphere can be divided into any numberof equal segments, based on multiples anddivisions of 20 faces.

Smooth—Applies smoothing groups to the surfaceof the sphere.

Hemisphere—Creates a half-sphere.

Base To Pivot—Sets the pivot point location. Whenon, the pivot is at the bottom of the sphere. Whenoff, the pivot is at the center of the sphere. Thisoption has no effect when Hemisphere is on.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the geosphere.Default=on.


Cylinder Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives >Object Type rollout > Cylinder button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Cylinder

Cylinder produces a cylinder, which you can"slice" around its major axis.

Cylinder Primitive 149

Examples of cylinders

Procedure

To create a cylinder:

1. On the Create panel, choose StandardPrimitives > Cylinder.

2. In any viewport, drag to define the radius of thebase, then release to set the radius.

3. Move up or down to define a height, eitherpositive or negative.

4. Click to set the height and create the cylinder.

Interface


Edge—Draws a cylinder from edge to edge. Youcan change the center location by moving themouse.

Center—Draws a cylinder from the center out.

Parameters rollout

The defaults produce a smooth cylinder of 18 sideswith the pivot point at the center of the base. Thereare five height segments and one cap segment. Ifyou don’t plan to modify the cylinder’s shape, suchas with a Bend modifier, set Height Segments to 1to reduce scene complexity. If you plan to modifythe ends of the cylinder, consider increasing theCap Segments setting.

Radius—Sets the radius of the cylinder.

Height—Sets the dimension along the central axis.Negative values create the cylinder below theconstruction plane.

Height Segments—Sets the number of divisionsalong the cylinder’s major axis.

Cap Segments—Sets the number of concentricdivisions around the center of the cylinder’s topand bottom.

Sides—Sets the number of sides around thecylinder. With Smooth on, higher numbers shadeand render as true circles. With Smooth off, lowernumbers create regular polygonal objects.


Smooth—The faces of the cylinder are blendedtogether, creating a smooth appearance inrendered views.


When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On,the complete cylinder reappears. You can use thischeck box to switch between the two topologies.


For both settings, positive values move the end ofthe slice counterclockwise; negative values move itclockwise. Either setting can be made first. Whenthe ends meet, the whole cylinder reappears.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the cylinder.Default=on.


Tube Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives> Object Type rollout > Tube button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Tube

Tube produces both round and prismatic tubes.The tube is similar to the cylinder with a hole in it.

Examples of tubes

Procedures

To create a tube:

1. On the Create menu choose StandardPrimitives > Tube.

2. In any viewport, drag to define the first radius,which can be either the inner or outer radius ofthe tube. Release to set the first radius.

3. Move to define the second radius, then clickto set it.

4. Move up or down to define a height, eitherpositive or negative.

5. Click to set the height and create the tube.

To create a prismatic tube:

1. Set the number of sides for the kind of prismyou want.

2. Turn Smooth off.

3. Create a tube.

Interface


Edge—Draws a tube from edge to edge. You canchange the center location by moving the mouse.

Center—Draws a tube from the center out.

Torus Primitive 151

Parameters rollout

The defaults produce a smooth, round tube of18 sides with the pivot point at the center of thebase. There are five height segments and one capsegment. If you don’t plan to modify the cylinder’sshape, such as with a Bend modifier, set HeightSegments to 1 to reduce scene complexity. If youplan to modify the ends of the cylinder, considerincreasing the Cap Segments setting.

Radius 1, Radius 2—The larger setting specifiesthe outside radius of the tube, while the smallerspecifies the inside radius.

Height—Sets the dimension along the centralaxis. Negative values create the tube below theconstruction plane.

Height Segments—Sets the number of divisionsalong the tube’s major axis.

Cap Segments—Sets the number of concentricdivisions around the center of the tube’s top andbottom.

Sides—Sets the number of sides around the tube.Higher numbers shade and render as true circleswith Smooth on. Lower numbers create regularpolygonal objects with Smooth off.

Smooth—When on (the default), faces of thetube are blended together, creating a smoothappearance in rendered views.

Slice On—Enables the Slice feature, which removespart of the tube’s circumference. Default=off.

When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On,the complete tube reappears. You can thereforeuse this check box to switch between the twotopologies.


For both settings, positive values move the end ofthe slice counterclockwise; negative values move itclockwise. Either setting can be made first. Whenthe ends meet, the whole tube reappears.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the tube.Default=on.


Torus Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives> Object Type rollout > Torus button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Torus

Torus produces a torus, or a ring with a circularcross section, sometimes referred to as a doughnut.You can combine three smoothing options with


rotation and twist settings to create complexvariations.

Examples of tori

Procedure

To create a torus:

1. From the Create menu, choose StandardPrimitives > Torus.

2. In any viewport, drag to define a torus.

3. As you drag, a torus emerges with its center atthe pivot point.

4. Release to set the radius of the torus ring.

5. Move to define the radius of the cross-sectionalcircle, then click to create the torus.

Interface


Edge—Draws a torus from edge to edge. You canchange the center location by moving the mouse.

Center—Draws a torus from the center out.

Parameters rollout

The defaults produce a smooth torus with 12 sidesand 24 segments. The pivot point is at the centerof the torus on the plane, cutting through thecenter of the torus. Higher settings for sides andsegments produce a more dense geometry thatmight be required for some modeling or renderingsituations.

Radius 1—Sets the distance from the center of thetorus to the center of the cross-sectional circle.This is the radius of the torus ring.

Radius 2—Sets the radius of the cross-sectionalcircle. This value is replaced each time you create atorus. Default = 10.

Pyramid Primitive 153

Radius 1 and Radius 2

Rotation—Sets the degree of rotation. Verticesare uniformly rotated about the circle runningthrough the center of the torus ring. Positive andnegative values for this setting "roll" the vertices ineither direction over the surface of the torus.

Rotation and Twist

Twist—Sets the degree of twist. Cross sectionsare progressively rotated about the circle runningthrough the center of the torus. Beginning withtwist, each successive cross section is rotated untilthe last one has the number of degrees specified.

Twisting a closed (unsliced) torus creates aconstriction in the first segment. You can avoidthis by either twisting in increments of 360 degrees,or by turning Slice on and setting both Slice Fromand Slice To to 0 to maintain a complete torus.

Segments—Sets the number of radial divisionsaround the torus. By reducing this number, youcan create polygonal rings instead of circular ones.

Sides—Sets the number of sides on thecross-sectional circle of the torus. By reducing thisnumber, you can create prism-like cross sectionsinstead of circular ones.

Smooth group

Choose one of four levels of smoothing:

• All—(default) Produces complete smoothing onall surfaces of the torus.

• Sides—Smoothes the edges between adjacentsegments, producing smooth bands runningaround the torus.

• None—Turns off smoothing entirely, producingprism-like facets on the torus.

• Segments—Smoothes each segmentindividually, producing ring-like segmentsalong the torus.

Slice On—Creates a portion of a sliced torus ratherthan the entire 360 degrees.

Slice From—When Slice On is on, specifies theangle where the torus slice begins.

Slice To—When Slice On is on, specifies the anglewhere the torus slice ends.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the torus.Default=on.


Pyramid Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives >Object Type rollout > Pyramid button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Pyramid

The Pyramid primitive has a square or rectangularbase and triangular sides.


Examples of pyramids

Procedure

To create a Pyramid:

1. On the Create menu choose StandardPrimitives > Pyramid.

2. Choose a creation method, either Base/Apexor Center.

Note: Hold the CTRL key while using eithercreation method to constrain the base to asquare.

3. In any viewport, drag to define the base of thepyramid. If you’re using Base/Apex, define theopposite corners of the base, moving the mousehorizontally or vertically to define the widthand depth of the base. If you’re using Center,drag from the center of the base.

4. Click, and then move the mouse to define theHeight.

5. Click to complete the pyramid.

Interface


Base/Apex—Creates the pyramid base from onecorner to the diagonally opposite corner.

Center—Creates the pyramid base from the centerout.

Parameters rollout

Width, Depth and Height—Sets the dimension ofthe corresponding side of the pyramid.

Width, Depth and Height Segs—Sets the numberof segments to the corresponding sides of thepyramid.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the pyramid.Default=on.


Teapot Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives >Object Type rollout > Teapot button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Teapot

Teapot produces a teapot. You can choose to makethe whole teapot at once (the default), or any ofits parts. Since the Teapot is a parametric object,

Teapot Primitive 155

you can choose which parts of the teapot to displayafter creation.

Examples of teapots

History of the Teapot

This teapot derives from the original datadeveloped by Martin Newell in 1975. Beginningwith a graph-paper sketch of a teapot that he kepton his desk, Newell calculated cubic Bezier splines(page 3–660) to create a wireframe model. JamesBlinn, also at the University of Utah during thisperiod, produced early renderings of exceptionalquality using this model.

The teapot has since become a classic in computergraphics. Its complexly curved and intersectingsurfaces are well suited to testing different kindsof material mappings and rendering settings on areal-world object.

Procedures

To create a teapot:

1. On the Create menu, choose StandardPrimitives > Teapot.

2. In any viewport, drag to define a radius.

As you drag, a teapot emerges with the pivotpoint at the center of its base.

3. Release the mouse to set the radius and createthe teapot.

To create a teapot part:

1. In Parameters rollout > Teapot Parts group,turn off all parts except the one you want tocreate.

2. Create a teapot.

The part you left on appears. The pivot pointremains at the center of the teapot’s base.

3. In Parameters rollout > Teapot Parts group,turn off all parts except the one you want.

The teapot has four separate parts: body, handle,spout, and lid. Controls are located in the TeapotParts group of the Parameters rollout. You cancheck any combination of parts to create at thesame time. The body alone is a ready-made bowl,or a pot with optional lid.

To turn a part into a teapot:

1. Select a teapot part in the viewport.

2. On the Modify panel > Parameters rollout, turnon all parts. (This is the default.)

The whole teapot appears.

You can apply modifiers to any separate part. Ifyou later turn on another part, the modifier affectsthe additional geometry as well.

Interface


Edge—Draws a teapot from edge to edge. You canchange the center location by moving the mouse.

Center—Draws a teapot from the center out.


Parameters rollout

Radius—Sets the radius of the teapot

Segments—Sets the number of divisions for theteapot or its individual parts.

Smooth—Blends faces of the teapot, creating asmooth appearance in rendered views.

Teapot Parts group

Turn check boxes on or off for teapot parts. Bydefault, all are on, producing a complete teapot.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the teapot.Default=on.


Plane Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives> Object Type rollout > Plane button

Create menu > Standard Primitives > Plane

The Plane object is a special type of flat polygonmesh that can be enlarged by any amount at rendertime. You can specify factors to magnify the sizeor number of segments, or both. Use the Planeobject for creating a large-scale ground plane thatdoesn’t get in the way when working in a viewport.You can apply any type of modifier to the planeobject, such as Displace (page 2–69) to simulatea hilly terrain.

Example of plane

Procedure

To create a plane:

1. On the Create menu choose StandardPrimitives > Plane.

2. In any viewport, drag to create the Plane.

Interface


Rectangle—Creates the plane primitive fromone corner to the diagonally opposite corner,

Extended Primitives 157

interactively setting different values for length andwidth.

Square—Creates a square plane where length andwidth are equal. You can change dimensions in theParameters rollout subsequent to creation.

Parameters rollout

Length, Width—Sets the length and width of theplane object. These fields act also as readoutswhile you drag the sides of the box. You can revisethese values. Defaults= 0.0, 0.0.

Length Segs, Width Segs—Sets the number ofdivisions along each axis of the object. Can be setbefore or after creation. By default, each side ofthe plane has four segments. When you reset thesevalues, the new values become the default during asession.

Render Multipliers group

Render Scale—Specifies the factor by which bothlength and width are multiplied at render time.Scaling is performed from the center outward.

Render Segs—Specifies the factor by which thenumber of segments in both length and width aremultiplied at render time.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the plane.Default=on.


Extended Primitives

A collection of extended primitive objects

Extended Primitives are a collection of complexprimitives for Autodesk VIZ. The topics thatfollow describe each type of extended primitiveand its creation parameters.

These primitives are available from the ObjectType rollout on the Create panel and from theCreate menu > Extended Primitives.


AutoGrid (page 2–623)

Hedra Extended Primitive (page 1–158)

Torus Knot Extended Primitive (page 1–160)

ChamferBox Extended Primitive (page 1–162)

ChamferCyl Extended Primitive (page 1–163)

OilTank Extended Primitive (page 1–165)

Capsule Extended Primitive (page 1–166)

Spindle Extended Primitive (page 1–167)

L-Ext Extended Primitive (page 1–169)

Gengon Extended Primitive (page 1–170)

C-Ext Extended Primitive (page 1–171)

RingWave Extended Primitive (page 1–173)

Hose Extended Primitive (page 1–176)

Prism Extended Primitive (page 1–175)

All primitives have name and color controls, andallow you to enter initial values from the keyboard.See these topics:

Object Name and Wireframe Color (page 3–479)

Creating Primitives from the Keyboard (page1–140) (not applicable to Hedra, RingWave, orHose)

The remaining rollouts are covered in the topic foreach primitive.

Hedra Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives >Object Type rollout > Hedra button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Hedra

Use Hedra to produce objects from several familiesof polyhedra.

Examples of hedra

Procedure

To create a polyhedron:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > Hedra.

2. In any viewport, drag to define a radius, thenrelease to create the polyhedron.

As you drag, a polyhedron emerges from thepivot point.

3. Adjust the Family Parameter and Axis Scalingspinners to vary the Hedra’s appearance.

Hedra Extended Primitive 159

Interface

Family group

Use this group to select the type of polyhedron tocreate.

Tetra—Creates a tetrahedron.

Cube/Octa—Creates a cubic or octahedralpolyhedron (depending on parameter settings).

Dodec/Icos—Creates a dodecahedron oricosahedron (depending on parameter settings).

Star1/Star2—Creates two different star-likepolyhedra.

Family parameters group

P, Q—Interrelated parameters that provide atwo-way translation between the vertices andfacets of a polyhedron. They share the following:

• Range of possible values is 0.0 through 1.0.

• The combined total of the P and Q values canbe equal to or less than 1.0.

• Extremes occur if either P or Q is set to 1.0; theother is automatically set to 0.0.

• Midpoint occurs when both P and Q are 0.

In the simplest terms, P and Q change thegeometry back and forth between vertices andfacets. At the extreme settings for P and Q,one parameter represents all vertices, the otherrepresents all facets. Intermediate settings aretransition points, with the midpoint an evenbalance between the two parameters.

Axis Scaling group

Polyhedra can have as many as three kinds ofpolygonal facets, such as triangle, square, orpentagon. These facets can be regular or irregular.If a polyhedron has only one or two types of facet,only one or two of the axis scaling parameters areactive. Inactive parameters have no effect.

P, Q, R—Controls the axis of reflection for one ofthe facets of a polyhedron. In practice, these fieldshave the effect of pushing their correspondingfacets in and out. Defaults=100.

Reset—Returns axes to their default setting.

Vertices group

Parameters in the Vertices group determine theinternal geometry of each facet of a polyhedron.


Center and Center & Sides increase the numberof vertices in the object and therefore the numberof faces.

Basic—Facets are not subdivided beyond theminimum.

Center—Each facet is subdivided by placing anadditional vertex at its center, with edges fromeach center point to the facet corners.

Center & Sides—Each facet is subdivided by placingan additional vertex at its center, with edges fromeach center point to the facet corners, as well asto the center of each edge. Compared to Center,Center & Sides doubles the number of faces in thepolyhedron.

Note: If you scale the axis of the object, the Centeroption is used automatically, unless Center & Sidesis already set.

To see the internal edges shown in the figure, turnoff Edges Only on the Display command panel.

Radius—Sets the radius of any polyhedron incurrent units.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the polyhedron.Default=on.

Torus Knot Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry > Extended Primitives > ObjectType rollout > Torus Knot button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Torus Knot

Use Torus Knot to create a complex or knottedtorus by drawing 2D curves in the normal planesaround a 3D curve. The 3D curve (called the BaseCurve) can be either a circle or a torus knot.

You can convert a torus knot object to a NURBSsurface (page 2–480).

Example of torus knot

Procedure

To create a Torus Knot:

1. On the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > Torus Knot.

2. Drag the mouse to define the size of the torusknot.

3. Click, then move the mouse vertically to definethe radius.

4. Click again to finish the torus.

5. Adjust the parameters on the Modify panel.

Interface


Diameter—Draws the object from edge to edge.You can change the center location by moving themouse.

Radius—Draws the object from the center out.

Torus Knot Extended Primitive 161

Parameters rollout > Base Curve group

Provides parameters that affect the base curve.

Knot/Circle—With Knot, the torus interweavesitself, based on various other parameters. WithCircle, the base curve is a circle, resulting in astandard torus if parameters such as Warp andEccentricity are left at their defaults.

Radius—Sets the radius of the base curve.

Segments—Sets the number of segments aroundthe perimeter of the torus.

P and Q—Describes up-and-down (P) andaround-the-center (Q) winding numbers. (Activeonly when Knot is chosen.)

Warp Count—Sets the number of "points" in a starshape around the curve. (Active only when Circleis chosen.)

Warp Height—Sets the height of the "points" givenas a percentage of the base curve radius.

Parameters rollout > Cross Section group

Provides parameters that affect the cross sectionof the torus knot.

Radius—Sets the radius of the cross section.

Sides—Sets the number of sides around the crosssection.

Eccentricity—Sets the ratio of the major to minoraxes of the cross section. A value of 1 providesa circular cross section, while other values createelliptical cross sections.

Twist—Sets the number of times the cross sectiontwists around the base curve.

Lumps—Sets the number of bulges in the torusknot. Note that the Lump Height spinner valuemust be greater than 0 to see any effect.

Lump Height—Sets the height of the lumps, as apercentage of the radius of the cross section. Notethat the Lumps spinner must be greater than 0 tosee any effect.

Lump Offset—Sets the offset of the start of thelumps, measured in degrees.

Parameters rollout > Smooth group

Provides options to alter the smoothing displayedor rendered of the torus knot. This smoothing


does not displace or tesselate the geometry, it onlyadds the smoothing group information.

All—Smoothes the entire torus knot.

Sides—Smoothes only the adjacent sides of thetorus knot.

None—The torus knot is faceted.

Parameters rollout > Mapping Coordinatesgroup

Provides methods of assigning and adjustingmapping coordinates.

Generate Mapping Coords—Assigns mappingcoordinates based on the geometry of the torusknot. Default=on.

Offset U/V—Offset the mapping coordinates alongU and V.

Tiling U/V—Tile the mapping coordinates along Uand V.

ChamferBox Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives >Object Type rollout > ChamferBox button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Chamfer Box

Use ChamferBox to create a box with beveled orrounded edges.

Examples of chamfered boxes

Procedures

To create a standard chamfered box:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > Chamfer Box.

2. Drag the mouse to define the diagonal cornersof the base of the chamfered box. (Press CTRLto constrain the base to a square.)

3. Release the mouse button, and then move themouse vertically to define the height of the box.Click to set the height

4. Move the mouse diagonally to define the widthof the fillet, or chamfer (toward the upper leftincreases the width; toward the lower rightdecreases it).

5. Click again to finish the chamfered box.

To create a cubic chamfered box:

1. On the Creation Method rollout, click Cube.

2. Beginning at the center of the cube, dragin a viewport to set all three dimensionssimultaneously.

3. Release the button, and move the mouse to setthe fillet or chamfer.

4. Click to create the object.

You can change a cube’s individual dimensionsin the Parameters rollout.

ChamferCyl Extended Primitive 163

Interface


Cube—Forces length, width, and height to beequal. You can change a cube’s individualdimensions in the Parameters rollout.

Box—Creates a standard chamfered box primitivefrom one corner to the diagonally opposite corner,with individual settings for length, width, andheight.

Parameters rollout

Length, Width, Height—Sets the correspondingdimensions of the chamfered box.

Fillet—Slices off the edges of the chamfered box.Higher values result in a more refined fillet on theedges of the chamfered box.

Length, Width, Height Segs—Sets the number ofdivisions along the corresponding axis.

Fillet Segs—Sets the number of segments in thefilleted edges of the box. Adding fillet segmentsincreases the edge roundness.

Smooth—Blends the display of the faces of thechamfered box, creating a smooth appearance inrendered views.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the chamferedbox. Default=on.


ChamferCyl Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives >Object Type rollout > ChamferCyl button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Chamfer Cylinder

Use ChamferCyl to create a cylinder with beveledor rounded cap edges.

Examples of chamfered cylinders

Procedure

To create a chamfered cylinder:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > Chamfer Cylinder.


2. Drag the mouse to define the radius of the baseof the chamfered cylinder.

3. Release the mouse button, and then move themouse vertically to define the height of thecylinder. Click to set the height.

4. Move the mouse diagonally to define the widthof the fillet, or chamfer (toward the upper leftincreases the width; toward the lower rightdecreases it).

5. Click to finish the cylinder.

Interface


Edge—Draws the object from edge to edge. Youcan change the center location by moving themouse.

Center—Draws the object from the center out.

Parameters rollout

Radius—Sets the radius of the chamfered cylinder.

Height—Sets the dimension along the central axis.Negative values create the chamfered cylinderbelow the construction plane.

Fillet—Chamfers the top and bottom cap edges ofthe chamfered cylinder. Higher numbers result ina more refined fillet along the cap edge.

Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions alongthe corresponding axis.

Fillet Segs—Sets the number of segments inthe filleted edges of the cylinder. Adding filletsegments curves the edges, producing a filletedcylinder.

Sides—Sets the number of sides around thechamfered cylinder. Higher numbers shade andrender as true circles with Smooth on. Lowernumbers create regular polygonal objects withSmooth off.

Cap Segs—Sets the number of concentric divisionsalong the center of the chamfered cylinder’s topand bottom

Smooth—Blends the faces of the chamferedcylinder, creating a smooth appearance inrendered views.


When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On,the complete chamfered cylinder reappears. Youcan use this check box to switch between the twotopologies.


For both settings, positive values move the end ofthe slice counterclockwise; negative values move itclockwise. Either setting can be made first. Whenthe ends meet, the whole chamfered cylinderreappears.

OilTank Extended Primitive 165

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the chamferedcylinder. Default=on.


OilTank Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives >Object Type rollout > OilTank button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Oil Tank

Use OilTank to create a cylinder with convex caps.

Examples of oil tanks

Procedure

To create an oil tank:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > Oil Tank.

2. Drag the mouse to define the radius of the baseof the oil tank.

3. Release the mouse button, and then move themouse vertically to define the height of the oiltank. Click to set the height.

4. Move the mouse diagonally to define the heightof the convex caps (toward the upper left toincrease the height; toward the lower right todecrease it).

5. Click again to finish the oil tank.

Interface




Parameters rollout

Radius—Sets the radius of the oil tank.

Height—Sets the dimension along the centralaxis. Negative values create the oil tank below theconstruction plane.

Cap Height—Sets the height of the convex caps.The minimum value is 2.5% of the Radius setting.


The maximum value is the Radius setting, unlessthe absolute value of the Height setting is lessthan the double Radius setting, in which case capheight cannot exceed ½ of the absolute value ofthe Height setting.

Overall/Centers—Determines what the Heightvalue specifies. Overall is the overall height of theobject. Centers is the height of the midsection ofthe cylinder, not including its convex caps.

Blend—When greater than 0, creates a bevel at theedge of the caps.

Sides—Sets the number of sides around the oiltank. To create a smoothly rounded object, usea higher number of sides and turn Smooth on.To create an oil tank with flat sides, use a lowernumber of sides and turn Smooth off.

Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions alongthe oil tank’s major axis.

Smooth—Blends the faces of the oil tank, creatinga smooth appearance in rendered views.

Slice On—Turns on the Slice function. Default=off.

When you create a slice and then turn off SliceOn, the complete oil tank reappears. You cantherefore use this check box to switch between thetwo topologies.


For both settings, positive values move the end ofthe slice counterclockwise; negative values move itclockwise. Either setting can be made first. Whenthe ends meet, the whole oil tank reappears.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the oil tank.Default=on.

Real-World Map Size—Controls the scaling methodused for texture mapped materials that are appliedto the object. The scaling values are controlled

by the Use Real-World Scale settings found inthe applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page2–1199). Default=off.

Capsule Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives >Object Type rollout > Capsule button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Capsule

Use Capsule to create a cylinder with hemisphericalcaps.

Examples of capsules

Procedure

To create a capsule:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > Capsule.

2. Drag the mouse to define the radius of thecapsule.

3. Release the mouse button, and then move themouse vertically to define the height of thecapsule.

4. Click to set the height and finish the capsule.

Spindle Extended Primitive 167

Interface




Parameters rollout

Radius—Sets the radius of the capsule.

Height—Sets the height along the central axis.Negative values create the capsule below theconstruction plane.

Overall/Centers—Determines what the Heightvalue specifies. Overall specifies the overall heightof the object. Centers specifies the height ofthe midsection of the cylinder, not including itsdomed caps.

Sides—Sets the number of sides around thecapsule. Higher numbers shade and render as truecircles with Smooth on. Lower numbers createregular polygonal objects with Smooth off.

Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions alongthe capsule’s major axis.

Smooth—Blends the faces of the capsule, creating asmooth appearance in rendered views.


When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On,the complete capsule reappears. You can use thischeck box to switch between the two topologies.


For both settings, positive values move the end ofthe slice counterclockwise; negative values move itclockwise. Either setting can be made first. Whenthe ends meet, the whole capsule reappears.

Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinatesfor applying mapped materials to the capsule.Default=on.


Spindle Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives >Object Type rollout > Spindle button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Spindle

Use the Spindle primitive to create a cylinder withconical caps.


Examples of spindles

Procedure

To create a spindle:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > Spindle.

2. Drag the mouse to define the radius of the baseof the spindle.

3. Release the mouse button, and then move themouse vertically to define the height of thespindle. Click to set the height.

4. Move the mouse diagonally to define the heightof the conical caps (toward the upper left toincrease the height; toward the lower right todecrease it).

5. Click again to finish the spindle.

Interface




Parameters rollout

Radius—Sets the radius of the spindle.

Height—Sets the dimension along the centralaxis. Negative values create the spindle below theconstruction plane.

Cap Height—Sets the height of the conical caps.The minimum value is 0.1; the maximum value is½ the absolute value of the Height setting.

Overall/Centers—Determines what the Heightvalue specifies. Overall specifies the overall heightof the object. Centers specifies the height ofthe midsection of the cylinder, not including itsconical caps.

Blend—When greater than 0, creates a fillet wherethe caps meet the body of the spindle.

Sides—Sets the number of sides around thespindle. Higher numbers shade and render as true

L-Ext Extended Primitive 169

circles with Smooth on. Lower numbers createregular polygonal objects with Smooth off.

Cap Segs—Sets the number of concentric divisionsalong the center of the spindle’s top and bottom.

Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions alongthe spindle’s major axis.

Smooth—Blends the faces of the spindle, creating asmooth appearance in rendered views.


When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On,the complete spindle reappears. You can thereforeuse this check box to switch between the twotopologies.


For both settings, positive values move the end ofthe slice counterclockwise; negative values move itclockwise. Either setting can be made first. Whenthe ends meet, the whole spindle reappears.

Generate Mapping Coords—Sets up the requiredcoordinates for applying mapped materials to thespindle. Default=on.


L-Ext Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives> Object Type rollout > L-Ext button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > L-Extrustion

Use L-Ext to create an extruded L-shaped object.

Example of L-Ext

Procedure

To create an L-Ext object:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > L-Ext.

2. Drag the mouse to define the base. (Press CTRLto constrain the base to a square.)

3. Release the mouse and move it vertically todefine the height of the L-extrusion.

4. Click, and then move the mouse vertically todefine the thickness or width of the walls of theL-extrusion.

5. Click to finish the L-extrusion.

Interface


Corners—Draws the object from corner to corner.You can change the center location by moving themouse.



Parameters rollout

Side/Front Length—Specify the lengths of each"leg" of the L.

Side/Front Width—Specify the widths of each "leg"of the L.

Height—Specifies the height of the object.

Side/Front Segs—Specify the number of segmentsfor a specific "leg" of the object.

Width/Height Segs—Specify the number ofsegments for the overall width and height.

Note: The object’s dimensions (Back, Side, Front)are labeled as though it were created in the Top orPerspective viewports, and seen from the front inworld space.

Generate Mapping Coords—Sets up the requiredcoordinates for applying mapped materials to theobject. Default=on.

Real-World Map Size—Controls the scaling methodused for texture mapped materials that are appliedto the object. The scaling values are controlledby the Use Real-World Scale settings found in

the applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page2–1199). Default=off.

Gengon Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives >Object Type rollout > Gengon button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Gengon

Use Gengon to create an extruded, regular-sidedpolygon with optionally filleted side edges.

Examples of gengons

Procedure

To create a gengon:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > Gengon.

2. Set the Sides spinner to specify the number ofside wedges in the gengon.

3. Drag the mouse to create the radius of thegengon.

4. Release the mouse button, then move themouse vertically to define the height of thegengon. Click to set the height.

5. Move the mouse diagonally to specify the sizeof the chamfer along the side angles (toward theupper left to increase the size; toward the lowerright to decrease it).

C-Ext Extended Primitive 171

6. Click to finish the gengon.

Tip: In the Parameters rollout, increase the FilletSegs spinner to round the chamfered corners intofillets.

Interface




Parameters rollout

Sides—Sets the number of sides around thegengon. Higher numbers shade and render as truecircles with Smooth on. Lower numbers createregular polygonal objects with Smooth off.

Radius—Sets the radius of the gengon.

Fillet—Sets the width of the chamfered corners.

Height—Sets the dimension along the centralaxis. Negative values create the gengon below theconstruction plane.

Side Segs—Sets the number of divisions aroundthe gengon.

Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions alongthe gengon’s major axis.

Fillet Segs—Sets the number of divisions for theedge filleting. Increasing this setting will produceround, filleted corners instead of chamfers.

Smooth—Blends the faces of the gengon, creating asmooth appearance in rendered views.

Generate Mapping Coords—Sets up the requiredcoordinates for applying mapped materials to thegengon. Default=on.


C-Ext Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry > Extended Primitives > ObjectType rollout > C-Ext button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > C-Extrusion

Use C-Ext to create an extruded C-shaped object.

Example of C-Ext


Procedure

To create a C-Ext object:

1. From the Create menu, choose ExtendedPrimitives > C-Extrusion.

2. Drag the mouse to define the base. (Press CTRLto constrain the base to a square.)

3. Release the mouse and move it vertically todefine the height of the C-extrusion.

4. Click, and then move the mouse vertically todefine the thickness or width of the walls of theC-extrusion.

5. Click to finish the C-extrusion.

Interface


Corners—Draws the object from corner to corner.You can change the center location by moving themouse.


Parameters rollout

Back/Side/Front Length—Specify the length of eachof the three sides.

Back/Side/Front Width—Specify the width of eachof the three sides.

Height—Specifies the overall height of the of theobject.

Back/Side/Front Segs—Specify the number ofsegments for a specific side of the object.

Note: The object’s dimensions (Back, Side, Front)are labeled as though it were created in the Top orPerspective viewports, and seen from the front inworld space.

Width/Height Segs—Set these to specify thenumber of segments for the overall width andheight of the object.

RingWave Extended Primitive 173

Generate Mapping Coords—Sets up the requiredcoordinates for applying mapped materials to theobject. Default=on.


RingWave Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives >Object Type rollout > RingWave button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > RingWave

Example of ringwave

Use the RingWave object to create a ring,optionally with irregular inner and outer edges.

Interface

Parameters rollout


RingWave Size group

Use these settings to change the ringwave’s basicparameters.

Radius—Sets the outside radius of the ringwave.

Radial Segs—Sets the segment count between theinner and outer surfaces in the direction of theradius.

Ring Width—Sets the mean ring width as measuredinward from the outer radius.

Sides—Sets the number of segments in thecircumferential direction for both the inner, outer,and end (cap) surfaces.

Height—Sets the height of the ringwave along itsmajor axis.

Tip: If you leave the Height at 0, you will want toapply a two-sided material so that the ring can beseen from both sides.

Height Segs—Sets the number of segments in thedirection of the height.

RingWave Timing group

Use these parameters to change the shape of theringwave. The ringwave is evaluated as it wouldappear at frame 0 based on the parameter values.

No Growth—Creates a ringwave based onparameters in groups other than the RingwaveTiming group.

Grow and Stay—Evaluates the ringwave at frame 0based on the Start Time and Grow Time values.This setting has an effect on the ringwave’s shapeonly if Start Time is a negative frame number,and the Grow Time causes the ringwave to still be“growing” at frame 0. If Start Time is 0 or greater,turning on Grow and Stay will cause the ringwaveto evaluate to nothing.

Cyclic Growth—Evaluates the ringwave at frame 0based on cyclic growth. The ringwave is evaluatedas if it were growing from the Start Time over the

period of frames specified by Grow Time, thenrepeating the growth from until the End Time isreached.

Start Time—The frame number where the ringwavestarts “growing” when Grow and Stay or CyclicGrowth is turned on. If this value is 0 or larger andGrow and Stay or Cyclic Growth is turned on, theringwave will evaluate to nothing.

Grow Time—The number of frames after StartTime the ringwave takes to reach full size. GrowTime has an effect only if Grow and Stay or CyclicGrowth is chosen.

End Time—The frame number after which theringwave disappears. When this value is a negativenumber, the ringwave evaluates to nothing.

Outer Edge Breakup group

Use these settings to change the shape of theringwave’s outer edge.

On—Turns on breakup of the outer edge. Theremaining parameters in this group are active onlywhen this is on. Default=off.

Major Cycles—Sets the number of major wavesaround the outer edge. This parameter has aneffect only when Width Flux is greater than 0.

Width Flux—Sets the size of the major waves,expressed as a percentage of the unmodulatedwidth.

Crawl Time—Sets the number of frames eachmajor wave takes to move around the outercircumference of the RingWave. This parameter isused for animation of the ringwave, which is notavailable in Autodesk VIZ.

Minor Cycles—Sets the number of random-sizedsmaller waves in each major cycle. This parameterhas an effect only when Width Flux is greater than0.

Prism Extended Primitive 175

Width Flux—Sets the average size of thesmaller waves, expressed as a percentage of theunmodulated width.

Crawl Time—Sets the number of frames each minorwave takes to move across its respective majorwave. This parameter is used for animation of theringwave, which is not available in Autodesk VIZ.

Inner Edge Breakup group

Use these settings to change the shape of theringwave’s inner edge.

On—Turns on the breakup of the inner edge. Theremaining parameters in this group are active onlywhen this is on. Default=on.

Major Cycles—Sets the number of major wavesaround the inner edge. This parameter has aneffect only when Width Flux is greater than 0.

Width Flux—Sets the size of the major waves,expressed as a percentage of the unmodulatedwidth.

Crawl Time—Sets the number of frames eachmajor wave takes to move around the innercircumference of the RingWave. This parameter isused for animation of the ringwave, which is notavailable in Autodesk VIZ.

Minor Cycles—Sets the number of random-sizedsmaller waves in each major cycle. This parameterhas an effect only when Width Flux is greater than0.

Width Flux—Sets the average size of thesmaller waves, expressed as a percentage of theunmodulated width.

Crawl Time—Sets the number of frames each minorwave takes to move across its respective majorwave. This parameter is used for animation of theringwave, which is not available in Autodesk VIZ.

Tip: To produce the best "random" results, useprime numbers for major and minor cycles that

differ by a multiple of two to four. For example, amajor wave of 11 or 17 cycles using a width fluxof 50 combined with a minor wave of 23 or 31cycles with a width flux of 10 to 20 makes a nicerandom-appearing edge.

Texture Coordinates—Sets up the requiredcoordinates for applying mapped materials to theobject. Default=on.

Smooth—Applies smoothing to the object bysetting all polygons to smoothing group 1.Default=on.

Prism Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives> Object Type rollout > Prism button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Prism

Use Prism to create a three-sided prism withindependently segmented sides.

Example of a prism

Procedures

To create a prism with an isosceles triangle as itsbase:

1. Choose Isosceles on the Creation Methodrollout.

2. Drag horizontally in the viewport to definethe length of Side 1 (along the X axis). Dragvertically to define the length of Sides 2 and 3(along the Y axis).


(To constrain the base to an equilateral triangle,press CTRL before performing this step.)

3. Release the mouse, and move it vertically todefine the height of the prism.

4. Click to complete the prism.

5. On the Parameters rollout, alter the length ofthe sides as needed.

To create a prism with a scalene or obtuse triangleat its base:

1. Choose Base/Apex in the Creation Methodrollout.

2. Drag horizontally in the viewport to definethe length of Side 1 (along the X axis). Dragvertically to define the length of Sides 2 and 3(along the Y axis).

3. Click, and then move the mouse to specifythe placement of the apex of the triangle. Thisalters the length of sides 2 and 3, and the anglesof the corners of the triangle.

4. Click, and then move the mouse vertically todefine the height of the prism.

5. Click to complete the prism.

Interface


Isosceles—Draws a prism with an isosceles triangleat its base.

Base/Apex—Draws a prism with a scalene orobtuse triangle at its base.

Parameters rollout

Side (n) Length—Sets the length of triangle’scorresponding side (and thus the triangle’s cornerangles).

Height—Sets the dimension of the prism’s centralaxis.

Side (n) Segs—Specifies the number of segmentsfor each side of the prism.

Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions alongthe prism’s central axis.

Generate Mapping Coordinates—Sets up therequired coordinates for applying mappedmaterials to the prism. Default=off.

Hose Extended Primitive

Create panel > Geometry > Extended Primitives > ObjectType rollout > Hose button

Create menu > Extended Primitives > Hose

The Hose object is a flexible object that you canconnect between two objects, whereupon it reactsto their movement. You can specify the overall

Hose Extended Primitive 177

diameter and length of the hose, the number ofturns, and the diameter and shape of its "wire."

Hose models a workable spring on a motorcycle

Procedures

To create a hose:

1. From the menu bar, choose Create > ExtendedPrimitives > Hose.

2. Drag the mouse to define the radius of the hose.

3. Release the mouse, and then move it to definethe length of the hose.

4. Click to finish the hose.

To bind a hose to two objects:

1. Add a hose and two other objects. Select thehose.

2. In the Modify panel > Hose Parameters rollout> End Point Method group, choose Bound ToObject Pivots.

3. In the Binding Objects group, click Pick TopObject, and then select one of the two objects.

4. In the Binding Objects group, click Pick BottomObject, and then select the second of the twoobjects.

The two ends of the hose attach themselves tothe two objects.

5. Move one of the objects.

The hose adjusts itself to remain attached toboth objects.

Interface

Hose Parameters rollout > End Point Methodgroup

Free Hose—Choose this when using the hose as asimple object that’s not bound to other objects.

Bound to Object Pivots—Choose this when bindingthe hose to two objects, using the buttons in theBinding Objects group.

Hose Parameters rollout > Binding Objectsgroup

Available only when Bound To Object Pivots ischosen. Use the controls to pick the objects towhich the hose is bound and to set the tensionbetween them. "Top" and "Bottom" are arbitrarydescriptors; the two bound objects can have anypositional relationship to each other.

Each end point of the hose is defined by the centerof the overall diameter. This end point is placed atthe pivot point of the object to which it is bound.You can adjust the relative position of the bindingobject to the hose by transforming the bindingobject while the Affect Object Only button isturned on in the Hierarchy panel > Adjust Pivotrollout.


Top (label)—Displays the name of the "top" bindingobject.

Pick Top Object—Click this button and then selectthe "top" object.

Tension—Determines the tension of the hose curvenear the Top object as it reaches for the Bottomobject. Lower the tension to have the bend occurcloser to the Top object, raise the tension to havethe bend occur further away from the Top object.Default=100.

Bottom (label)—Displays the name of the "bottom"binding object.

Pick Bottom Object—Click this button and thenselect the "bottom" object.

Tension—Determines the tension of the hose curvenear the Bottom object as it reaches for the Topobject. Lower the tension to have the bend occurcloser to the Bottom object, raise the tension tohave the bend occur further away from the Bottomobject. Default=100.

Hose Parameters rollout > Free Hose Parametersgroup

Height—Use this field to set the straight-line heightor length of the hose when it is not bound. Thisis not necessarily the actual length of the hose.Available only when Free Hose is chosen.

Hose Parameters rollout > Common HoseParameters group

Segments—The total number of segments in thehose’s length. Increase this setting for a smoothprofile when the hose is curved. Default=45.

Flex Section Enable—When on, lets you set thefollowing four parameters for the central, flexiblesection of the hose. When off, the hose’s diameteris uniform throughout its length.

Starts—The percentage of the hose length fromthe starting extremity of the hose at which the flexsection begins. By default, the starting end of thehose is the end at which the object pivot appears.Default=10%.

Ends—The percentage of the hose length from theend extremity of the hose at which the flex sectionends. By default, the end extremity of the hose isopposite the end at which the object pivot appears.Default=90%.

Cycles—The number of corrugations in the flexsection. The number of visible cycles is limited bythe number of segments; if Segments isn’t high

Hose Extended Primitive 179

enough to support the number of cycles, then notall cycles will appear. Default=5.

Tip: To set the appropriate number of segments,first set Cycles, and then increase Segments untilthe number of visible cycles stops changing.

Diameter—The relative width of the "outside"parts of the cycles. At negative settings, these aresmaller than the overall hose diameter. At positivesettings, these are larger than the overall hosediameter. Default=-20%. Range=-50% to 500%.

Smoothing—Defines the geometry that getssmoothed. Default=All:

• All—The entire hose is smoothed.

• Sides—Smoothing is applied along the lengthof the hose but not around its circumference.

• None—No smoothing is applied.

• Segments—Smoothing is applied only on theinner section of the hose.

Renderable—When on, the hose is rendered usingthe specified settings. When off, the hose is notrendered. Default=on.

Generate Mapping Coords—Sets up requiredcoordinates for applying mapped materials to thehose. Default=on.

Hose Parameters rollout > Hose Shape group

Sets the shape of the hose cross section.Default=Round Hose.

Round Hose—Sets a circular cross section.

Diameter—The maximum width of the hose at theends.

Sides—The number of sides of the hose. A Sidessetting of 3 gives a triangular cross section; 4 givesa square cross section; and 5 gives a pentagonalcross section. Increase Sides for a circular crosssection. Default=8.

Rectangular Hose—Lets you specify differentsettings for width and depth.

Width—The width of the hose.

Depth—The height of the hose.


Fillet—The amount by which the cross-sectioncorners are rounded. For this to be visible, FilletSegs must be set to 1 or higher. Default=0.

Fillet Segs—The number of segments across eachfilleted corner. A Fillet Segs setting of 1 cuts thecorner straight across; use higher settings forrounded corners. Default=0.

Rotation—The orientation of the hose along itslong axis. Default=0.

D-Section Hose—Similar to Rectangular Hose, butrounds one side for a D-shaped cross-section.

Width—The width of the hose.

Depth—The height of the hose.

Round Sides—The number of segments on therounded side. Increase for a smoother profile.Default=4.

Fillet—The amount by which the two cross-sectioncorners opposite the rounded side are rounded.For this to be visible, Fillet Segs must be set to 1 orhigher. Default=0.

Fillet Segs—The number of segments across eachfilleted corner. A Fillet Segs setting of 1 cuts thecorner straight across; use higher settings forrounded corners. Default=0.

Rotation—The orientation of the hose along itslong axis. Default=0.

Creating ArchitecturalObjects

AEC Extended ObjectsCreate panel > Geometry > AEC Extended

AEC Extended objects are designed for use inthe architectural, engineering, and constructionfields. Use Foliage to create plants, Railing to createrailings and fences, and Wall to create walls.

Interface

Foliage (page 1–184)

Railing (page 1–188)

Wall (page 1–193)

The Object Name and Wireframe Color rollout(page 3–479) in each AEC Extended object’screation panel functions identically. Theremaining rollouts are covered in each object’stopic.

Working with AEC DesignElements

Autodesk VIZ is designed for architects, interiordesigners, land planners, civil and mechanicalengineers. With that in mind, Autodesk VIZincludes such features as Foliage, Doors, Windows,

Working with AEC Design Elements 181

Stairs, Railing, and Wall to make exploringthree-dimensional design ideas much easier.

This section provides general information aboutthese features. For detailed explanations andprocedures, see the topics listed below:

Doors (page 1–217)

Windows (page 1–224)

Stairs (page 1–202)

Railing (page 1–188)

Wall (page 1–193)

Foliage (page 1–184)

Doors and Windows

Autodesk VIZ supplies a number of parametricwindow and door objects that you can place intowall openings to add realism to an architecturalmodel. These objects let you control details liketrim and panel fill in your model.

Tip: Use Snaps (page 2–660) for added precisionwhen adding doors and windows.

When you create a new door or window, you mustselect four points in the scene that define the sizeand orientation of the rectangle that will be thedoor or window. You may find it easier to selectthese points in a given sequence, depending onyour scene and views of the scene.

If you already have a rectangular hole you want tofill, you can still create a door or window to yourspecifications by using the following procedure.

To create a door or window:

1. Set up an angled User view so that you can seethe bottom and one vertical edge of the openingand its full height.

2. Set the appropriate object snaps, such as Vertexor Endpoint. This helps make the model moreprecise.

3. After clicking Window or Door, choose one oftwo Creation Methods: Width/Depth/Heightor Width/Height/Depth.

4. Make parameter adjustments to define details.

The width and orientation of the door/windowis always defined by the first mouse click andsubsequent mouse drag. Depending on thecreation method you use, either the height ordepth of the object is defined next.

If you have no object snaps set and are workingin a Perspective or User Viewport, usingthe Width/Depth/Height Creation Methodcreates an upright Door or Window. TheWidth/Height/Depth Creation Method creates theobject as if it were lying on its side.

Allowing Non-vertical Jambs

The Allow Non-vertical Jambs toggle is usefulfor creating doors or windows that do not fit ina vertical plane, such as a skylight window in asloping roof. By default, this toggle is off, makingthe third point in the creation sequence eitherdirectly above (Width/Height/Depth) or on thesame horizontal plane (Width/Depth/Height)with the second point.

When you turn on Allow Non-vertical Jambs, thethird point in the creation sequence falls whereveryou choose and the fourth point is added by theprogram. Its offset from the plane is determinedby the first three points.

Using the Width/Height/Depth Creation Methodin Perspective and User viewports with AllowNon-vertical Jambs off can be an efficient wayto create doors and windows with Object Snaps.However, it can also be confusing at first. Keepin mind that the third point you define, theHeight, is interpreted as a point on the homegrid until you indicate a point higher or lowerthan the grid. If you are using an Object Snapsetting, Autodesk VIZ might not know you mean


a point off the grid unless you bring the cursor inproximity to a nonplanar point to which it cansnap.

Additional Parameters

There are additional parameters specific toeach door and window type that control overalldimension parameters, as well as detailedparameters for sub-object components such asmullions, trim, and panels within leaves. SeeDoors (page 1–217) and Windows (page 1–224)for more information on these parameters.

Animating Doors and Windows

Most creation parameters cannot be animatedin Autodesk VIZ. However, since opening andclosing door and window objects is frequentlydesired for animated walkthroughs, certain doorand window creation parameters (typically theOpen parameter) can be animated. See Doors(page 1–217) and Windows (page 1–224) for moreinformation.

Creating Stairs and Railings

Autodesk VIZ contains four types of stair objects:spiral stairs (page 1–206), U-type stairs (page1–214) with an intermediate landing, L-typestairs (page 1–203) with a landing at the bend inthe stair, and straight stairs (page 1–210) withno intermediate landing. A complementaryRailing object can be used to create any number ofhandrail designs that follow along a spline path.

For more information, see Stairs (page 1–202).

The Railing Object

Use the Railing button on the Create panel in theto produce railing objects. Railing componentsinclude rails, AEC Extended category (page1–180)posts, and fencing. Fencing includes pickets(balusters) or solid-filled material (such as glass orwood strips).

You can create a railing in two ways: specify theorientation and height of the railing, or pick aspline path and apply the railing to that path.The spline path with a railing is called a rail path.Later, if you edit the rail path, the Railing objectautomatically updates to follow the changes youmake. Rail paths can occupy three-dimensionalspace.

When you create the lower rails, posts, and fencingcomponents of a Railing object, you use a specialversion of the Spacing Tool to specify the spacingof those components. The program displays theSpacing Tool dialog for each railing component:Lower Rail, Post Spacing, or Picket Spacing. Formore information on the Spacing Tool, see SpacingTool (page 1–381).

For details on Railing parameters and informationon creating a Railing object, see Railing (page1–188).

Creating Walls

Use the Wall button (page 1–193) on the Createpanel, in the AEC Extended category, to producestraight-wall objects. A wall object is made up ofsub-object segments that you can edit with theModify panel.

You can:

• Break or insert wall segments to create separatewall objects.

• Delete wall segments.

• Connect two wall objects.

When you create two wall segments that meet ata corner, Autodesk VIZ removes any duplicategeometry. This “cleaning up” of the cornersmight involve trimming. Autodesk VIZ cleans uponly the first two wall segments of a corner, notother wall segments that might share the corner.Autodesk VIZ does not clean up intersections.

Working with AEC Design Elements 183

You can edit the segments of a wall usingsub-object selection mode on the Modify panel.For example, you can define a wall’s height profile.Autodesk VIZ moves the active grid to the plane ofthe wall you’re editing. This allows you to snap tothe profile vertices in the plane of the wall.

If you move, scale, or rotate the wall object, thelinked door and window moves, scales, or rotatesalong with the wall. If you move the linked door orwindow along the wall, using the door or window’sLocal coordinate system and activating Restrictto XY Plane in the Axis Constraints toolbar (page1–358), the opening will follow. Also, if you changea door or window’s overall width and height in theModify panel, the hole will reflect those changes.

Usage Tips

The following are a few tips for working with wallobjects:

• Use the Top viewport when creating wallobjects.

• Single walls with many windows and doors canslow down snap calculations and movementof the wall object. To speed up insertion andediting, use multiple walls instead of a singlewall.

• You can speed up performance in a scene withmany walls, windows, and doors by collapsingthem. First save an uncollapsed version for anyfuture parametric changes you might want tomake. Then right-click the wall and pick SelectChildren from the right-click menu. Next useCollapse in the Utility rollout to collapse themall.

For complete information, see Wall (page 1–193).

To create a wall:

1. On the Create panel, in the AEC Extendedcategory, click Wall.

2. Use Customize > Units Setup to establishprecision, and then set the parameters for theWidth, Height, and Justification of the wall.

3. In any viewport, click, release the mouse, dragthe wall segment to the length you want andclick again.

This creates a wall segment. You can end thewall or you can continue to create another wallsegment.

4. To complete the wall, right-click, or to addanother wall segment, drag the next wallsegment to the length you want and click again.

If you create a room by ending a segment atthe end of another segment of the same wallobject, the program displays the Weld Pointdialog. This dialog lets you convert the two endvertices into a single vertex, or keep the two endvertices separate.

5. If you want the wall segments to be welded ata corner (when you move one wall, the otherwall stays at the corner), click Yes. Otherwise,click No.

6. Right-click to complete the wall, or continue toadd another wall segment.

To attach separate walls:

1. Select a wall object.

2. On the Modify panel, click Attach, and thenpick another wall object.

The two wall objects become part of the samewall object, but are not physically connected.

Attach stays active, and you can continueclicking wall segments to attach. To stopattaching, click the Attach button or right-clickin the active viewport.

To attach multiple wall objects simultaneouslyto the selected wall object, click Attach Multipleon the Modify panel to open the AttachMultiple dialog. This works the same as theSelect By Name dialog, except that it shows only


wall objects; choose multiple walls to attach,and then click the Attach button.

To connect vertices in a wall:

This method lets you connect two separate wallsections with a new segment.

Tip: It is easier to work with wall vertices inwireframe view mode.

1. Select a wall object that has more than onesection. Typically you would use Attach tocreate such an object.

2. In the modifier stack (page 3–481), go to theVertex sub-object level.

3. Click Connect and point the mouse over an endvertex until the cursor changes to a cross.

4. Click once over the end vertex.

5. Move the cursor to another end vertex, andthen click to connect the two segments.

To insert a vertex in a wall:

It is easier to work with wall vertices in wireframeview mode.

1. Select a wall segment.


3. Click Insert.

A highlighted line appears along the bottom ofthe wall, showing where you can insert vertices.

4. Click anywhere on the highlighted line to inserta vertex.

The new vertex is attached to the mouse cursor.

5. Move the mouse to position the vertex, andthen click to place it.

Now the mouse is attached to one of the newsegments.

6. Move the mouse along the segment and click toadd vertices.

7. Right-click to finish working on this segment.You can now insert vertices in other segments,or right-click again to exit Insert mode.

Foliage

Create panel > Geometry > AEC Extended > Foliagebutton

Create menu > AEC Objects > Foliage

Foliage produces various types of plant objectssuch tree species. Autodesk VIZ generates meshrepresentations to create fast, efficient, andgood-looking plants.

You control height, density, pruning, seed, canopydisplay, and level of detail. The seed optioncontrols creation of different representations of thesame species. You can create millions of variationsof the same species, so each object can be unique.With the viewport canopy mode (page 1–188)option, you can control the amount of plantdetail, reducing the number of vertices and facesAutodesk VIZ uses to display the plant.

Foliage 185

Some of the plants that can be created from the standardlibrary

Tips

• Use the Spacing tool (page 1–381) to placeplants along a path.

• Use vertex or face snapping (see Snaps Settings(page 2–654)) to position plants on a surface.

Using the Spacing tool to distribute trees along paths

Procedure

To add plants to a scene:

1. Click the Favorite Plants rollout > Plant Librarybutton to display the Configure Palette dialog.

2. Double-click the row for each plant you want toadd or remove from the Palette and click OK.

3. On the Favorite Plants rollout, select a plant anddrag it to a location in a viewport. Alternatively,select a plant in the rollout and then click in theviewport to place the plant.

4. On the Parameters rollout, click the New buttonto display different seed variations of the plant.

5. Adjust the remaining parameters to showelements of the plants, such as leaves, fruit,

branches, and if you want, to view the plant incanopy mode.

Interface

Object Name and Wireframe Color rollout

This rollout lets you set the foliage object’sname, color, and default material. For detailedinformation, see Object Name and WireframeColor (page 3–479).

When Favorite Plants rollout > AutomaticMaterials is on, each plant is assigned its owndefault material. For more information, seeFavorite Plants rollout, following.

Keyboard Entry rollout

See Creating Primitives from the Keyboard (page1–140).


Favorite Plants rollout

The palette displays the plants currently loadedfrom the Plant Library. There are three ways toadd a plant to the scene:

• Use keyboard entry.

• Click the icon in the Favorite Plants list and thenclick a location in a viewport. Double-click theicon to place the plant at the world origin.

• Drag the plant from the palette and drop it intoa viewport.

Automatic Materials—Assigns default materials forthe plant. To modify these material assignments,use the Material Editor (page 2–1039). Select theplant in the viewport, and click Main toolbar >Material Editor. Click the Get Material button(page 2–1069) to display the Material/MapBrowser. Under Browse From, choose Selected.

Then, from the list pane, double-click the materiallist item for the plant to display the materials in theBasic Parameters rollout of the Material Editor.

If you turn off Automatic Materials, Autodesk VIZassigns no materials to the object, unless the NameAnd Color rollout > Default Material check boxis on and a default material is assigned. This wayyou can specify a particular default material for allfoliage objects. For more information, see ObjectName and Wireframe Color (page 3–479).

When on, Automatic Materials overrides theDefault Material settings.

Note: Even if Automatic Materials is off,Autodesk VIZ still assigns material IDs to thefoliage objects, so that the object is ready for amulti/sub-object material.

Plant Library—Displays the Configure Palettedialog. Using this window, you can viewinformation on the available plants includingtheir names, whether they’re in the palette, theirscientific names, types, descriptions, and theapproximate number of faces per object. You canalso add and remove plants from the palette, andclear the palette, which removes all plants from thepalette.

Tip: To quickly add or remove a plant from thepalette, double-click its row in the ConfigurePalette dialog. The Fav. (Favorite Plants) columnentry switches between "no" and "yes." Click OKto accept the changes and exit the window.

Foliage 187

Parameters rollout

Height—Controls the approximate height of theplant. Autodesk VIZ applies a random noisefactor to the height of all of the plants. Therefore,the actual height of a plant, as measured in theviewports, won’t necessarily match the settinggiven in the Height parameter.

Density—Controls the amount of leaves andflowers on the plant. A value of 1 displays a plantwith all its leaves and flowers, .5 displays a plantwith half its leaves and flowers, and 0 displays aplant with no leaves or flowers.

Two trees with varying foliage densities

Pruning—Applies only to plants with branches.Removes branches that lie below an invisible planeparallel to the construction plane. A value of 0prunes nothing, a value of .5 prunes the plant at aplane halfway up its height from the constructionplane, and a value of 1 prunes everything possiblefrom the plant. What Autodesk VIZ prunes fromthe plant depends on the type of plant. The trunkis never pruned.

Three pairs of trees, showing different values of pruning

New—Displays a random variation of the currentplant. Autodesk VIZ displays the seed value in thenumeric field next to the button.

Tip: Click the New button repeatedly until you findthe variation you want. This is often easier thantrying to adjust the tree using modifiers.

Seed—A value between 0 and 16,777,215representing the possible variations of branch andleaf placement and shape and angle of the trunk ofthe current plant.

Generate Mapping Coords—Applies defaultmapping coordinates (page 3–696) to the plant.Default=on.

Show group

Controls the display of leaves, fruit, flowers,trunk, branches, and roots of plants. Availableoptions depend on the type of plant you select. Forexample, if a plant doesn’t have fruit, Autodesk VIZ


disables that option. Turning off options reducesthe number of vertices and faces displayed.

Viewport Canopy Mode group

In Autodesk VIZ, the canopy of a plant is a shellcovering the outermost parts of the plant, suchas the leaves or the tips of the branches andtrunk. The term derives from "forest canopy."Use reasonable parameters when you create manyplants and want to optimize display performance.

Because this setting applies only to the plant’srepresentation in the viewports, it has no effecton how Autodesk VIZ renders the plant. Forinformation on how Autodesk VIZ renders theplant, see Level-of-Detail (page 1–188).

When Not Selected—Displays the plant in canopymode when it’s not selected.

Always—Always displays the plant in canopymode.

Never—Never displays the plant in canopy mode.Autodesk VIZ displays all the features of the plant.

Level-of-Detail group

Controls how Autodesk VIZ renders the plant.For information on how Autodesk VIZ displaysthe plant in the viewports, see Viewport CanopyMode (page 1–188).

Low—Renders the plant canopy, providing thelowest level of detail.

Medium—Renders a reduced-face-count versionof the plant. How Autodesk VIZ reduces the facecount varies from plant to plant, but it usuallyinvolves removing smaller elements of the plantor reducing the number of faces in the branchesand trunk.

High—Renders all the faces of the plant, providingthe highest level of detail.

Tip: Set the parameters before creating multipleplants. This can avoid slowing down the display,and might reduce editing you have to do on theplants.

Railing

Create panel > Geometry > AEC Extended > Railingbutton

Create menu > AEC Objects > Railing

Components of the railing object include rails,posts, and fencing. Fencing includes either pickets(balusters) or solid-filled material, such as glassor wood strip.

Railings used to create fences in a field.

You can create a railing object either by specifyingthe orientation and height of the railing, or bypicking a spline path and applying the railing tothat path. When Autodesk VIZ applies railing

Railing 189

to a spline path, the latter is called a rail path.Later, if you edit the rail path, the railing objectautomatically updates to follow the changes youmade. You can use three-dimensional splines asrail paths.

When you create the lower rails, posts, and fencingcomponents of a railing, you use the Spacingtool (page 1–381) to specify the spacing of thosecomponents. Autodesk VIZ names the Spacingtool dialog for each railing component: Lower RailSpacing, Post Spacing, or Picket Spacing.

Tip: Use Railing to create complete railingsfor stairs. See Stairs (page 1–202) for moreinformation.

Railings and Materials

By default, Autodesk VIZ assigns five differentmaterial IDs to railings. The aectemplates.matmaterial library includes Rail-Template, amulti/sub-object material (page 2–1182) designedto be used with railings. Each component ofthe railing/material is listed below along with itscorresponding Material ID.

Material ID Railing/Material Component

1 Lower rails

2 Posts of the railing

3 Solid fill of the railing

4 Top of the railing

5 Pickets of the railing

Note: Autodesk VIZ does not automatically assigna material to the railing object. To use the includedmaterial, open the library and then assign thematerial to your object.

Procedures

The following procedures describe how to createrailings combining each of the components: upperrail, lower rails, posts, picket fencing, and solidfilled fencing.

You can create a railing object in any viewport,but for best results, use a Perspective, Camera, orTop viewport.

To create a railing:

1. Click and drag the railing to the desired length.

2. Release the mouse button, and then move themouse vertically to set the height. Click tofinish.

By default, Autodesk VIZ creates the top railalong with two posts, a lower rail at half therailing height, and two evenly spaced pickets.

3. If you need to, change any of the parametersto adjust the segments, length, profile, depth,width, and height of the rail.

To adjust lower rails:

1. To modify the lower rail, or add more, choosean option from the Lower Rail(s) group >Profile list.

2. Specify the depth and width for the lowerrails and then click the Lower Rail(s) > Spacingbutton.

3. Specify the number of lower rails you wantusing the Count option. Click Close to applyyour changes. For more information on spacingoptions in this dialog, see Spacing Tool (page1–381).

To create posts:

1. If you want to modify the posts, or add more,choose an option from the Profile list under thePosts rollout.

2. Specify the depth and width of the postsand how much they should extend above thetop rail. Then click the Posts rollout > Spacingbutton.

3. Specify the number of posts you want usingthe Count option. Click Close to apply your


changes. For more information on spacingoptions in this dialog, see Spacing Tool (page1–381).

To create picket fencing:

1. Choose Fencing rollout > Type list > Pickets.The Solid Fill options will be unavailable.

2. Choose an option from the Profile list,specify the depth and width of the pickets, andthen click the Picket rollout > Spacing button.

3. Specify the number of pickets you want usingthe Count option. Click Close to apply yourchanges. For more information on spacingoptions in this dialog, Spacing Tool (page1–381).

To create solid-fill fencing:

1. Choose Fencing rollout > Type list > Solid Fill.(The options under Picket are unavailable).

2. Under Solid Fill, adjust the options forThickness and offsets.

To create railings along a spline path:

Before you can create railings along a spline path,you need to create a spline, or use an existingspline from your scene.

1. Click Create panel > Geometry > AECExtended > Railing.

2. Click Pick Railing Path, then select a spline inyour scene.

Since the number of segments is 1 by default,the upper rail extends for one segment betweenthe start and end of the spline.

3. Change the amount of segments using theModify panel > Segment setting.

The higher the segment value, the more closelythe railing approximates the spline shape.

4. If you want the railing to contain corners wherethe spline does, turn on Respect Corners.

5. Complete the remainder of the railing optionsas described in the preceding procedures.

Thereafter, the spline is associated with therailing; any changes you make to the splineshape are reflected in the railing.

Interface

Name and Color rollout

This rollout lets you set the selected railing’s nameand color. For detailed information, see ObjectName and Wireframe Color (page 3–479).

Railing rollout

Pick Railing Path—Click this, and then click aspline in the viewport to use as the railing path.Autodesk VIZ uses the spline as the path alongwhich to apply the railing object.

Railing 191

If you edit the spline you’ve used as a railingpath, the railing adjusts to the changes you make.Autodesk VIZ doesn’t immediately recognize2D Shapes from a linked AutoCAD drawing.To recognize Shapes from a linked AutoCADdrawing, edit the Shape with Edit Spline (page2–126) in the Modify panel.

Tip: When you create a railing using a closedspline for the rail path, open the Post Spacingdialog (page 1–381), turn off Start Offset and EndOffset, and lock End Offset. This will ensure thatAutodesk VIZ properly creates the railing with anyfill, pickets, and posts you specify.

Note: Railing objects that use Pick Path do not stayon the path when substituted using the Substitutemodifier. Substituted externally referencedrailings do not undo when railings are associatedwith a path.

Segments—Sets the number of segments of therailing object. Available only when you’re usinga railing path.

For a close approximation to a railing path,increase the number of segments. Be aware that ahigh number of segments increases file size andslows down the rendering speed. You might usefewer segments when the spline path has a lowcurvature (or none) and fewer segments providean adequate approximation.

Respect Corners—Puts corners in the railing tomatch the corners of the railing path.

Length—Sets the length of the Railing object.When you drag the mouse, the length displays inthe edit box.

Top Rail group

The defaults produce a top rail component,consisting of one segment by the length youspecify, a square profile, four units deep, threeunits wide, and the height you specify.

1. Width

2. Depth

3. Height

4. Profile for the square top rail

5. Profile for the round top rail

Profile—Sets the cross-section shape of the top rail.

Depth—Sets the depth of the top rail.

Width—Sets the width of the top rail.

Height—Sets the height of the top rail. Duringcreation, you can drag the top rail to the heightyou want using the mouse in the viewport. Or youcan enter the height amount from the keyboardor use the spinners.

Lower Rail(s) group

Controls the profile, depth, width, and spacingbetween the lower rails. You specify how manylower rails you want using the Lower Rail Spacingbutton.

A railing with the rails defined by their profile, depth, andwidth as planks.


Profile—Sets the cross-section shape of the lowerrails.

Depth—Sets the depth of the lower rails.

Width—Sets the width of the lower rails.

Lower Rail Spacing—Sets the spacing of thelower rails. When you click this button, the LowerRail Spacing dialog displays. Specify the numberof lower rails you want using the Count option.For more information on spacing options in thisdialog, see Spacing Tool (page 1–381).

Generate Mapping Coords—Assigns mappingcoordinates (page 3–696) to the railing object.

Note: If a visible viewport is set to a non-wireframeor non-bounding-box display, Generate MappingCoordinates is on for all primitives to which youapply a material containing a map with ShowMap In Viewport on. If all viewports are set towireframe or bounding box, Autodesk VIZ turnson Generate Mapping Coordinates for primitivescontaining mapped materials at render time.


Posts rollout

Controls the profile, depth, width, extension, andspacing between the posts. You specify how manyposts you want using the Post Spacing button.

Profile—Sets the cross-section shape of the posts:none, Square, or Round.

Depth—Sets the depth of the posts.

Width—Sets the width of the posts.

Extension—Sets the amount the posts extend abovethe bottom of the top railing.

Post Spacing—Sets the spacing of the posts.When you click this button, the Post Spacingdialog displays. Specify the number of postsyou want using the Count option. For moreinformation on spacing options in this dialog, seeSpacing Tool (page 1–381).

Tip: Setting Profile to (none) makes an "invisible"post. You might want to do this to create a railingwith gaps between solid fill fencing. Or you coulduse it to make a railing with openings betweengroups of pickets. This is different from setting thepost count to 0 in the Post Spacing dialog.

Fencing rollout

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Type—Sets the type of fencing between the posts:none, Pickets, or Solid Fill.

Picket group

Controls the profile, depth, width, and spacingbetween the pickets. Specify how many pickets youwant using the Picket Spacing button. Availableonly when you set Type to Pickets.

1. A railing with pickets using a square profile

2. A railing with pickets using a round profile

Profile—Sets the cross-section shape of the pickets.

Depth—Sets the depth of the pickets.

Width—Sets the width of the pickets.

Extension—Sets the amount the pickets extendabove the bottom of the top railing.

Bottom Offset—Sets the amount the pickets areoffset from the bottom of the railing object.

Picket Spacing—Sets the spacing of thepickets. When you click this button, the PicketSpacing dialog displays. Specify the number ofpickets you want using the Count option. For moreinformation on spacing options in this dialog, seeSpacing Tool (page 1–381).

Solid Fill group

Controls the thickness and offsets of the solid fillbetween the posts. Available only when you setType to Solid.

Thickness—Sets the thickness of the solid fill.

Top Offset—Sets the offset of the solid fill from thebottom of the top rail.

Bottom Offset—Sets the offset of the solid fill fromthe bottom of the railing object.

Left Offset—Sets the offset between the solid filland the adjacent left post.

Right Offset—Sets the offset between the solid filland the adjacent right post.

Wall

Create panel > Geometry > AEC Extended > Object Typerollout > Wall button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Wall

The Wall object is made up of three sub-objecttypes that you can edit in the Modify panel.Similarly to the way you edit splines, you can editthe wall object (page 1–199), its vertices (page1–199), its segments (page 1–200), and its profile(page 1–201).

When you create two wall segments that meet ata corner, Autodesk VIZ removes any duplicategeometry. This "cleaning up" of the corners mightinvolve trimming. Autodesk VIZ cleans up onlythe first two wall segments of a corner, not anyother wall segments that might share the corner.Autodesk VIZ does not clean up intersections.

Inserting Doors and Windows in a Wall

Autodesk VIZ can automatically make openingsfor doors and windows in a wall. At the same time,it links the door or window to the wall as it child.The most effective way of doing both is to createthe doors and windows directly on a wall segmentby snapping to the faces, vertices, or edges of thewall object.

If you move, scale, or rotate the wall object, thelinked door or window moves, scales, or rotatesalong with the wall. If you move the linked door orwindow along the wall, using the door or window’slocal coordinate system and constraining motion


to the XY plane (page 3–396), the opening willfollow. Also, if you change a door or window’soverall width and height on the Modify panel, thehole will reflect those changes.

For further information, see the procedure Tocreate and place a window or door in a wall (page1–197).

Walls and Materials

By default, Autodesk VIZ assigns five differentmaterial IDs to walls. The aectemplates.matmaterial library includes Wall-Template, amulti/sub-object material (page 2–1182) designedto be used with walls. Each component ofthe wall/material is listed below along with itscorresponding Material ID.

Material ID Wall/Material Component

1 Vertical ends of the wall

2 Outside of the wall

3 Inside of the wall

4 Top of the wall, including any edges cutout of the wall

5 Bottom of the wall

Note: Autodesk VIZ does not automatically assigna material to the wall object. To use the includedmaterial, open the library and then assign thematerial to your object.

Note: The definitions of slots 2 and 3 areinterchangeable; inside and outside simply dependon your point of view, and how you created thewall.

See also

Editing Wall Objects (page 1–198)

Tips

• To make a passageway through a wall you canperform a Boolean operation (page 1–298)with the wall as Operand A, and another object,

such as a box or an extruded archway shape,as Operand B. The wall will still be accessibleat the Boolean sub-object level. Then, you canadd a window or door in the passageway, andlink (page 2–767) it as a child of the wall.

• Single walls with many windows and doorscan become slow to use because of the amountof boolean calculations used. To speed upmovement and editing, you might considerusing multiple walls instead of a single wall.

• You can speed up performance in a scene withmany walls, windows and doors by collapsingthem. First save an uncollapsed version for anyfuture parametric changes you might want tomake. Then double-click the wall to select itand its children. Next use Convert To from theright-click menu to convert them to an editablemesh, and so on.

Procedures

To create a wall:

You can create a wall in any viewport, but forvertical walls, use a Perspective, Camera, or Topviewport.

1. Set parameters for the Width, Height, andJustification of the wall.

2. In a viewport, click and release, move themouse to set the desired length for the wallsegment, and click again.

This creates a wall segment. You can end thewall by right-clicking or you can continue tocreate another wall segment.

3. To add another wall segment, move the mouseto set the length of the next wall segment andclick again.

If you create a room by ending a segment atthe end of another segment of the same wallobject, Autodesk VIZ displays the Weld Pointdialog. This dialog lets you convert the two end

Wall 195

vertices into a single vertex, or to keep the twoend vertices distinct.

4. If you want the wall segments to be welded atthat corner so that when you move one wall,the other wall stays correct at the corner, clickYes. Otherwise, click No.

5. Right-click to end the wall, or continue to addother wall segments.

To attach separate walls:

1. Select a wall object.

2. On the Modify panel, click Attach, and thenpick another wall object.

The two wall objects become part of the samewall object, but are not physically connected.

Attach stays active, and you can continueclicking wall segments to attach. To stopattaching, click the Attach button or right-clickin the active viewport.

To attach multiple wall objects simultaneouslyto the selected wall object, click Attach Multipleon the Modify panel to open the AttachMultiple dialog. This works the same as theSelect By Name dialog, except that it shows onlywall objects; choose multiple walls to attach,and then click the Attach button.

To connect vertices in a wall:

This method lets you connect two separate wallsections with a new segment.


1. Select a wall object that has more than onesection. Typically you would use Attach tocreate such an object.


3. Click Connect and point the mouse over an endvertex until the cursor changes to a cross.

4. Click once over the end vertex.

5. Move the cursor to another end vertex, andthen click to connect the two segments.

To insert a vertex in a wall:

It is easier to work with wall vertices in wireframeview mode.



3. Click Insert.

A highlighted line appears along the bottom ofthe wall, showing where you can insert vertices.

4. Click anywhere on the highlighted line to inserta vertex.

The new vertex is attached to the mouse cursor.

5. Move the mouse to position the vertex, andthen click to place it.

Now the mouse is attached to one of the newsegments.

6. Move the mouse along the segment and click toadd vertices.

7. Right-click to finish working on this segment.You can now insert vertices in other segments,or right-click again to exit Insert mode.

To detach and reorient a copy of a wall segment:


1. Select a wall.

2. In the modifier stack (page 3–481), go to theSegment sub-object level.


4. Turn on both Reorient and Copy, and thenclick Detach.


5. Enter a name for the new wall object in theDetach dialog or click OK to accept the defaultname.

Autodesk VIZ copies the original wall’s Localcoordinate system (page 3–692) when it makesthe copy of the detached segment. It places thenew object so that its Local coordinate systemis coincident with the World space origin (page3–748).

To add a gable point to a wall profile or adjust foruneven terrain:


1. Select a wall.

2. In the modifier stack (page 3–481), go to theProfile sub-object level.

3. Select a wall profile by clicking a wall segment.

A grid appears.

4. To add a gable point procedurally, set the heightand click Create Gable.

If you prefer to add the profile point manually,click Insert, click a point on the highlighted topprofile, drag the new point into place and thenrelease where you want to place the new gablepoint. You can move profile points you createwith Insert only within the plane of the wallsegment, and you cannot move them below theoriginal top edge.

If you want to adjust the profile for uneventerrain below a wall, click Insert, pick thehighlighted bottom profile and add points asnecessary.

If you want to extend multiple segmentsuniformly downward below floor level, do thefollowing: At the Segment sub-object level,select the segments and, on the Edit Segmentrollout, enter a negative Bottom Offset valueto move the segments downward. Add theabsolute value of the Bottom Offset setting back

to the Height value to bring the top of the wallheight back up and make it flush with the otherwall segments.

To apply a texture to a wall:

Walls are created with five different material IDs(page 3–698) for their various parts.

The aectemplates.mat material library includesWall-Template, a Multi/Sub-Object materialdesigned for use with walls. You can copy or copyand modify this template, or create your ownmaterial as follows:

1. Create a Multi/Sub-Object material (page2–1182) using five textures for the followingMaterial IDs:

• Slot #1 is the material for the vertical endson the wall

• Slot #2 is the material for the outside of thewall

• Slot #3 is the material for the inside of thewall

• Slot #4 is the material for the top of the wall,as well as any inside edges cut out of the wall

• Slot #5 is the material for the bottom of thewall

Note: The definitions of slots 2 and 3 areinterchangeable; inside and outside simplydepend on your point of view, and how youcreated the wall.

2. If the top and bottom surfaces of the wall aren’tvisible in the rendered scene, you can use athree-sided material instead. The inside andoutside of the wall are relative to the directionin which the wall was created. To swap a texturebetween slots in the Material Editor, drag oneof the textures over the other slot in the BasicParameters rollout of the Multi/Sub-Objectmaterial, and then choose Swap.

Wall 197

3. For greater control in tiling across the wallsurface, apply a Map Scaler world-spacemodifier (page 2–46) to the wall. Then adjustthe scale of the map in the Map Scaler’sParameters rollout.

To create and place a window or door in a wall:

For best results, perform this procedure in awireframe viewport.

1. Create a window (page 1–224) or door (page1–217) (hereafter referred to as "window" forbrevity) directly on an existing wall. You candefine the window’s exact dimensions afterinsertion. Use edge snap (page 2–654) for thefirst snaps to place and align the window on thewall and to establish its exact depth. Snap toand then click the near top edge of the wall tostart creation. Drag to another edge snap pointon the near top edge of the wall and release toalign the window with the wall segment and toset its width. Snap to the rear top edge of thewall to set the proper depth and click. Movethe cursor downward and click to define thewindow height. This final click doesn’t requirea snap, as it simply defines a rough height.

2. The window should now be cut out of the wall.On the Modify panel for windows or doors,set the correct width and height. Change thedepth if it’s different from the snap depth youset above.

3. Use vertex snap to move the window or doorfrom a reference point to a known point on thewall segment. Then

Next, use relative offset values from this newposition to accurately locate the window ordoor. As an example, following the next twosteps, you could move a window from its topleft corner to the top left corner of the wallsegment so that you can then move it 3 feet tothe right and 2 feet down.

4. With the window or door selected, set thecoordinate system to Local.

5. On the Coordinate Display (page 3–437),activate Offset mode and then enter the offsetdistances on the X axis for horizontal and the Yaxis for vertical.

Note: For best results, do not position an insertedwindow or door at the bottom of a wall.

Interface


X—Sets the coordinate position along the X axisfor the start point of a wall segment in the activeconstruction plane.

Y—Sets the coordinate position along the Y axisfor the start point of a wall segment in the activeconstruction plane.

Z—Sets the coordinate position along the Z axisfor the start point of a wall segment in the activeconstruction plane.

Add Point—Adds the point from the X, Y, and Zcoordinate values you enter.

Close—Ends creation of the wall object and createsa segment between the end point of the lastsegment and the start point of the first segment, tomake a closed wall.


Finish—Ends creation of the wall object, leavingit open ended.

Pick Spline—Lets you use a spline as the wallpath. Click this, and then click a spline in theviewport to use as the wall path. Autodesk VIZuses the spline as the path along which to apply thewall object. Autodesk VIZ doesn’t immediatelyrecognize 2D Shapes from a linked AutoCADdrawing. To recognize Shapes from a linkedAutoCAD drawing, edit the Shape with Edit Spline(page 2–126) from the Modify panel.

Note: If you designate a curved spline as the path,Autodesk VIZ creates straight wall segments thatapproximate the spline as closely as possible, withone wall segment per spline segment.

Parameters rollout

The defaults produce a wall object 5 units wide, 96units high, and justified at the center of the wall.

Width—Sets the thickness of the wall. Range=0.01unit to 100,000 units. Default=5.

Height—Sets the height of the wall. Range=0.01unit to 100,000 units. Default=96.

Justification group

Left—Justifies the wall at the left edge of its baseline(the line between the wall’s front and back sides,which is equal to the wall thickness). If you turnGrid Snap on, the left edge of the wall’s baselinesnaps to the grid line.

Center—Justifies the wall at the center of itsbaseline. If you turn Grid Snap on, the center ofthe wall’s baseline snaps to the grid line. This isthe default.

Right—Justifies the wall at the right edge of itsbaseline. If you turn Grid Snap on, the right edgeof the wall’s baseline snaps to the grid line.

Generate Mapping Coords—Assigns mappingcoordinates (page 3–696) to the wall. Default=on.


Editing Wall Objects

Select a wall object. > Modify panel

The following reference describes the Wall optionson the Modify panel. It’s generally easiest to editwall objects in wireframe mode.

See also

Wall (page 1–193)

Editing Wall Objects 199

Interface

Edit Object rollout

This rollout appears when you select a wall objectat the object level; other rollouts, discussed belowappear at the different sub-object levels.

Attach—Attaches another wall in a viewport tothe selected wall by a single pick. The object youattach must also be a wall. Autodesk VIZ appliesthe material of the selected wall to the wall beingattached.

Attach Multiple—Attaches other walls in a viewportto the selected wall. Click this button to open theAttach Multiple dialog, which lists all the otherwall objects in the scene. Select the walls you wantto attach from the list and click the Attach button.Autodesk VIZ applies the material of the selectedwall to the walls being attached.

Justification group

See Justification (page 1–198).

Generate Mapping Coords.—Assigns mappingcoordinates (page 3–696) to the wall. Default=on.

Real-World Map Size—Controls the scaling methodused for texture mapped materials that are appliedto the object. The scaling values are controlled

by the Use Real-World Scale settings found inthe applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page2–1199). Default=off.

Edit Vertex rollout

Appears at the Vertex sub-object level. Each wallsegment has two vertices; one in each bottomcorner. In wireframe views, wall vertices appear as+ symbols. Connected segments in the same wallobject each share a vertex. Moving a wall vertexhas the effect of scaling attached segments as wellas rotating them about their other vertices. Youcannot rotate or scale wall vertices.

Connect—Lets you connect any two vertices,creating a new linear segment between the vertices.

Click this button, click a vertex, and then click asecond vertex on a different segment. When youmove the cursor over a valid second vertex, themouse icon changes to a Connect icon.

Break—Lets you disconnect segments at a sharedvertex.

Tip: Select a vertex shared between wall segments,and then click the Break button. The segmentsbecome disconnected, and each has its own endvertex at the position of the previously sharedvertex.

Refine—Adds a vertex to the position along a wallsegment that you click. When you move the cursorover a valid Refine point, the mouse icon changesto a Refine icon.


Insert—Inserts one or more vertices, creatingadditional segments. When you move the cursorover the a valid Insert point, the mouse iconchanges to an Insert icon. Right-click to stopinserting new vertices and segments.

Delete—Deletes the currently selected vertex orvertices, including any segments in between.

Deleting vertices shared by two or more segmentsdoesn’t create a gap, but rather results in a singlesegment connecting vertices adjacent to thosebeing deleted.

Edit Segment rollout

This rollout appears when you select a wall objectand then access Segment sub-object level.

Each wall segment is defined by, and effectivelyconnects, two wall vertices. Moving a segment isthe same as moving its two vertices in tandem. Ithas the effect of scaling adjacent wall segments aswell as rotating them about their other vertices.You can scale a wall segment horizontally only(any Scale function does this). You cannot rotatea segment.

Break—Specifies a break point in a wall segment.

You needn’t select a segment first. When you movethe cursor over the object, the mouse icon changesto a Break icon. The position you select on thesegment becomes two coincident vertices, andAutodesk VIZ breaks the segment in two.

Detach—Detaches wall segments you select andcreates a new wall object out of them.

Same Shape—Detaches the wall segment keepingit part of the same wall object. If you also turn onCopy, Autodesk VIZ places a detached copy of thesegment in the same location.

Reorient—Detaches the wall segment, copies theobject’s Local coordinate system (page 3–692),and places the segment so that its object Localcoordinate system is coincident with the Worldspace origin (page 3–748). If you also turn onCopy, Autodesk VIZ detaches a copy of thesegment and leaves the original segments in place.

Copy—Copies the detached wall segment ratherthan moving it.

Editing Wall Objects 201

Divide—Subdivides each segment by the numberof vertices specified in the Divisions spinner.Select one or more segments, set the Divisionsspinner, and then click Divide.

Divisions—Sets the number by which to divide thesegment.

Insert—Provides the same function as the Insertbutton in Vertex sub-object selection. Inserts oneor more vertices, creating additional segments.When you move the cursor over the a valid Insertpoint, the mouse icon changes to an Insert icon.Right click to stop inserting new vertices andsegments.

Delete—Deletes any selected wall segments in thecurrent wall object.

Refine—Provides the same function as the Refinebutton at the Vertex sub-object level. Adds a vertexto the position along a wall segment you select.When you move the cursor over a valid Refinepoint, the mouse icon changes to a Refine icon.

Parameters group

Width—Changes the width of a selected segmentor segments.

Height—Changes the height of a selected segmentor segments.

Bottom Offset—Sets the distance of the bottom ofthe selected segment or segments from the floor.

Edit Profile rollout

This rollout appears when you select a wall objectand then access Profile sub-object level.

The term "profile" refers to the outline of a wallsegment’s top and bottom edges. When in Profilesub-object mode, the selected wall object’s innerhorizontal edges appear dark orange. Click any ofthese edges to select the corresponding segment,highlight it in red, and place a temporary activegrid in the plane of the segment. At that point, you

can insert and delete vertices along the horizontaledges, move an inserted vertex along the grid tochange the profile, create gables, and change thegrid properties.

Insert—Inserts a vertex so that you can adjust theprofile of the selected wall segment.

Use this option to adjust the profile of walls undergables or to align walls to a slope. When you movethe cursor over the selected segment, the mouseicon changes to an Insert icon. Click to insert anew profile point, then drag and release to positionand place it. You can add new profile points toboth the top and the bottom of the wall, but youcannot position profile points below the originaltop edge or above the original bottom edge.

Delete—Deletes the selected vertices on the profileof the selected wall segment.

Create Gable—Creates a gable by moving the centerpoint of the top profile of the selected wall segmentto a height you specify.

Select the segment, set the height, and then clickCreate Gable.

Height—Specifies the height of a gable.


Grid Properties group

The grid constricts profile point insertion andmovement to the plane of the wall and allows youto snap to grid points on the plane of the wall.

Width—Sets the width of the active grid.

Length—Sets the length of the active grid.

Spacing—Sets the size of the smallest square in theactive grid.

StairsCreate panel > Geometry > Stairs

You can create four different types of stairs inAutodesk VIZ:

Spiral Stair (page 1–206)

Straight Stair (page 1–210)

L-Type Stair (page 1–203)

U-Type Stair (page 1–214)

Railings and Materials

By default, Autodesk VIZ assigns seven differentmaterial IDs to stairs. The aectemplates.matmaterial library includes Stair-Template, amulti/sub-object material (page 2–1182) designedto be used with stairs. Each component ofthe stair/material is listed below along with itscorresponding Material ID.


1 Treads of the stairs

2 Front riser of the stairs

3 Bottom, back, and sides of the risers ofthe stairs

4 Center pole of the stairs


5 Handrails of the stairs

6 Carriage of the stairs

7 Stringers of the stairs

Note: Autodesk VIZ does not automatically assigna material to the stairs object. To use the includedmaterial, open the library and then assign thematerial to your object.

Procedure

To create railings on stairs:

1. Create the stairs. See individual stair-typetopics for more information.

2. In the Generate Geometry group, turn on RailPath > Left and Right.

Autodesk VIZ places left and right rail pathsabove the stairs.

3. In the Railings rollout, set Height to 0.0.

4. Click Create panel > AEC Extended > Railing(page 1–188) to create the first railing.

5. Click Railing rollout > Pick Railing Path andselect one of the rail paths on the stairs.

6. Adjust the railing parameters.

Autodesk VIZ remembers the parameters youset. When you create the next railing, it willhave the same parameters as you set for the firstrailing.

7. Right-click to end the creation of the firstrailing.

8. Click Railing again to create the second railing.

9. Click Pick Railing Path and select the other railpath on the stairs.

L-Type Stair 203

Interface

Object Type rollout

Stair Selection Buttons—Click one of these tospecify the type of stairs you want to create.


This rollout lets you set the stairs object’s nameand color. For detailed information, see ObjectName and Wireframe Color (page 3–479).

L-Type Stair

Create panel > Geometry > Stairs > L-Type Stair button

Create menu > AEC Objects > L-Type Stair

The L-Type Stair object lets you create a staircasewith two flights at right angles to each other.

Types of L-type stair: open, closed, and boxed

L-type stairs have two flights at right angles, and a landing.

Procedure

To create L-Type stairs:

1. In any viewport, drag to set the length for thefirst flight. Release the mouse button, thenmove the cursor and click to set the length,width, and direction for the second flight.

2. Move the cursor up or down to define the riseof the stairs, then click to end.

3. Adjust the stairs by using the options in theParameters rollout.

Interface

Parameters rollout > Type group

Open—Creates an open riser stair, as shown on theleft in the illustration above.

Closed—Creates a closed riser stair, as shown inthe center in the illustration above.

Box—Creates a stair with closed risers and closedstringers on both sides, as shown on the right inthe illustration above.

Generate Geometry group

Stringers—Creates stringers along the ends ofthe treads of the stairs. To modify the stringers’depth, width, offset and spring from the floor, seeStringers rollout (page 1–205).

Carriage—Creates an inclined, notched beamunder the treads which supports the steps or addssupport between the stringers of the stairs. Youmight also know this as a carriage piece, a horse, ora rough string. See Carriage rollout (page 1–205)to modify the parameters.

Handrail—Creates left and right handrails. SeeRailings rollout (page 1–206) to modify the


handrails’ height, offset, number of segments, andradius.

Rail Path—Creates left and right paths you can useto install railings on the stairs. See Stairs (page1–202) for the instructions on how to do this.

Layout group

Length 1—Controls the length of the first flight ofstairs.

Length 2—Controls the length of the second flightof stairs.

Width—Controls the width of the stairs, includingthe steps and the landing.

Angle—Controls the angle of the second flightfrom the landing. Range=-90 to 90 degrees.

Offset—Controls the distance of the second flightfrom the landing. The length of the landing adjustsaccordingly.

Rise group

Autodesk VIZ keeps one Rise option locked whileyou adjust the other two. To lock an option, youclick a push pin. To unlock an option you click araised push pin. Autodesk VIZ locks the spinnervalue of the parameter with the depressed push

pin and allows the spinner values of the parameterwith the raised push pins to change.

Overall—Controls the height of the flight of stairs.

Riser Ht—Controls the height of the risers.

Riser Ct—Controls the number of risers. There willalways be one more riser than steps. This impliedriser is between the top step of the stair and theupper floor.

Linear stair with five risers

1 through 4. Risers

5. The implied riser

6. The upper floor you snap to

7. The lower floor you snap to

8. The steps

Steps group

Thickness—Controls the thickness of the steps.

Step thickness variance between two stairs

L-Type Stair 205

Depth—Controls the depth of the steps.

Step depth variance between two stairs

Generate Mapping Coords—Applies defaultmapping coordinates (page 3–696) to the stairs.



Stringers rollout

These controls are available only when you turnon Stringers on the Parameters rollout > GenerateGeometry group.

Depth—Controls how far down the stringers reachtoward the floor.

Width—Controls the width of the stringers.

Offset—Controls the vertical distance of thestringers from the floor.

Spring from Floor—Controls whether the stringerstarts at the floor, flush with the start of the firstriser, or if the stringer extends below the floor. Youcontrol the amount the stringer extends below thefloor with the Offset option.

Left: The stringer extending below the floor. (Spring FromFloor off.)

Right: The stringer springing from the floor. (Spring FromFloor on.)

Carriage rollout

These controls are available only when you turnon Carriage on the Parameters rollout > GenerateGeometry group.

Depth—Controls how far down the carriagereaches toward the floor.

Width—Controls the width of the carriage.

Carriage Spacing—Sets the spacing of the carriage.When you pick this button, the Carriage Spacingdialog displays. Specify the number of carriagesyou want using the Count option. For more


information on spacing options in this dialog, seeSpacing Tool (page 1–381).

Spring from Floor—Controls whether the carriagestarts at the floor, flush with the start of the firstriser, or if the carriage extends below the floor. Youcontrol the amount the carriage extends below thefloor with the Offset option.

Left: The carriage springing from the floor. (Spring FromFloor on.)

Right: The carriage extending below the floor. (Spring fromFloor off.)

Railings rollout

These controls are available only when you turn onone or more of the Handrail or Rail Path optionson the Parameters rollout > Generate Geometrygroup. Also, Segments and Radius aren’t availableif neither of the Handrail options is on.

Height—Controls the height of the railings fromthe steps.

Offset—Controls the offset of the railings from theends of the steps.

Segments—Controls the number of segmentsin the railings. Higher values display smootherrailings.

Radius—Controls the thickness of the railings.

Spiral Stair

Create panel > Geometry > Stairs > Spiral Stair button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Spiral Stair

The Spiral Stair object lets you specify the radiusand number of revolutions, add stringers and acenter pole, and more.

Types of spiral stair: open, closed, and boxed

Spiral stairs wind around a center

Procedure

To create spiral stairs:

1. In any viewport, click for the start point of thestairs, and drag to the specify the radius youwant.

2. Release the mouse button, move the cursor upor down to specify the overall rise, and clickto end.

3. Adjust the stairs with options in the Parametersrollout.

Interface


Open—Creates an open riser stair, as shown on theleft of the illustration above.

Spiral Stair 207

Closed—Creates a closed riser stair, as shown inthe center of the illustration above.

Box—Creates a stair with closed risers and closedstringers on both sides, as shown on the right ofthe illustration above.




Center Pole—Creates a pole at the center of thespiral. See Center Pole rollout (page 1–209) tomodify the parameters of the pole.

Handrail—Creates inside and outside handrails.See Railings rollout (page 1–210) to modify thehandrails’ height, offset, number of segments, andradius.

Rail Path—Creates inside and outside paths whichyou can use to install railings on the stairs. SeeStairs (page 1–202) for the instructions on howto do this.

Layout group

CCW—Orients the spiral stairs to be a right-handflight of stairs.

CW—Orients the spiral stairs to be a left-handflight of stairs.

Left: CCW (counterclockwise) right-hand spiral stairs. Thearrow indicates “Up.”

Right: CW (clockwise) left-hand spiral stairs. The arrowindicates “Up.”

Radius—Controls the size of the radius of thespiral.

Revs—Controls the number of revolutions in thespiral.

Width—Controls the width of the spiral stairs.

Rise group

Autodesk VIZ keeps one Rise option locked whileyou adjust the other two. To lock an option, clicka pushpin button. To unlock an option, click araised pushpin. Autodesk VIZ locks the spinnervalue of the parameter with the depressed pushpin


and allows the spinner values of the parameterwith the raised pushpins to change.





1 through 4. Risers




8. The steps.

Steps group





Segs—Controls the number of segmentsAutodesk VIZ uses to construct the steps.




Stringers rollout


Spiral Stair 209





Left: The stringer extending below the floor. (Spring FromFloor turned off.)

Right: the stringer springing from the floor. (Spring FromFloor turned on.)

Carriage rollout




Carriage Spacing—Sets the spacing of the carriage.When you pick this button, the Carriage Spacingdialog displays. Specify the number of carriagesyou want using the Count option. For moreinformation on spacing options in this dialog, seeSpacing Tool (page 1–381).


Left: The carriage springing from the floor. (Spring FromFloor turned on.)

Right: The carriage extending below the floor. (Spring FromFloor turned off.)

Center Pole rollout

These controls are available only when you turn onCenter Pole on the Parameters rollout > GenerateGeometry group.


Radius—Controls the radius size of the center pole.

Segments—Controls the number of segments inthe center pole. Higher values display a smootherpole.

Height—The spinner controls the height of thecenter pole. Turning on Height lets you adjustthe height of the pole independently of the stairs.Turning off Height makes the spinner unavailableand locks the top of the pole to the top of theimplied last riser. Typically, this riser would attachto the fascia of a landing.

Left: The center pole locked to the top of the implied lastriser. (Height turned off.)

Right: The center pole adjusted to the height you specify.(Height turned on.)

Railings rollout






Straight Stair

Create panel > Geometry > Stairs > Straight Stair button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Straight Stair

The Straight Stair object lets you create a simplestaircase, with optional stringers, carriage, andhandrail.

Types of straight stair: open, closed, and boxed

Straight stairs have a single flight.

Straight Stair 211

Procedures

To create straight stairs:

1. In any viewport, drag to set the length. Releasethe mouse button, then move the cursor andclick to set the width you want.

2. Move the cursor up or down to define the riseof the stairs, and click to end.

3. Adjust the stairs with the options in theParameters rollout.

Interface


Open—Creates an open riser stair as shown on theleft of the illustration above.

Closed—Creates a closed riser stair as shown in thecenter of the illustration above.

Box—Creates a stair with closed risers and closedstringers on both sides as shown on the right of theillustration above.




Handrail—Creates left and right handrails. SeeRailings rollout (page 1–213) to modify thehandrails’ height, offset, number of segments, andradius.


Layout group

Length—Controls the length of the stairs.

Width—Controls the width of the stairs.

Rise group

Autodesk VIZ keeps one Rise option locked whileyou adjust the other two. To lock an option, youclick a push pin. To unlock an option you click araised push pin. Autodesk VIZ locks the spinnervalue of the parameter with the depressed pushpin and allows the spinner values of the parameterwith the raised push pins to change.






1 through 4. Risers




8. The steps.

Steps group








Stringers rollout




Straight Stair 213





Carriage rollout








Right: The carriage extending below the floor. (Spring FromFloor off.)

Railings rollout







U-Type Stair

Create panel > Geometry > Stairs > U-Type Stair button

Create menu > AEC Objects > U-Type Stair

The U-Type Stair object lets you create a two-flightstaircase, with the two flights parallel to each otherand a landing between them.

Types of U-type stair: open, closed, and boxed

U-type stairs have two flights in opposite directions, anda landing.

Procedure

To create U-Type stairs:

1. In any viewport, drag to set the length for thefirst flight. Release the mouse button, thenmove the cursor and click to set the width ofthe landing, or the distance separating the twoflights.

2. Click and move the cursor up or down to definethe rise of the stairs, then click to end.

3. Adjust the stairs by using the options in theParameters rollout.

Interface


Open—Creates an open riser stair as shown on theleft in the illustration above.

Closed—Creates a closed riser stair as shown in thecenter in the illustration above.

Box—Creates a stair with closed risers and closedstringers on both sides as shown on the right in theillustration above.



Carriage—Creates an inclined, notched beamunder the treads which supports the steps or addssupport between the stringers of the stairs. Youmight also know this as a carriage piece, a horse, ora roughstring. See Carriage rollout (page 1–216)to modify the parameters.

Handrail—Creates left and right handrails. SeeRailings rollout (page 1–217) to modify thehandrails’ height, offset, number of segments, andradius.


U-Type Stair 215

Layout group

Left/Right—Controls the position of the two flights(Length 1 and Length 2) relative to each other.If you select left, then the second flight is on theleft from the landing. If you select right, then thesecond flight is the right from the landing.

Length 1—Controls the length of the first flight ofstairs.

Length 2—Controls the length of the second flightof stairs.

Width—Controls the width of the stairs, includingthe steps and the landing.

Offset—Controls the distance separating the twoflights and thus the length of the landing.

Rise group

Autodesk VIZ keeps one Rise option locked whileyou adjust the other two. To lock an option, youclick a push pin. To unlock an option you click araised push pin. Autodesk VIZ locks the spinnervalue of the parameter with the depressed pushpin and allows the spinner values of the parameterwith the raised push pins to change.





1 through 4. Risers




8. The steps.

Steps group









Stringers rollout








Carriage rollout





Doors 217




Right: The carriage extending below the floor. (Spring FromFloor off.)

Railings rollout






DoorsCreate panel > Geometry > Doors

Create menu > AEC Objects

The door models provided let you control detailsof a door’s appearance. You can also set the doorto be open, partially open, or closed and you cananimate the opening.

Different door types in a model of a house

There are three kinds of doors. The Pivot door(page 1–222) is the familiar door that is hingedon one side only. The Bifold door (page 1–223)is hinged in the middle as well as the side, likemany closet doors. You can also make these kindsof doors a set of double doors. The Sliding door(page 1–223) has a fixed half and a sliding half.

The topic for each kind of door describes its uniquecontrols and behavior. Most door parameters arecommon to all kinds of doors, and are describedhere.


Doors and Materials

By default, Autodesk VIZ assigns five differentmaterial IDs to doors. The aectemplates.matmaterial library includes Door-Template, amulti/sub-object material designed to be used withdoors. Each component of the door/material islisted below along with its corresponding MaterialID.

Material ID Door/Material Component

1 Front

2 Back

3 Inner Bevel (used for glazing whenPanels set to Glass or Beveled).

4 Frame

5 Inner Door

Note: Autodesk VIZ does not automatically assigna material to the door object. To use the includedmaterial, open the library and then assign thematerial to your object.

Making an Opening for a Door

To make an opening in a wall, you can perform aBoolean operation (page 1–298) with the wall asOperand A, and another object, such as a box, asOperand B. Then, you can create and add a doorin the opening, and link (page 2–767) it, if youchoose, as a child of the wall.

Note: Using snaps, you can insert a door in a wallobject, automatically linking the two and creatinga cutout for the door. See the procedure To createand place a window or door in a wall: (page1–197).

Procedures

To create a door:

1. On the Object Type rollout, click the button forthe type of door you want to create.

2. Choose options as needed, such as changingthe default creation method. Turn off Create

Frame to eliminate the door frame. Turnon Allow Non-vertical Jambs if you want aninclined door.

3. Drag the mouse in the viewport to create thefirst two points, defining the width and angleof the base of the door.

4. Release the mouse and move to adjust the depthof the door (default creation method), and thenclick to set.

By default, the depth is perpendicular to theline between the first two points and parallelto the active grid.

5. Move the mouse to adjust the height, and thenclick to finish.

The height is perpendicular to the plane definedby the first three points and perpendicular tothe active grid.

You can adjust the Height, Width, and Depthvalues on the Parameters rollout.

On the Creation Method rollout, you can changethe creation order to width-height-depth insteadof width-depth-height.

To create a door material:

1. Create a door or select an existing door.

2. Open the Material Editor, and select a slot forthe material.

3. Click the Type button below the Material Editortoolbar.

The Material/Map Browser dialog opens.

4. In the Material list, double-click theMulti/Sub-Object item, and then on theReplace Material dialog that appears, chooseeither option and click OK.

5. On the Multi/Sub-Object Basic Parametersrollout, click Set Number and change NumberOf Materials to 5. Click OK.

Doors 219

6. Optionally, change the sub-material names tothose specified in the above table.

7. Edit the material as you would anyMulti/Sub-Object material.

To animate a door:

You can animate a door opening and closing bykeyframing the Open setting.

1. Create a door or select an existing door.

If using an existing door, also access the Modifypanel.

2. Set the Parameters rollout > Open parameterto the amount you want the door to be open atthe start of the animation. If you want it to beclosed, set it to 0.

3. Click the Auto Key button and advance to thefirst keyframe.

4. Change the Open setting.

5. Continue moving to any additional keyframesand changing the Open setting as necessary.

6. Play the animation.

Interface

The topic for each kind of door describes its uniquecontrols and behavior. Most door parameters arecommon to all kinds of doors, and are describedhere.

Object Type rollout

There are three kinds of doors in Autodesk VIZ:

Pivot—The familiar door type that is hinged onone side only. See Pivot Door (page 1–222).

Sliding—Has a fixed half and a sliding half. SeeSliding Door (page 1–223).

BiFold—Hinged in the middle as well as the side,like many closet doors. You can also use this typeof door to make a set of double doors. See BiFoldDoor (page 1–223).


See Object Name and Wireframe Color (page3–479).


You define each type of door with four points:Drag the first two, followed by two move-clicksequences. The Creation Method settingdetermines the order in which these actions definethe door’s dimensions.

Width/Depth/Height—The first two points definethe width and angle of the base of the door. Youset these points by dragging in a viewport, as thefirst step in creating a door. The first point, whereyou click and hold before dragging, defines apoint on the jamb at the hinge for single-pivot andbifold doors (both jambs have hinges on doubledoors, and sliding doors have no hinge). Thesecond point, where you release the button afterdragging, specifies the width of the door, as well asthe direction from one jamb to the other. This letsyou align the door with a wall or opening whenyou place it. The third point, where you click aftermoving the mouse, specifies the depth of the door,and the fourth click, where you click after movingthe mouse again, specifies the height.

Width/Height/Depth—Works like theWidth/Depth/Height option, except thatthe last two points create first the height and thenthe depth.


Note: With this method, the depth is perpendicularto the plane set by the first three points. Thus,if you draw the door in the Top or Perspectiveviewport, the door lies flat on the active grid.

Allow Non-vertical Jambs—Lets you create tilteddoors. Set snaps (page 2–651) to define points offthe construction plane. Default=off.

Parameters rollout

Height—Sets the overall height of the door unit.

Width—Sets the overall width of the door unit.

Depth—Sets the depth of the door unit.

Open—With Pivot doors, specifies in degrees theextent to which the door is open. With Sliding andBiFold doors, Open specifies the percent that thedoor is open.

Frame group

This rollout has controls for the door-jamb frame.Though part of the door object, the frame behavesas if it were part of the wall. It doesn’t move whenyou open or close the door.

Create Frame—This is turned on as a default todisplay the frame. Turn this off to disable displayof the frame.

Width—Sets the width of the frame parallel to thewall. Available only when Create Frame is on.

Depth—Sets the depth of the frame as it projectsfrom the wall. Available only when Create Frameis on.

Door Offset—Sets the location of the door relativeto the frame. At 0.0, the door is flush with oneedge of the trim. Note that this can be a positive ornegative value. Available only when Create Frameis on.

Generate Mapping Coords—Assigns mappingcoordinates to the door.


Doors 221

Leaf Parameters rollout

Provides controls that affect the door itself (asopposed to the door unit, which includes theframe). You can adjust the dimensions of thedoor, add panels, and adjust the dimensions andplacement of those panels. The total number ofpanels for each door element is the number ofhorizontal divisions times the number of verticaldivisions. Pivot doors have a single door elementunless they are double doors. BiFold doors havetwo door elements, or four if they are doubledoors. Sliding doors have two door elements.

Thickness—Sets the thickness of the door.

Stiles/Top Rail—Sets the width of the panel framingon the top and sides. This setting is apparent onlyif the door is paneled.

Bottom Rail—Sets the width of the panel framing atthe base of the door. This setting is apparent onlyif the door is paneled.

# Panels Horiz.—Sets the number of panel divisionsalong the horizontal axis.

# Panels Vert.—Sets the number of panel divisionsalong the vertical axis.

Muntin—Sets the width of the separations betweenthe panels.

Panels group

Determines how panels are created in the door.

None—The door has no paneling.

Glass—Creates glass panels with no beveling.

Thickness—Sets the thickness of the glass panels.

Beveled—Choose this to have beveled panels.

The remaining spinners affect the beveling of thepanels.

Bevel Angle—Specifies the angle of the bevelbetween the outer surface of the door and thesurface of the panel.

Thickness 1—Sets the outer thickness of the panel.

Thickness 2—Sets the thickness where the bevelbegins.

Middle Thick.—Sets the thickness of the inner partof the panel.

Width 1—Sets the width where the bevel begins.

Width 2—Sets the width of the inner part of thepanel.


Pivot Door

Create panel > Geometry > Doors > Pivot button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Pivot Door

The Pivot door is hinged on one side only. You canalso make the door a double door, with two doorelements, each hinged on its outer edge.

Single and double pivot doors

This topic describes only controls and behaviorunique to the Pivot door. Most door parametersare common to all kinds of doors; see Doors (page1–217).

Interface

Parameters rollout

The Parameters rollout contains three check boxesspecific to Pivot doors.

Double Doors—Makes a double door.

Flip Swing—Changes the direction the doorswings.

Flip Hinge—Places the door hinges on the oppositeside of the door. This option is unavailable fordouble doors.

Sliding Door 223

Sliding Door

Create panel > Geometry > Doors > Sliding button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Sliding Door

The Sliding door slides as if on a track or railing.It has two door elements: one remains stationarywhile the other moves.

Sliding doors with different numbers of panels

This topic describes only controls and behaviorunique to the Sliding door. Most door parametersare common to all kinds of doors; see Doors (page1–217).

Interface

Parameters rollout

Flip Front Back—Changes which element is in front,compared to the default.

Flip Side— Changes the current sliding element tothe stationary element, and vice versa.

BiFold Door

Create panel > Geometry > Doors > BiFold button

Create menu > AEC Objects > BiFold Door

The BiFold door is hinged in the middle as wellas on the side. It has two door elements. You canalso make the door a double door, with four doorelements.


Single and double bifold doors

This topic describes only controls and behaviorunique to the BiFold door. Most door parametersare common to all kinds of doors; see Doors (page1–217).

Interface

Parameters rollout

The Parameters rollout contains three check boxesspecific to BiFold doors.

Double Doors—Makes the door a double door,with four door elements, meeting in the center.

Flip Swing—Makes the door swing in the oppositedirection from the default.

Flip Hinge—Makes the door hinged on the oppositeside from the default. Flip Hinge is unavailablewhen Double Doors is on.

WindowsCreate panel > Geometry > Windows

Create menu > AEC Objects

The window object lets you control details of awindow’s appearance. You can also set the windowto be open, partially open, or closed, and you cananimate the opening over time.

Different types of windows in a model of a house

Autodesk VIZ offers six kinds of windows:

• The Casement window (page 1–229) has oneor two door-like sashes that swing inward oroutward.

Windows 225

• The Pivoted window (page 1–231) pivotsat the center of its sash, either vertically orhorizontally.

• The Projected window (page 1–232) has threesashes, two of which open like awnings inopposite directions.

• The Sliding window (page 1–233) has twosashes, one of which slides either vertically orhorizontally.

• The Fixed window (page 1–230) doesn’t open.

• The Awning window (page 1–228) has a sashthat is hinged at the top.

Windows and Materials

By default, Autodesk VIZ assigns five differentmaterial IDs to windows. The aectemplates.matmaterial library includes Window-Template,a multi/sub-object material designed to beused with windows. Each component of thewindow/material is listed below along with itscorresponding Material ID.

Material ID Window/Material Component

1 Front Rails

2 Back Rails

3 Panels (glazing), with 50% opacity

4 Front Frame

5 Back Frame

Note: Autodesk VIZ does not automatically assigna material to the window object. To use theincluded material, open the library and then assignthe material to your object.

Making an Opening for a Window

To make an opening in a wall, you can performa Boolean operation (page 1–298) with the wallas Operand A, and another object, such as a box,as Operand B. Then, you can create and add a

window in the opening, and link (page 2–767) it, ifyou choose, as a child of the wall.

Note: Using snaps, you can insert a windowin a wall object, automatically linking the twoand creating a cutout for the window. See theprocedure To create and place a window or doorin a wall: (page 1–197).

Procedures

To create a window:

1. On the Object Type rollout, click the button forthe type of window you want to create.

2. Choose options as needed, such as changingthe default creation method. Turn on AllowNon-vertical Jambs if you want an inclinedwindow.

3. Drag the mouse in the viewport to create thefirst two points, defining the width and angle ofthe base of the window.

4. Release the mouse and move to adjust the depthof the window (default creation method), andthen click to set.

By default, the depth is perpendicular to theline between the first two points and parallelto the active grid.

5. Move the mouse to adjust the height, and thenclick to finish.

The height is perpendicular to the plane definedby the first three points and perpendicular tothe active grid.

You can adjust the height, width, and depthvalues on the Parameters rollout.

In the Creation Method rollout, you can changethe creation order to width-height-depth insteadof width-depth-height.

To create a window material:

1. Create a window or select an existing window.


2. Open the Material Editor, and select a slot forthe material.

3. Click the Type button below the Material Editortoolbar.

The Material/Map Browser dialog opens.

4. In the Material list, double-click theMulti/Sub-Object item, and then on theReplace Material dialog that appears, chooseeither option and click OK.

5. On the Multi/Sub-Object Basic Parametersrollout, click Set Number and change NumberOf Materials to 5. Click OK.

6. Optionally, change the sub-material names tothose specified in the above table.

7. Edit the material as you would anyMulti/Sub-Object material.

To animate a window:

You can animate a window opening and closing bykeyframing the Open setting.

1. Create a window or select an existing window.

2. If using an existing window, also access theModify panel.

3. Set the Parameters rollout > Open parameter tothe amount you want the window to be open atthe start of the animation. If you want it to beclosed, set it to 0.

4. Click the Auto Key button (page 3–441) to turnit on, and advance to the first keyframe.

5. Change the Open setting.

6. Continue moving to any additional keyframesand changing the Open setting as necessary.

7. Play the animation.

Interface

Most window parameters are common to all kindsof windows, and are described here. The topic for

each window type describes its unique controlsand behavior.

Object Type rollout

Six types of window are available in Autodesk VIZ:

Awning—Has a sash that is hinged at the top. SeeAwning (page 1–228).

Casement—Has one or two door-like sashes thatswing inward or outward. See Casement (page1–229).

Fixed—Doesn’t open. See Fixed (page 1–230).

Pivoted—Pivots at the center of its sash, eithervertically or horizontally. See Pivoted (page1–231).

Projected—Has three sashes, two of which openlike awnings in opposite directions. See Projected(page 1–232).

Sliding—Has two sashes, one of which slidesvertically or horizontally. See Sliding (page 1–233).


See Object Name and Wireframe Color (page3–479).


Windows 227

You define each type of window with four points:Drag the first two, followed by two move-clicksequences. The Creation Method settingdetermines the order in which these actions definethe window’s dimensions.

Width/Depth/Height—The first two points definethe width and angle of the base of the window. Youset these points by dragging in a viewport, as thefirst step in creating a window. This lets you alignthe window with a wall or opening when you placeit. The third point, where you click after movingthe mouse, specifies the depth of the window, andthe fourth click, where you click after moving themouse again, specifies the height.

Width/Height/Depth—Works like theWidth/Depth/Height option, except thatthe last two points create first the height and thenthe depth.

Note: With this method, the depth is perpendicularto the plane set by the first three points. Thus, ifyou draw the window in the Top or Perspectiveviewport, the door lies flat on the active grid.

Allow Non-vertical Jambs—Select to create tiltedwindows. Set snaps (page 2–651) to define pointsoff the construction plane. Default=off.

Parameters rollout

Height/Width/Depth—Specifies the overalldimensions of the window.

Frame group

Horiz. Width—Sets the width of the horizontal partof the window frame (at the top and bottom).This setting also affects the glazed portion of thewindow’s width.

Vert. Width—Sets the width of the vertical part ofthe window frame (at the sides). This setting alsoaffects the glazed portion of the window’s height.

Thickness—Sets the thickness of the frame. Thisalso controls the thickness of casements or railingson the window’s sashes.


Glazing group

Thickness—Specifies the thickness of the glass.

Generate Mapping Coordinates—Creates the objectwith the appropriate mapping coordinates (page3–696) already applied.


Awning Window

Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Awning button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Awning Window

The Awning window has one or more sashes thatare hinged at the top.

Awning window

Interface

Parameters rollout

The topic for each kind of window describes itsunique controls and behavior. Some windowparameters are common to all kinds of windows;see Windows (page 1–224).

Rails and Panels group

Width—Sets the width (depth) of the rails in thesashes.

Panel Count—Sets the number of sashes in thewindow. If you use more than one sash, each ishinged at its top edge. Range=1 to 10.

Casement Window 229

Open Window group

Open—Specifies the percent the window is open.This control is animatable.

Casement Window

Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Casement button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Casement Window

The Casement window has one or two sashes thatare hinged on the side, like a door.

Casement window

Interface

Parameters rollout


Casements group

Panel Width—Changes the size of the glazed panelwithin each sash.

One/Two—Specifies the number of window panels:one or two. Using two panels creates a window likea double door; each panel is hinged on its outsideside edge.


Open Window group

Open—Specifies the percent that the window isopen. This control is animatable.

Flip Swing—Turn this on to have the sashes open inthe opposite direction.

Fixed Window

Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Fixed button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Fixed Window

Fixed windows do not open, thus have no OpenWindow control. In addition to the standardwindow object parameters, the Fixed windowprovides the Rails And Panels group of settings forsubdividing the window.

Fixed windows

Interface

Parameters rollout




# Panels Horiz—Sets the number of horizontaldivisions in the window.

# Panels Vert—Sets the number of vertical divisionsin the window.

Pivoted Window 231

Chamfered Profile—Chamfers the rails betweenthe glazed panels, as in a conventional woodenwindow. When Chamfered Profile is off, the railshave a rectangular profile.

Pivoted Window

Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Pivoted button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Pivoted Window

A pivoted window has one sash only, hingedmidway through the side of the sash. It can swingopen either vertically or horizontally.

Pivoted windows

Interface

Parameters rollout

The topic for each kind of Window describes itsunique controls and behavior. Most Windowparameters are common to all kinds of Windows;see Windows (page 1–224).

Rails group

Width—Sets the width of the rails in the sash.

Pivots group

Vertical Rotation—Switches the pivot axis fromhorizontal to vertical.


Open Window group

Open—Specifies the percent that the window isopen. This control is animatable.

Projected Window

Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Projected button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Projected Window

Projected windows have three sashes: The topsash doesn’t move, while the bottom two sashesswing open like awning windows, but in oppositedirections.

Projected window

Interface

Parameters rollout




Middle Height—Sets the height of the middle sash,relative to the window’s frame.

Bottom Height—Sets the height of the bottom sash,relative to the window’s frame.

Sliding Window 233

Open Window group

Open—Specifies the percent that the two movablesashes are open. This control is animatable.

Sliding Window

Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Sliding button

Create menu > AEC Objects > Sliding Window

Sliding windows have two sashes: one fixed,one movable. The sliding part can move eithervertically or horizontally.

Sliding windows

Interface

Parameters rollout

The topic for each kind of Window describes itsunique controls and behavior. Most Windowparameters are common to all kinds of Windows;see Windows (page 1–224).


Rail Width—Sets the width of the rails in the sash.

# Panels Horiz—Sets the number of horizontaldivisions in each sash.


# Panels Vert—Sets the number of vertical divisionsin each sash.

Chamfered Profile—Chamfers the rails betweenthe glazed panels, as in a conventional woodenwindow. When Chamfered Profile is off, the railshave a rectangular profile.

Open Window group

Hung—When on, the window slides vertically.When off, the window slides horizontally.

Open— Specifies the percent that the window isopen. This control is animatable.

Creating Shapes

Shapes

Create panel > Shapes

Create menu > Shapes

A shape is an object made from one or morecurved or straight lines.

Autodesk VIZ includes the following shape types:

Splines and Extended Splines (page 1–237)

NURBS Curves (page 2–470)

Using Shapes

Shapes are 2D and 3D lines and groups of lines thatyou typically use as components of other objects.Most of the default shapes are made from splines.You use these spline shapes to do the following:

• Generate planar and thin 3D surfaces

• Define loft components such as paths, shapes,and fit curves

• Generate surfaces of revolution

• Generate extrusions

• Define motion paths

The program supplies 11 basic spline shapeobjects, two types of NURBS curves, and fiveextended splines. You can quickly create theseshapes using mouse or keyboard entry andcombine them to form compound shapes. SeeSplines and Extended Splines (page 1–237) forinformation about the methods and parametersused to create these shapes.

Creating Shapes

To access the shape creation tools, go to theCreate panel and click the Shapes button. You’llfind the standard shapes under Splines in thecategory list, Point Curve and CV Curve underNURBS curves, and WRectangle, Channel, Angle,Tee, and Wide Flange under Extended Splines.

As you add plug-ins, other shape categories mightappear in this list.

The Object Type rollout contains the splinecreation buttons. You can combine one or more ofthese spline types into a single shape.

Create Shape from Edges

You can create shapes from edge selections inmesh objects. In Edit/Editable Mesh objects, at theEdge selection level, in the Edit Geometry rollout,is a button called Create Shape from Edges thatcreates a spline shape based on selected edges. SeeEditable Mesh (Edge) (page 2–362). Similarly,with Editable Poly objects, you can use the CreateShape button at the Edge selection level. SeeEditable Poly (Edge) (page 2–399)

Editable Splines

You can convert a basic spline to an editable splineobject (page 1–261). The editable spline has a

Shapes 235

variety of controls that let you directly manipulateit and its sub-objects. For example, at the Vertexsub-object level you can move vertices or adjusttheir Bezier handles. Editable splines let you createshapes that are less regular, more free-form thanthe basic spline options.

When you convert a spline to an editablespline, you lose the ability to adjust its creationparameters.

Renderable Shapes

When you use a shape to create a 3D object bylofting, extruding, or other means, the shapebecomes a renderable 3D object. However, youcan make a shape render without making it into a3D object. There are three basic steps to renderinga shape:

1. On the Rendering rollout of the shape’s creationparameters, turn on Enable In Renderer.

2. Specify the thickness for the spline using theThickness spinner in the Rendering rollout.

3. If you plan to assign a mapped material to thespline, turn on Generate Mapping Coords.

When Enable in Renderer is on, the shape isrendered using a circle as a cross section. Mappingcoordinates are generated with U mapped oncearound the perimeter, and V mapped once alongthe length.

The software provides more control overrenderable shapes; viewports, including wireframeviewports, can display the geometry of renderableshapes. The rendering parameters for shapesappear in their own rollout.

The Steps settings affect the number of crosssections in the renderable shape.

Please observe the following:

• When you apply a modifier that converts ashape into a mesh (such as Extrude (page


2–127) or Lathe (page 2–142)), the objectautomatically becomes renderable, regardlessof the state of the Enable in Renderer check box.You need to turn on the Enable in Renderercheck box only when you want to render anunmodified spline shape in the scene.

• As with all objects, a shape’s layer must be onfor the shape to render. See Layer Properties(page 3–364).

• The Object Properties dialog (page 1–107) alsohas a Renderable check box, which is turned onby default. Both this check box and the Generalrollout > Renderable check box must be turnedon in order to render a shape.

Shapes as Planar Objects

A straightforward usage for shapes is 2D cutouts orplanar objects. Examples include ground planes,text for signs, and cutout billboards. You create aplanar object by applying an Edit Mesh modifier(page 2–74) to a closed shape, or by converting itto an editable mesh object (page 2–350).

2D objects

You can also apply an Edit Mesh modifier to a 3Dshape (for example, a shape whose vertices havebeen moved vertically away from the constructionplane by different amounts) to create a curvedsurface. The resulting 3D surface often requires

manual editing of faces and edges to smoothsurface ridges.

Extruded and Lathed Shapes

You can apply modifiers to a shape to create a 3Dobject. Two of these modifiers are Extrude andLathe. Extrude (page 2–127) creates a 3D objectby adding height to a shape. Lathe (page 2–142)creates a 3D object by rotating a shape about anaxis.

Initial text shape with extruded shape below

Lathed object with initial shape on right

Shape Check Utility 237

Lofting Shapes

You create Lofts (page 1–312) by combining twoor more splines in special ways. Shapes form thelofting path, loft cross-sections, and loft fit curves.

Shapes as Animation Paths

You can use shapes to define the position of ananimated object. You create a shape and use it todefine a path that some other object follows.

Some possible ways for a shape to control animatedposition are:

• You can use a Path constraint (page 2–745) touse a shape to control object motion.

• You can convert a shape into position keys usingthe Motion panel > Trajectories > ConvertFrom function (see Trajectories (page 2–691)).

See also

Edit Modifiers and Editable Objects (page 2–34)


Modifier Stack Controls (page 3–481)

Shape Check Utility

Utilities panel > Utilities rollout > More button Utilitiesdialog > Shape Check

The Shape Check utility tests spline andNURBS-based shapes and curves forself-intersection and graphically displaysany instances of intersecting segments.Self-intersecting shapes used to produce lathed,extruded, lofted, or other 3D objects can result inrendering errors.

The utility is "sticky" in that once you’ve pickeda shape object for it to check, you can pan/zoomviewports and it will continually display thelocations of intersecting curves in the shape youpick.

Intersection points highlighted by Shape Check

Interface

Pick Object—Click this button, and then click theshape for the utility to check. You can pick onlyspline- and NURBS-based shapes and curves.Points of intersection discovered by the utility arehighlighted with red boxes. The text below thebutton indicates whether any points of intersectionoccur.

Close—Closes the utility.

Splines and ExtendedSplines

Splines and Extended Splines

Create panel > Shapes > Splines

Create menu > Shapes

Create panel > Shapes > Extended Splines

Splines include the following object types:

Line Spline (page 1–242)

Rectangle Spline (page 1–244)


Circle Spline (page 1–244)

Ellipse Spline (page 1–245)

Arc Spline (page 1–246)

Donut Spline (page 1–247)

NGon Spline (page 1–248)

Star Spline (page 1–249)

Text Spline (page 1–250)

Helix Spline (page 1–252)

Section Spline (page 1–253)

Extended Splines include the following objecttypes:

WRectangle Spline (page 1–255)

Channel Spline (page 1–256)

Angle Spline (page 1–257)

Tee Spline (page 1–259)

Wide Flange Spline (page 1–259)

This topic covers aspects of spline and extendedspline creation that are common to all splineobject types, including the parameters availablein the General rollout. For parameters unique toa particular spline or extended spline type, see itssection by clicking the appropriate link above.

Procedures

To control starting a new shape manually:

1. On the Create panel, turn off the check boxnext to the Start New Shape button.

2. Click the Start New Shape button.

3. Begin creating splines.

Each spline is added to the compound shape.You can tell you are creating a compound shapebecause all the splines remain selected.

4. Click Start New Shape to complete the currentshape and prepare to start another.

Issues to remember about creating shapes:

• You can go back and change the parametersof a shape containing a single spline after theshape is created.

• You can create a compound shape by addingsplines to a shape: Select the shape, turn offStart New Shape, and then create more splines.

• You cannot change the parameters of acompound shape. For example, create acompound shape by creating a circle and thenadding an arc. Once you create the arc, youcannot change the circle parameters.

To create a spline using keyboard entry:

1. Click a spline creation button.

2. Expand the Keyboard Entry rollout.

3. Enter X, Y, and Z values for the first point.

4. Enter values in any remaining parameter fields.

5. Click Create.

Interface

Object Type rollout (Splines and ExtendedSplines)

AutoGrid—Lets you automatically create objectson the surface of other objects by generating andactivating a temporary construction plane basedon normals of the face that you click.

For more information, see AutoGrid (page 2–623).

Start New Shape—A shape can contain a singlespline or it can be a compound shape containingmultiple splines. You control how many splines arein a shape using the Start New Shape button andcheck box on the Object Type rollout. The check

Splines and Extended Splines 239

box next to the Start New Shape button determineswhen new shapes are created. When the box is on,the program creates a new shape object for everyspline you create. When the box is off, splines areadded to the current shape until you click the StartNew Shape button.

Shape Selection buttons—Lets you specify the typeof shape to create.


Lets you name an object and assign it a viewportcolor. For details, see Object Name and WireframeColor (page 3–479).

Rendering rollout

Lets you turn on and off the renderability of aspline or NURBS curve, specify its thickness in therendered scene, and apply mapping coordinates.

You can convert the displayed mesh into a meshobject by applying an Edit Mesh or Edit Polymodifier or converting to an editable mesh oreditable poly object. If Enable In Viewport is offwhen converting, closed shapes will be “filledin” and open shapes will contain only vertices;no edges or faces. If Enable In Viewport is onwhen converting, the system will use the Viewportsettings for this mesh conversion. This givesmaximum flexibility, and will always give theconversion of the mesh displayed in the viewports.

Enable In Renderer—When on, the shape isrendered as a 3D mesh using the Radial orRectangular parameters set for Renderer. Inprevious versions of the program, the Renderableswitch performed the same operation.

Enable In Viewport—When on, the shape isdisplayed in the viewport as a 3D mesh using theRadial or Rectangular parameters set for Renderer.In previous versions of the program, the DisplayRender Mesh performed the same operation.

Use Viewport settings—Lets you set differentrendering parameters, and displays the meshgenerated by the Viewport settings. Available onlywhen Enable in Viewport is turned on.

Generate Mapping Coords—Turn this on to applymapping coordinates. Default=off.

Autodesk VIZ generates the mapping coordinatesin the U and V dimensions. The U coordinatewraps once around the spline; the V coordinate ismapped once along its length. Tiling is achievedusing the Tiling parameters in the applied material.For more information, see Mapping Coordinates(page 2–1036).



Viewport—Choose this to specify Radial orRectangular parameters for the shape as it willdisplay in the viewports when Enable In Viewportis on.

Renderer—Choose this on to specify Radial orRectangular parameters for the shape as it willdisplay when rendered or viewed in the viewportwhen Enable in Viewport is turned on.

Radial—Displays the 3D mesh as a cylindricalobject.

Thickness—Specifies the diameter of the viewportor rendered spline mesh. Default=1.0. Range=0.0to 100,000,000.0.

Splines rendered at thickness of 1.0 and 5.0, respectively

Sides—Sets the number of sides (or facets) forthe spline mesh n the viewport or renderer. Forexample, a value of 4 results in a square crosssection.

Angle—Adjusts the rotational position of thecross-section in the viewport or renderer. Forexample, if the spline mesh has a square crosssection you can use Angle to position a "flat" sidedown.

Rectangular—Displays the spline’s mesh shape asa rectangle.

Length—Specifies the size of the cross–sectionalong the local Y axis.

Width—Specifies the size of the cross–sectionalong the local X axis.

Angle—Adjusts the rotational position of thecross-section in the viewport or renderer. Forexample, if you have a square cross-section youcan use Angle to position a "flat" side down.

Aspect—Sets the aspect ratio for rectangularcross-sections. The Lock check box lets you lockthe aspect ratio. When Lock is turned on, Width islocked to Length that results in a constant ratio ofWidth to Length.

Auto Smooth—If Auto Smooth is turned on, thespline is auto-smoothed using the thresholdspecified by the Threshold setting below it. AutoSmooth sets the smoothing based on the anglebetween spline segments. Any two adjacentsegments are put in the same smoothing group ifthe angle between them is less than the thresholdangle.

Note: Turning Auto Smooth on for every situationdoes not always give you the best smoothingquality. Altering the Threshold angle may benecessary or turning Auto Smooth off mayproduce the best results.

Threshold—Specifies the threshold angle indegrees. Any two adjacent spline segments are putin the same smoothing group if the angle betweenthem is less than the threshold angle.

Interpolation rollout

These settings control how a spline is generated.All spline curves are divided into small straightlines that approximate the true curve. The numberof divisions between each vertex on the spline arecalled steps. The more steps used, the smootherthe curve appears.

Splines and Extended Splines 241

Steps—Spline steps can be either adaptive (thatis, set automatically by turning on Adaptive) orspecified manually.

When Adaptive is off, use the Steps field/spinnerto set the number of divisions between each vertex.Splines with tight curves require many steps tolook smooth while gentle curves require fewersteps. Range=0 to 100.

Optimize—When on, removes unneeded stepsfrom straight segments in the spline. Optimize isnot available when Adaptive is on. Default=on.

Adaptive—When off, enables manual interpolationcontrol using Optimize and Steps. Default=off.

When on, Adaptive sets the number of steps foreach spline to produce a smooth curve. Straightsegments always receive 0 steps.

Optimized spline left and adaptive spline right. Resultingwireframe view of each, respectively, on the right.

The main use for manual interpolation of splinesis in operations where you must have exact controlover the number of vertices created.


Many spline tools use the Creation Methodsrollout. On this rollout you choose to definesplines by either their center point or theirdiagonal.

Edge—Your first mouse press defines a point onthe side or at a corner of the shape and you drag adiameter or the diagonal corner.

Center—Your first mouse press defines the centerof the shape and you drag a radius or corner point.

Text (page 1–250) and Star (page 1–249) do nothave a Creation Methods rollout.

Line (page 1–242) and Arc (page 1–246) haveunique Creation Methods rollouts that arediscussed in their respective topics.


You can create most splines using keyboard entry.The process is generally the same for all splinesand the parameters are found under the KeyboardEntry rollout. Keyboard entry varies primarily inthe number of optional parameters. The imageabove shows a sample Keyboard Entry rollout forthe Circle shape.

The Keyboard Entry rollout contains threefields for the X, Y, and Z coordinates of theinitial creation point, plus a variable number ofparameters to complete the spline. Enter valuesin each field and click the Create button to createthe spline.


Splines

Line Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout> Line

Create menu > Shapes > Line

Use Line to create a free-form spline made ofmultiple segments.

Example of line

Procedures

To create a line:

1. Go to the Create panel and chooseShapes.

2. On the Object Type rollout, click the Linebutton.

3. Choose a creation method.

4. Click or drag the start point.

Clicking creates a corner vertex; draggingcreates a Bezier vertex.

5. Click or drag additional points.

Clicking creates a corner vertex; draggingcreates a Bezier vertex.


• Right-click to create an open spline.

• Click the first vertex and click Yes in the"Close spline?" dialog to create a closedspline.

To create a line using rectilinear and angle-snapoptions:

These two options aid in creating regular shapes:

• While creating a spline with the mouse, pressand hold SHIFT to constrain new points to90-degree-angle increments from previouspoints. Use the default Initial type setting ofCorner and click all subsequent points to createfully rectilinear shapes.

• While creating a spline with the mouse, pressand hold CTRL to constrain new points to angleincrements determined by the current AngleSnap setting (page 2–627). To set this angle,right-click the Grid button in the status bar todisplay the Grid and Snap Settings dialog. Clickthe Options tab in the dialog, and change theAngle (deg) field/spinner.

The angle for each new segment relates to theprevious segment, so the angle snap works onlyafter you’ve placed the first two spline vertices(that is, the first segment). Angle Snap need not beenabled for this feature to work.

To create a line from the keyboard:

1. Enter values in the X, Y, and Z fields to specify avertex coordinate.

2. Click Add Point to add a vertex to the currentline at the specified coordinate.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each additional vertex.


• Click Finish to create an open spline.

• Click Close to connect the current vertex tothe first vertex and create a closed spline.

Line Spline 243

Interface

Automatic Conversion to an Editable Spline

Because the Line tool has no dimension parametersto be carried over to the Modify panel, it convertsto an editable spline (page 1–261) when you movefrom the Create panel to the Modify panel. Whileyou are creating the line, the Create panel displaysthe original controls, such as Interpolation,Rendering, Creation Method, and KeyboardEntry. After creating the line, when you go tothe Modify panel you have immediate access tothe Selection and Geometry rollouts to edit thevertices or any part of the shape.

Rendering and Interpolation rollouts

All spline-based shapes share these parameters.See Splines (page 1–237) for an explanation ofthese parameters.


Creation method options for lines are differentfrom other spline tools. You choose options tocontrol the type of vertex created when you clickor drag vertices.

You can preset the default types of spline verticesduring line creation with these settings:

Initial Type group

Sets the type of vertex you create when you clicka vertex location.

Corner—Produces a sharp point. The spline islinear to either side of the vertex.

Smooth—Produces a smooth, nonadjustable curvethrough the vertex. The amount of curvature is setby the spacing of the vertices.

Drag Type group

Sets the type of vertex you create when you drag avertex location. The vertex is located at the cursorposition where you first press the mouse button.The direction and distance that you drag are usedonly when creating Bezier vertices.

Corner—Produces a sharp point. The spline islinear to either side of the vertex.

Smooth—Produces a smooth, nonadjustable curvethrough the vertex. The amount of curvature areset by the spacing of the vertices.

Bezier—Produces a smooth, adjustable curvethrough the vertex. The amount of curvatureand direction of the curve are set by dragging themouse at each vertex.


Keyboard entry for lines is different from keyboardentry for other splines. Entering keyboard valuescontinues to add vertices to the existing line untilyou click Close or Finish.

Add Point—Adds a new point to the line at thecurrent X/Y/Z coordinates.


Close—Closes the shape, adding a final splinesegment between the most recent vertex and thefirst.

Finish—Finishes the spline without closing it.

Rectangle Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout> Rectangle

Create menu > Shapes > Rectangle

Use Rectangle to create square and rectangularsplines.

Examples of rectangles

Procedure

To create a rectangle:


2. Click Rectangle.


4. Drag in a viewport to create a rectangle.

Optionally, press CTRL while dragging toconstrain the spline to a square.

Interface




The Rectangle shape uses the standard creationmethods of Center or Edge. Most spline-basedshapes share the same Creation Methodparameters. See Splines (page 1–237) for anexplanation of these parameters.

Parameters rollout

Once you have created a rectangle, you can makechanges using the following parameters:

Length—Specifies the size of the rectangle alongthe local Y axis.

Width—Specifies the size of the rectangle along thelocal X axis.

Corner Radius—Creates rounded corners. Whenset to 0, the rectangle contains 90-degree corners.

Circle Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout >Circle

Create menu > Shapes > Circle

Use Circle to create closed circular splines made offour vertices.

Ellipse Spline 245

Example of circle

Procedure

To create a circle:


2. Click Circle.


4. Drag in a viewport to draw the circle.

Interface


All spline-based shapes share these parameters.See Splines (page 1–237) for explanations of theseparameters.


The Circle shape uses the standard creationmethods of Center or Edge. Most spline-basedshapes share the same Creation Methodparameters. See Splines (page 1–237) for anexplanation of these parameters.

Parameters rollout

Once you have created a circle, you can makechanges using the following parameter:

Radius—Specifies the radius of the circle.

Ellipse Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout> Ellipse

Create menu > Shapes > Ellipse

Use Ellipse to create elliptical and circular splines.

Examples of ellipses

Procedure

To create an ellipse:


2. Click Ellipse.


4. Drag in a viewport to draw the ellipse.

Optionally, press CTRL while dragging toconstrain the spline to a circle.

Interface





The Ellipse shape uses the standard creationmethods of Center or Edge. Most spline-basedshapes share the same Creation Methodparameters. See Splines (page 1–237) for anexplanation of these parameters.

Parameters rollout

Once you have created an Ellipse, you can makechanges using the following parameters:

Length—Specifies the size of the Ellipse along thelocal Y axis.

Width—Specifies the size of the Ellipse local X axis.

Arc Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout> Arc

Create menu > Shapes > Arc

Use Arc to create open and closed circular arcsmade of four vertices.

Procedures

To create an arc using the end-end-middle method:


2. Click Arc.

3. Choose the End-End-Middle creation method.

4. Drag in a viewport to set the two ends of the arc.

5. Release the mouse button, then move themouse and click to specify a third point on anarc between the two endpoints.

Creating an arc using the End-End-Middle creation method

To create an arc using the center-end-end method:


2. Click Arc.

3. Choose the Center-End-End creation method.

4. Press the mouse button to define the center ofthe arc.

5. Drag and release the mouse button to specifythe start point of the arc.

6. Move the mouse and click to specify the otherend of the arc.

Creating an arc using the Center-End-End creation method

Interface



Donut Spline 247


These options determine the sequence of mouseclicks involved in the creation of the arc.

End-End-Middle—Drag and release to set the twoendpoints of the arc, and then click to specify thethird point between the two endpoints.

Center-End-End—Press the mouse button to specifythe center point of the arc, drag and release tospecify one endpoint of the arc, and click to specifythe other endpoint of the arc.

Parameters rollout

Once you have created an arc, you can makechanges using the following parameters:

Radius—Specifies the arc radius.

From—Specifies the location of the start point asan angle measured from the local positive X axis.

To—Specifies the location of the end point as anangle measured from the local positive X axis.

Pie Slice—When on, creates a closed spline in theform of a pie. The start point and end point areconnected to the center with straight segments.

Closed pie slice arcs

Reverse—When on, the direction of the arc splineis reversed, and the first vertex is placed at theopposite end of an open arc. As long as the shaperemains an original shape (and not an editablespline), you can switch its direction by togglingReverse. Once the arc is converted to an editablespline, you can use Reverse at the Spline sub-objectlevel to reverse direction.

Donut Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout> Donut

Create menu > Shapes > Donut

Use Donut to create closed shapes from twoconcentric circles. Each circle is made of fourvertices.

Example of donut

Procedure

To create a donut:


2. Click Donut.



4. Drag and release the mouse button to definethe first donut circle.

5. Move the mouse and then click to define theradius of the second concentric donut circle.

The second circle can be larger or smaller thanthe first.

Interface




The Donut shape uses the standard creationmethods of Center or Edge. Most spline-basedshapes share the same Creation Methodparameters. See Splines (page 1–237) for anexplanation of these parameters.

Parameters rollout

Once you have created a donut, you can makechanges using the following parameters:

Radius 1—Sets the radius of the first circle.

Radius 2—Sets the radius of the second circle.

NGon Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout >NGon

Create menu > Shapes > NGon

Use NGon to create closed flat-sided or circularsplines with any number (N) of sides or vertices.

Examples of NGons

Procedure

To create an NGon:


2. Click NGon.


4. Drag and release the mouse button in aviewport to draw the NGon.

Interface




The NGon shape uses the standard creationmethods of Center or Edge. Most spline-basedshapes share the same Creation Methodparameters. See Splines (page 1–237) for anexplanation of these parameters.

Star Spline 249

Parameters rollout

Once you have created an NGon, you can makechanges using the following parameters:

Radius—Specifies the NGon radius. You can useeither of two methods to specify the radius:

• Inscribed—The radius from the center to thecorners of the NGon

• Circumscribed—The radius from the center tothe sides of the NGon.

Sides—Specifies the number of sides and verticesused by the NGon. Range=3 to 100.

Corner Radius—Specifies the degree of rounding toapply to the corners of the NGon. A setting of 0specifies a standard unrounded corner.

Circular—When on, specifies a circular NGon.

Star Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout> Star

Create menu > Shapes > Star

Use Star to create closed star-shaped splines withany number of points. Star splines use two radiusesto set the distance between the outer points andinner valleys.

Examples of stars

Procedure

To create a star:


2. Click Star.

3. Drag and release the mouse button to definethe first star radius.

4. Move the mouse and then click to define thesecond star radius.

Interface



Parameters rollout

Once you have created a star, you can makechanges using the following parameters:


Radius 1—Specifies the radius of the inner vertices(the valley) of the star.

Radius 2—Specifies the radius of the outer vertices(the points) of the star.

Points—Specifies the number of points on the star.Range=3 to 100.

A star has twice as many vertices as the specifiednumber of points. Half the vertices lie on oneradius, forming points, and the remaining verticeslie on the other radius, forming valleys.

Distortion—Rotates the outer vertices (the points)about the center of the star. This produces asawtooth affect.

Fillet Radius 1—Rounds the inner vertices (thevalleys) of the star.

Fillet Radius 2—Rounds the outer vertices (thepoints) of the star.

Text Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout> Text

Create menu > Shapes > Text

Use Text to create splines in the shape of text.The text can use any Windows font installed onyour system, or a Type 1 PostScript font installedin the directory pointed to by the Fonts path onthe Configure System Paths dialog (page 3–531).Because fonts are loaded only at first use, changingthe font path later in the program has no effect.The program must be restarted before the newpath is used, if the font manager has been used bythe program.

Examples of text

You can edit the text in the Create panel, or later inthe Modify panel.

Using Text Shapes

Text shapes maintain the text as an editableparameter. You can change the text at any time.If the font used by your text is deleted from thesystem, Autodesk VIZ still properly displays thetext shape. However, to edit the text string in theedit box you must choose an available font.

The text in your scene is just a shape where eachletter and, in some cases, pieces of each letter areindividual splines. You can apply modifiers likeEdit Spline (page 2–126), Bend (page 2–53), andExtrude (page 2–127) to edit Text shapes just likeany other shape.

Procedures

To create text:


2. Click Text.

3. Enter text in the Text box.

4. Do either of the following to define an insertionpoint:

Text Spline 251

• Click in a viewport to place the text in thescene.

• Drag the text into position and release themouse button.

To enter a special Windows character:

1. Hold down the ALT key.

2. Enter the character’s numeric value on thenumeric keypad.

You must use the numeric keypad, not the rowof numbers above the alphabetic keys.

For some characters, you must enter a leadingzero. For example, 0233 to enter an e with anacute accent.

3. Release the ALT key.

Interface

Settings available for text include kerning, leading,justification, multiple lines, and a manual updateoption.



Parameters rollout

Once you have created text, you can make changesusing the following parameters:

Font list—Choose from a list of all available fonts.Available fonts include:

• Fonts installed in Windows.

• Type 1 PostScript fonts located in the directorypointed to by the Fonts path on the ConfigureSystem Paths dialog (page 3–531).

Italic style button—Toggles italicized text.

Underline style button—Toggles underlinedtext.

Align Left—Aligns text to the left side of itsbounding box.

Center—Aligns text to the center of itsbounding box.


Align Right—Aligns text to the right side ofits bounding box.

Justify—Spaces all lines of text to fill theextents of the bounding box.

Note: The four text-alignment buttons requiremultiple lines of text for effect because they acton the text in relation to its bounding box. Ifthere’s only one line of text, it’s the same size asits bounding box.

Size—Sets the text height where the heightmeasuring method is defined by the active font.The first time you enter text, the default size is 100units.

Kerning—Adjusts the kerning (the distancebetween letters).

Leading—Adjusts the leading (the distancebetween lines). This has an effect only whenmultiple lines of text are included in the shape.

Text edit box—Allows for multiple lines of text.Press ENTER after each line of text to start thenext line.

• The initial session default is "VIZ Text."

• The edit box does not support word wrap.

• You can cut and paste single- and multi-linetext from the Clipboard.

Update group

These options let you select a manual updateoption for situations where the complexity of thetext shape is too high for automatic updates.

Update—Updates the text in the viewport to matchthe current settings in the edit box. This button isavailable only when Manual Update is on.

Manual Update—When on, the text that you typeinto the edit box is not shown in the viewport untilyou click the Update button.

Helix Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout >Helix

Create menu > Shapes > Helix

Use Helix to create open flat or 3D spirals.

Examples of helixes

Procedure

To create a helix:


2. Click Helix.


4. Press the mouse button to define the first pointof the Helix start circle.

5. Drag and release the mouse button to definethe second point of the Helix start circle.

6. Move the mouse and then click to define theheight of the Helix.

7. Move the mouse and then click to define theradius of the Helix end.

Interface

Rendering rollout


Section Spline 253

Interpolation

The helix differs from other spline-based shapesin that it always uses adaptive interpolation: thenumber of vertices in a helix is determined by thenumber of turns.


The Helix shape uses the standard creationmethods of Center or Edge. Most spline-basedshapes share the same Creation Methodparameters. See Splines (page 1–237) for anexplanation of these parameters.

Parameters rollout

Once you have created a helix, you can makechanges using the following parameters:

Radius 1—Specifies the radius for the Helix start.

Radius 2—Specifies the radius for the Helix end.

Height—Specifies the height of the Helix.

Turns—Specifies the number of turns the Helixmakes between its start and end points.

Bias—Forces the turns to accumulate at one end ofthe helix. Bias has no visible affect when the heightis 0.0.

Helical spline varied only by bias settings

• A bias of –1.0 forces the turns toward the startof the helix.

• A bias of 0.0 evenly distributes the turnsbetween the ends.

• A bias of 1.0 forces the turns toward the end ofthe helix.

CW/CCW—The direction buttons set whether theHelix turns clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise(CCW).

Section Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout> Section

Create menu > Shapes > Section

This is a special type of object that generates othershapes based on a cross-sectional slice throughmesh objects. The Section object appears as abisected rectangle. You simply move and rotateit to slice through one or more mesh objects, andthen click the Create Shape button to generate ashape based on the 2D intersection.


Red line shows the section shape based on the structure.

Procedure

To create and use a section shape:


2. Click Section.

3. Drag a rectangle in the viewport in which youwant to orient the plane. (For example, create itin the Top viewport to place the Section objectparallel with the XY home grid.)

The Section object appears as a simple rectanglewith crossed lines indicating its center. Withthe default settings, the rectangle is for displaypurposes only, because the effect of the Sectionobject extends along its plane to the full extentsof the scene.

4. Move and rotate the section so that its planeintersects mesh objects in the scene.

Yellow lines are displayed where the sectionalplane intersects objects.

5. On the Create panel, click Create Shape, enter aname in the resulting dialog, and click OK.

An editable spline (page 1–261) is created,based on the displayed cross sections.

Interface



Section Parameters rollout

Create Shape—Creates a shape based on thecurrently displayed intersection lines. A dialog isdisplayed in which you can name the new object.The resulting shape is an editable spline consistingof curve segments and corner vertices, based on allintersected meshes in the scene.

Update group

Provides options for specifying when theintersection line is updated.

When Section Moves—Updates the intersection linewhen you move or resize the Section shape.

When Section Selected—Updates the intersectionline when you select the section shape, but not

WRectangle Spline 255

while you move it. Click the Update Section buttonto update the intersection.

Manually—Updates the intersection line only whenyou click the Update Section button.

Update Section—Updates the intersection to matchthe current placement of the Section object whenusing When Section Selected or Manually option.

Note: When using When Section Selected orManually, you can offset the generated crosssection from the position of the intersectedgeometry. As you move the section object, theyellow cross-section lines move with it, leavingthe geometry behind. When you click CreateShape, the new shape is generated at the displayedcross-section lines in the offset position.

Section Extents group

Choose one of these options to specify the extentsof the cross-section generated by the sectionobject.

Infinite—The section plane is infinite in alldirections, resulting in a cross section at any meshgeometry in its plane.

Section Boundary—The cross-section is generatedonly in objects that are within or touched by theboundary of the section shape.

Off—No cross section is displayed or generated.The Create Shape button is disabled.

Color swatch—Click this to set the display color ofthe intersection.

Section Size rollout

Provides spinners that let you adjust the lengthand width of the displayed section rectangle.

Length/Width—Adjust the length and width of thedisplayed section rectangle.

Note: If you convert the section grid to an editablespline, it’s converted to a shape based on thecurrent cross section.

Extended Splines

WRectangle Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Extended Splines > Object Typerollout > WRectangle

Create menu > Shapes > WRectangle

Use WRectangle to create closed shapes from twoconcentric rectangles. Each rectangle is made offour vertices. The WRectangle is similar to theDonut tool except it uses rectangles instead ofcircles.

WRectangle stands for “walled rectangle”.

Example of WRectangle

Procedure

To create a wrectangle:


2. Open the Shapes List and choose ExtendedSplines.


3. Click WRectangle.

4. Drag and release the mouse button to definethe outer rectangle.

5. Move the mouse and then click to define theinner rectangle.

Interface


All spline-based shapes share these parameters.For explanations, see Splines and Extended Splines(page 1–237).


The WRectangle shape uses the standardcreation methods of Center or Edge. Mostspline-based shapes share the same CreationMethod parameters. For explanations, see Splinesand Extended Splines (page 1–237).

Parameters rollout

Length—Controls the height of the wrectanglesection.

Width—Controls the width of the wrectanglesection.

Thickness—Controls the thickness of the walls ofthe wrectangle.

Sync Corner Fillets—When turned on, CornerRadius 1 controls the radius of both the interior

and exterior corners of the wrectangle. It alsomaintains the thickness of the section. Default=on.

Corner Radius 1—Controls the radius of all fourinterior and exterior corners of the section.

If Sync Corner Fillets is turned off, Corner Radius1 controls the radius of the four exterior cornersof the wrectangle.

Corner Radius 2—Controls the radius of the fourinterior corners of the wrectangle.

Corner Radius 2 is only available when SyncCorner Fillets is turned off.

Note: Take care when adjusting these settings.There are no constraining relationships betweenthem. Therefore, it’s possible to set an insideradius (Corner Radius 2) that is greater than thelength and width of the sides.

Channel Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Extended Splines > Object Typerollout > Channel

Create menu > Shapes > Channel

Use Channel to create a closed “C” shaped spline.You have the option to specify the interior andexterior corners between the vertical web andhorizontal legs of the section.

Example of Channel

Angle Spline 257

Procedure

To create a channel:


2. Open the Shapes List and select ExtendedSplines.

3. Click Channel.

4. Drag and release the mouse button to definethe outer perimeter of the channel.

5. Move the mouse and then click to define thethickness of the walls of the channel.

Interface




The Channel shape uses the standard creationmethods of Center or Edge. Most spline-basedshapes share the same Creation Methodparameters. For explanations, see Splines andExtended Splines (page 1–237).

Parameters rollout

Length—Controls the height of the vertical webof the channel.

Width—Controls the width of the top and bottomhorizontal legs of the channel.

Thickness—Controls the thickness of both legs ofthe angle.

Sync Corner Fillets—When turned on, CornerRadius 1 controls the radius of both the interiorand exterior corners between the vertical web andhorizontal legs. It also maintains the thickness ofthe channel. Default=on.

Corner Radius 1—Controls the exterior radiusbetween the vertical web and horizontal legs of thechannel.

Corner Radius 2—Controls the interior radiusbetween the vertical web and horizontal legs of thechannel.

Note: Take care when adjusting these settings.There are no constraining relationships betweenthem. Therefore, it’s possible to set an insideradius (Corner Radius 2) that is greater than thelength of the web or width of the legs.

Angle Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Extended Splines > Object Typerollout > Angle

Create menu > Shapes > Angle

Use Angle to create a closed “L” shaped spline. Youhave the option to specify the radii of the cornersbetween the vertical and horizontal legs of thesection.


Example of Angle

Procedure

To create an Angle spline:



3. Click Angle.

4. Drag and release the mouse button to definethe initial size of the angle.

5. Move the mouse and then click to define thethickness of the walls of the angle.

Interface




The Angle shape uses the standard creationmethods of Center or Edge. Most spline-basedshapes share the same Creation Methodparameters. For explanations, see Splines andExtended Splines (page 1–237).

Parameters rollout

Length—Controls the height of the vertical leg ofthe angle.

Width—Controls the width of the horizontal legof the angle.

Thickness—Controls the thickness of both legs ofthe angle.

Sync Corner Fillets—When turned on, CornerRadius 1 controls the radius of both the interiorand exterior corners between the vertical andhorizontal legs. It also maintains the thickness ofthe section. Default=on.

Corner Radius 1—Controls the exterior radiusbetween the vertical and horizontal legs of theangle.

Corner Radius 2—Controls the interior radiusbetween the vertical and horizontal legs of theangle.

Edge Radii—Controls the interior radius at theoutermost edges of the vertical and horizontal legs.

Note: Take care when adjusting these settings.There are no constraining relationships betweenthem. Therefore, it’s possible to set an insideradius (Corner Radius 2) that is greater than thelength or width of the legs of the angle.

Tee Spline 259

Tee Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Extended Splines > Object Typerollout > Tee

Create menu > Shapes > Tee

Use Tee to create a closed T-shaped spline. Youcan specify the radius of the two interior cornersbetween the vertical web and horizontal flange ofthe section.

Example of Tee

Procedure

To create a Tee spline:



3. Click Tee.

4. Drag and release the mouse button to definethe initial size of the tee.

5. Move the mouse and then click to define thethickness of the walls of the tee.

Interface




The Tee shape uses the standard creation methodsof Center or Edge. Most spline-based shapesshare the same Creation Method parameters. Forexplanations, see Splines and Extended Splines(page 1–237).

Parameters rollout

Length—Controls the height of the vertical web ofthe tee.

Width—Controls the width of the flange crossingthe tee.

Thickness—Controls the thickness of the web andflange.

Corner Radius—Controls the radius of the twointerior corners between the vertical web andhorizontal flange of the section.

Note: Take care when adjusting these settings.There are no constraining relationships betweenthem. Therefore, it’s possible to set a radius(Corner Radius) that is greater than the length ofthe web or width of the flange.

Wide Flange Spline

Create panel > Shapes > Extended Splines > Object Typerollout > Wide Flange

Create menu > Shapes > Wide Flange

Use Wide Flange to create a closed spline shapedlike a capital letter I. You can specify the interior


corners between the vertical web and horizontalflanges of the section.

Example of Wide Flange

Procedure

To create a Wide Flange spline:



3. Click Wide Flange.

4. Drag and release the mouse button to definethe initial size of the wide flange.

5. Move the mouse and then click to define thethickness of the walls of the wide flange.

Interface




The Wide Flange shape uses the standardcreation methods of Center or Edge. Mostspline-based shapes share the same CreationMethod parameters. For explanations, see Splinesand Extended Splines (page 1–237).

Parameters rollout

Length—Controls the height of the vertical webof the wide flange.

Width—Controls the width of the horizontalflanges crossing the wide flange.

Thickness—Controls the thickness of the web andflanges.

Corner Radius—Controls the radius of the fourinterior corners between the vertical web andhorizontal flanges.

Note: Take care when adjusting these settings.There are no constraining relationships betweenthem. Therefore, it’s possible to set a radius(Corner Radius) that is greater than the length ofthe web or width of the flanges.

Editable Spline 261

Editable Splines

Editable Spline

Create or select a spline > Modify panel > Right-clickspline entry in the stack display > Convert To: EditableSpline

Create a line > Modify panel

Create or select a spline > Right-click the spline >Transform (lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu >Convert To: > Convert to Editable Spline

Editable Spline provides controls for manipulatingan object as a spline object and at three sub-objectlevels: vertex, segment, and spline.

The functions in Editable Spline are the same asthose in the Edit Spline modifier (page 2–126).The exception is that when you convert an existingspline shape to an editable spline, the creationparameters are no longer accessible. However,the spline’s interpolation settings (step settings)remain available in the editable spline.

When a spline-editing operation (typically,moving a segment or vertex) causes end verticesto overlap, you can use the Weld command toweld the overlapping vertices together or the Fusecommand if you want the two overlapping verticesto occupy the same point in space but remainseparate vertices.

Note: Welding coincident vertices is controlled bythe End Point Auto-Welding feature.

Show End Result

If you have several modifiers higher inthe modifier stack, and want to see the resultsof edits in an Edit Spline modifier or EditableSpline object, then turn on Show End Result onthe Modify panel. As you edit the spline network,you’ll be able to see the result of modifiers above

the Editable Spline object. This is useful forSurface Tools work where you add a Surfacemodifier above an Editable Spline object in themodifier stack.

See also

Edit Modifiers and Editable Objects (page 2–34)


Modifier Stack Controls (page 3–481)

Procedures

To produce an editable spline object, first select theshape, and then do one of the following:

• Right-click the shape entry in the stack displayand choose Convert To: Editable Spline.

• In a viewport, right-click the object and chooseConvert To: > Convert to Editable Spline fromthe Transform (lower-right) quadrant of thequad menu.

• Create a shape with two or more splines by firstturning off Start New Shape (on the Createpanel). Any shape made up of two or moresplines is automatically an editable spline.

• Apply an Edit Spline modifier to a shape, andthen collapse the stack. If you use the Collapseutility (page 2–314) to collapse the stack, besure to choose Output Type > Modifier StackResult.

• Import a .shp file.

• Merge a shape from a 3ds Max file.

To select shape sub-objects:

1. Expand the object’s hierarchy in the stackdisplay and choose a sub-object level, or clickone of the sub-object buttons at the top of theSelection rollout.

You can also right-click the object in theviewports and choose a sub-object level from


the quad menu: Tools 1 (upper-left) quadrant> Sub-objects > Choose the sub-object level.

2. Click a selection or transform tool, and thenselect sub-objects using standard click orregion-selection techniques.

Because sub-object selections can be complex,you might consider using one of the followingtechniques to prevent clearing the sub-objectselection by accident:

• Use Lock Selection (page 3–436).

• Name the sub-object selection (see NamedSelection Sets List (page 1–63)).

To clone sub-object selections:

• Hold down the SHIFT key while transformingthe sub-objects.

You can clone segment and spline sub-objects,but not vertices.

To draw a spline cage:

1. Select a segment sub-object on a spline.

2. On the Geometry rollout in the Connect Copygroup, turn on Connect.

3. Hold down the SHIFT key and transform theselected segment. You can move, rotate orscale using the transform gizmo to control thedirection.

Notice that with Connect Copy on, new splinesare drawn between the locations of the segmentand its clone.

Tip: Use Area Selection or Fuse before selectingand moving these vertices. They will not movetogether as they do with the Cross-Sectionmodifier. Or use Fuse to keep the verticestogether.

Interface

The following controls are available at the object(top) level and at all sub-object levels.


These creation parameters appear in these rolloutsfor editable splines. For splines to which theEdit Spline modifier has been applied, creationparameters are available by selecting the objecttype entry (for example, Circle or NGon) at thebottom of the modifier stack (page 3–481).

Rendering rollout

Controls here let you turn on and off therenderability of the shape, specify its thicknessin the rendered scene, and apply mappingcoordinates. The spline mesh can be viewed in theviewports.

You can also convert the displayed mesh into amesh object by applying an Edit Mesh modifieror converting to an Editable Mesh. The systemwill use the Viewport settings for this meshconversion if Use Viewport Settings is turned on;

Editable Spline 263

otherwise it will use the Renderer settings. Thisgives maximum flexibility, and will always give theconversion of the mesh displayed in the viewports.

The U coordinate wraps once around the thicknessof the spline; the V coordinate is mapped oncealong the length of the spline. Tiling is achievedusing the Tiling parameters in the material itself.

Enable In Renderer—When on, the shape isrendered as a 3D mesh using the Radial orRectangular parameters set for Renderer. Inprevious versions of the program, the Renderableswitch performed the same operation.

Enable In Viewport—When on, the shape isdisplayed in the viewport as a 3D mesh using theRadial or Rectangular parameters set for Renderer.In previous versions of the program, the DisplayRender Mesh performed the same operation.

Use Viewport settings—Lets you set differentrendering parameters, and displays the meshgenerated by the Viewport settings. Available onlywhen Enable in Viewport is turned on.

Generate Mapping Coords—Turn this on to applymapping coordinates. Default=off.

The U coordinate wraps once around the thicknessof the spline; the V coordinate is mapped oncealong the length of the spline. Tiling is achievedusing the Tiling parameters in the material itself.


Viewport—Turn this on to specify Radial orRectangular parameters for the shape as it willdisplay in the viewport when Enable in Viewportis turned on.

Renderer—Turn this on to specify Radial orRectangular parameters for the shape as it will

display when rendered or viewed in the viewportwhen Enable in Viewport is turned on.

Radial—Displays the 3D mesh as a cylindricalobject.

Thickness—Specifies the diameter of the viewportor rendered spline mesh. Default=1.0. Range=0.0to 100,000,000.0.

Splines rendered at thickness of 1.0 and 5.0, respectively

Sides—Sets the number of sides (or facets) forthe spline mesh n the viewport or renderer. Forexample, a value of 4 results in a square crosssection.

Angle—Adjusts the rotational position of thecross-section in the viewport or renderer. Forexample, if the spline mesh has a square crosssection you can use Angle to position a "flat" sidedown.

Rectangular—Displays the spline’s mesh shape asrectangular.

Aspect—Sets the aspect ratio for rectangularcross-sections. The Lock check box lets you lockthe aspect ratio. When Lock is turned on, Widthis locked to Depth that results in a constant ratioof Width to Depth.

Length—Specifies the size of the cross–sectionalong the local Y axis.

Width—Specifies the size of the cross–sectionalong the local X axis.


Angle—Adjusts the rotational position of thecross-section in the viewport or renderer. Forexample, if you have a square cross-section youcan use Angle to position a "flat" side down.

Auto Smooth—If Auto Smooth is turned on, thespline is auto-smoothed using the thresholdspecified by the Threshold setting below it. AutoSmooth sets the smoothing based on the anglebetween spline segments. Any two adjacentsegments are put in the same smoothing group ifthe angle between them is less than the thresholdangle.

Threshold—Specifies the threshold angle indegrees. Any two adjacent spline segments are putin the same smoothing group if the angle betweenthem is less than the threshold angle.

Interpolation rollout

The Interpolation controls set how the programgenerates a spline. All spline curves are dividedinto small straight lines that approximate the truecurve. The number of divisions between eachvertex on the spline is called steps. The more stepsused, the smoother the curve appears.

Splines used in above lathed objects contained two steps(left) and 20 steps (right)

Steps—Use the Steps field to set the number ofdivisions, or steps, the program uses between eachvertex. Splines with tight curves require manysteps to look smooth while gentle curves requirefewer steps. Range=0 to 100.

Spline steps can be either adaptive or manuallyspecified. The method used is set by the state of

the Adaptive check box. The main use for manualinterpolation is to create splines for operationswhere you must have exact control over thenumber of vertices created.

Optimize—When on, removes unneeded stepsfrom straight segments in the spline. Default=on.

Note: Optimize is not available when Adaptive ison.

Optimize was used to create spline in this lathed object.

Adaptive—When on, automatically sets thenumber of steps for each spline to produce asmooth curve. Straight segments always receive0 steps. When off, enables manual interpolationcontrol using Optimize and Steps. Default=off.

Editable Spline 265

Selection rollout

Provides controls for turning different sub-objectmodes on and off, working with named selectionsand handles, display settings, and informationabout selected entities.

When you first access the Modify panel withan editable spline selected, you’re at the Objectlevel, with access to several functions availableas described in Editable Spline (Object) (page1–266). You can toggle the sub-object modes andaccess relevant functions by clicking sub-objectbuttons at the top of the Selection rollout.

You can work with parts of shapes and splinesusing shape sub-object selection of the EditableSpline object. Clicking a button here is the sameas selecting a sub-object type in the Modifier List.Click the button again to turn it off and return toobject selection level.

Vertices—Define points and curve tangents.

Segments—Connect vertices.

Splines—Are a combination of one or moreconnected segments.

Named Selections group

Copy—Places a named selection into the copybuffer.

Paste—Pastes a named selection from the copybuffer.

Lock Handles—Normally you can transform thetangent handles of only one vertex at a time, evenwhen multiple vertices are selected. Use the LockHandles controls to transform multiple Bezier andBezier Corner handles simultaneously.

Alike—As you drag the handle of an incomingvector, all incoming vectors of the selected verticesmove simultaneously. Likewise, moving theoutgoing tangent handle on one vertex moves theoutgoing tangent handle for all selected vertices.

All—Any handle you move affects all handles inthe selection, regardless of whether they’re broken.This option is also useful when working with asingle Bezier Corner vertex when you want tomove both handles.

SHIFT+click a handle to "break" the tangentand move each handle independently. The Alikeoption must be chosen to break the tangent.

Area Selection—Lets you select automatically allvertices within a specific radius of the vertex youclick. At the Vertex sub-object level, turn on AreaSelection, and then set the radius with the spinnerto the right of the Area Selection check box. Thisis useful when moving vertices that have beencreated using Connect Copy or Cross Sectionbutton.

Segment End—Select a vertex by clicking asegment. In Vertex sub-object, turn on and select asegment close to the vertex that you want selected.Use this when there are a number of coincident


vertices and you want to select a vertex on aspecific segment. The cursor changes to a crosswhen it is over a segment. By holding down theCTRL key you can add to the selection.

Select By—Selects vertices on the selected splineor segment. First select a spline or segment insub-object spline or segment, then turn on vertexsub-object and click Select By and choose Splineor Segment. All the vertices on the selected splineor segment are selected. You can then edit thevertices.

Display group

Show Vertex Numbers—When on, the programdisplays vertex numbers next to the selectedspline’s vertices at any sub-object level.

Selected Only—When on, the vertex number ornumbers appear only next to selected vertices.

Soft Selection

For information on the Soft Selection rolloutsettings, see Soft Selection Rollout (page 2–312).

Selection Info

At the bottom of the Selection rollout is a textdisplay giving information about the currentselection. If 0 or more than one sub-object isselected, the text gives the number selected.

At the Vertex and Segment sub-object levels,if one sub-object is selected, the text gives theidentification numbers of the current spline (withrespect to the current object) and of the currentselected sub-object. Each spline object containsa spline number 1; if it contains more than onespline, the subsequent splines are numberedconsecutively higher.

When a single spline is selected at the Splinesub-object level, the first line displays theidentification number of the selected spline andwhether it’s open or closed, and the second line

displays the number of vertices it contains. Whenmore than one spline is selected, the numberof splines selected is displayed on the first line,and the total number of vertices they contain isdisplayed on the second line.

Geometry rollout

The Geometry rollout provides functions forediting a spline object and sub-objects. Thefunctions available at the spline object level (whenno sub-object level is active; see Editable Spline(Object) (page 1–266)) are also available at allsub-object levels, and work exactly the same ateach level. Other functions are also available,depending on which sub-object level is active.Those that apply to other sub-object levels areunavailable.

For specific information, see these topics:

Editable Spline (Object) (page 1–266)

Editable Spline (Vertex) (page 1–268)

Editable Spline (Segment) (page 1–275)

Editable Spline (Spline) (page 1–280)

Editable Spline (Object)

Select an editable spline > Modify panel > Editable spline(not a sub-object level) selected in the modifier stack

Select an editable spline > Right-click the spline > Tools1 (upper-left) quadrant of the quad menu > Sub-objects> Top-level

The functions available at the editable spline objectlevel (that is, when no sub-object level is active)are also available at all sub-object levels, and workexactly the same at each level.

Interface

Rendering, Interpolation, and Selection rollouts

See the Editable Spline topic for informationon the Rendering and Interpolation rollouts

Editable Spline (Object) 267

(page 1–262), and Selection rollout (page 1–265)settings.

Geometry rollout

New Vertex Type group—The radio buttons in thisgroup let you determine the tangency of the newvertices created when you shift-copy segments orsplines. If you later use Connect Copy, vertices onthe splines that connect the original segment orspline to the new one will have the type specifiedin this group.

This setting has no effect on the tangency ofvertices created using tools such as the Create Linebutton, Refine, and so on.

• Linear—New vertices will have linear tangency.

• Smooth—New vertices will have smoothtangency.

When this option is chosen, new vertices thatoverlap are automatically welded.

• Bezier—New vertices will have bezier tangency.

• Bezier Corner—New vertices will have beziercorner tangency.

Create Line—Adds more splines to the selectedspline. These lines are separate spline sub-objects;create them in the same way as the line spline(page 1–242). To exit line creation, right-click orclick to turn off Create Line.

Break—Splits a spline at the selected vertex orvertices. Select one or more vertices and thenclick Break to create the split. There are now twosuperimposed non-connected vertices for everyprevious one, allowing the once-joined segmentends to be moved away from each other.

Attach—Lets you attach another spline in the sceneto the selected spline. Click the object you want toattach to the currently selected spline object. Theobject you’re attaching to must also be a spline.

Unattached splines (left) and attached splines (right)

When you attach an object, the materials of thetwo objects are combined in the following way:

• If the object being attached does not have amaterial assigned, it inherits the material of theobject it is being attached to.

• Likewise if the object you’re attaching to doesn’thave a material, it inherits the material of theobject being attached.

• If both objects have materials, the resulting newmaterial is a multi/sub-object material (page


2–1182) that encompasses the input materials.A dialog appears offering three methods ofcombining the objects’ materials and materialIDs. For more information, see Attach OptionsDialog (page 2–374).

Attached shapes lose their identity as individualshapes, with the following results:

• The attached shape loses all access to itscreation parameters. For example, once youattach a circle to a square you cannot go backand change the radius parameter of the circle.

• The modifier stack of the attached shape iscollapsed.

Any edits, modifiers, and animation appliedto the attached shape are frozen at the currentframe.

Reorient—When on, rotates the attached spline sothat its creation local coordinate system is alignedwith the creation local coordinate system of theselected spline.

Attach Mult.—Click this button to display theAttach Multiple dialog, which contains a list of allother shapes in the scene. Select the shapes youwant to attach to the current editable spline, thenclick OK.

Cross Section—Creates a spline cage out ofcross-sectional shapes. Click Cross Section,select one shape then a second shape, splines arecreated joining the first shape with the second.Continue clicking shapes to add them to the cage.This functionality is similar to the Cross Sectionmodifier, but here you can determine the orderof the cross sections. Spline cage tangency can bedefined by choosing Linear, Bezier, Bezier Corneror Smooth in New Vertex Type group.

End Point Auto-Welding group

• Automatic Welding—When Automatic Weldingis turned on, an end point vertex that isplaced or moved within the threshold distance

of another end point of the same spline isautomatically welded. This feature is availableat the object and all sub-object levels.

• Threshold—A proximity setting that controlshow close vertices can be to one another beforethey are automatically welded. Default=6.0.

Insert—Inserts one or more vertices, creatingadditional segments. Click anywhere in a segmentto insert a vertex and attach the vertex to themouse. Optionally move the mouse and thenclick to place the new vertex. Continue movingthe mouse and clicking to add vertices. A singleclick inserts a corner vertex, while a drag creates aBezier (smooth) vertex.

Right-click to complete the operation and releasethe mouse. At this point, you’re still in Insertmode, and can begin inserting vertices in adifferent segment. Otherwise, right-click again orclick Insert to exit Insert mode.

Editable Spline (Vertex)

Select an editable spline > Modify panel > Expand theeditable spline in the stack display > Vertex sub-objectlevel

Select an editable spline > Modify panel > Selectionrollout > Vertex button

Select an editable spline > Right-click the spline > Tools1 (upper-left) quadrant of the quad menu > Sub-objects> Vertex

While at the Editable Spline (Vertex) level, you canselect single and multiple vertices and move themusing standard methods. If the vertex is of theBezier or Bezier Corner type, you can also moveand rotate handles, thus affecting the shapes of anysegments joined at the vertex. You can copy andpaste the handles between vertices using tangentcopy/paste. You can reset them or switch betweentypes using the quad menu. The tangent types arealways available on the quad menu when a vertex

Editable Spline (Vertex) 269

is selected; your cursor doesn’t have to be directlyover them in the viewport.

Procedures

To set a vertex type:

1. Right-click any vertex in a selection.

2. Choose a type from the shortcut menu. Eachvertex in a shape can be one of four types:

• Smooth: Nonadjustable vertices that createsmooth continuous curves. The curvatureat a smooth vertex is determined by thespacing of adjacent vertices.

• Corner: Nonadjustable vertices that createsharp corners.

• Bezier: Adjustable vertex with lockedcontinuous tangent handles that create asmooth curve. The curvature at the vertexis set by the direction and magnitude of thetangent handles.

• Bezier Corner: Adjustable vertex withdiscontinuous tangent handles that create asharp corner. The curvature of the segmentas it leaves the corner is set by the directionand magnitude of the tangent handles.

Smooth vertex (left) and Corner vertex (right)

Bezier vertex (left) and Bezier Corner vertex (right)

To copy and paste vertex tangent handles:

1. Turn on Vertex Selection, then Select thevertex you want to copy from.

2. On the Geometry rollout scroll down to theTangent group and click Copy.

3. Move your cursor over the vertices in theviewport. The cursor changes to a copy cursor.Click the handle you wish to copy.

4. On the Geometry rollout scroll down to theTangent group and click Paste.

5. Move your cursor over the vertices in theviewport. The cursor changes to a paste cursor.Click the handle you wish to paste to.

The vertex tangency changes in the viewport.

To reset vertex handle tangency:

It is easy to make the handles very small andcoincident with the vertex, which makes themhard to select and edit. Reset the vertex handletangency to redraw your handles

1. Select the vertex that is problematic.

2. Right-click and choose Reset Tangents.

Any vertex handle editing you have done isdiscarded and the handles are reset.

Interface


For information on the Rendering, Interpolation(page 1–262) and Selection rollout (page 1–265)settings, see Editable Spline (page 1–261).

Soft Selection rollout



Geometry rollout

New Vertex Type group

The radio buttons in this group let you determinethe tangency of the new vertices created when youshift-copy segments or splines. If you later useConnect Copy, vertices on the splines that connectthe original segment or spline to the new one willhave the type specified in this group.







Create Line—Adds more splines to the selectedobject. These lines are separate spline sub-objects;create them in the same way as the line spline(page 1–242). To exit line creation, right-click orclick to turn off Create Line.

Break—Splits a spline at the selected vertex orvertices. Select one or more vertices and thenclick Break to create the split. There are now two

superimposed non-connected vertices for everyprevious one, allowing the once-joined segmentends to be moved away from each other.

Attach—Attaches another spline in the scene to theselected spline. Click the object you want to attachto the currently selected spline object. The objectyou’re attaching must also be a spline.

For further details, see Attach.


• Reorient—When on, reorients attached splinesso that each spline’s creation local coordinatesystem is aligned with the creation localcoordinate system of the selected spline.

Cross Section—Creates a spline cage out ofcross-sectional shapes. Click Cross Section,select one shape then a second shape, splines arecreated joining the first shape with the second.Continue clicking shapes to add them to the cage.This functionality is similar to the Cross Sectionmodifier, but here you can determine the orderof the cross sections. Spline cage tangency can bedefined by choosing Linear, Bezier, Bezier Corneror Smooth in New Vertex Type group.

Tip: When you edit the spline cage, use AreaSelection before selecting your vertices. This willkeep their positions together as you transformthem.

Refine group


The Refine group includes a number of functionsuseful for building spline networks for use with theSurface modifier (page 2–212).

Refine—Lets you add vertices without altering thecurvature values of the spline. Click Refine, andthen select any number of spline segments to adda vertex each time you click (the mouse cursorchanges to a "connect" symbol when over aneligible segment). To finish adding vertices, clickRefine again, or right-click in the viewport.

You can also click existing vertices during a refineoperation, in which case Autodesk VIZ displays adialog asking if you want to Refine or ConnectOnly to the vertex. If you choose Connect Only,Autodesk VIZ will not create a vertex: it simplyconnects to the existing vertex.

The Refine operation creates a different type ofvertex depending on the types of vertices on theendpoints of the segment being refined.

• If the bordering vertices are both Smooth types,the Refine operation creates a Smooth typevertex.

• If the bordering vertices are both Corner types,the Refine operation creates a Corner typevertex.

• If either of the bordering vertices is a Corneror Bezier Corner, the Refine operation createsa Bezier Corner type.

• Otherwise, the operation creates a Bezier typevertex.

Connect—When on, creates a new splinesub-object by connecting the new vertices. Whenyou finish adding vertices with Refine, Connectmakes a separate copy of each new vertex and thenconnects all of the copies with a new spline.

Note: For Connect to work, you must turn it onbefore you click Refine.

After turning on Connect and before beginningthe refinement process, turn on any combinationof these options:

• Linear—When on, makes all segments in thenew spline straight lines by using Cornervertices. When Linear is off, the vertices usedto create the new spline are of the Smooth type.

• Bind First—Causes the first vertex created in arefinement operation to be bound to the centerof the selected segment. See Bound Vertex(page 3–662).

• Closed—When on, connects the first and lastvertices in the new spline to create a closedspline. When Closed is off, Connect alwayscreates an open spline.

• Bind Last—Causes the last vertex created in arefinement operation to be bound to the centerof the selected segment. See Bound Vertex(page 3–662).


Automatic Welding—When Automatic Welding isturned on, an end point vertex that is placed ormoved within the threshold distance of anotherend point of the same spline is automaticallywelded. This feature is available at the object andall sub-object levels.

Threshold—The threshold distance spinner is aproximity setting that controls how close verticescan be to one another before they are automaticallywelded. Default=6.0.


Weld—Converts two end vertices, or two adjacentvertices within the same spline, into a single vertex.Move either two end vertices or two adjacentvertices near each other, select both vertices, andthen click Weld. If the vertices are within the unitdistance set by the Weld Threshold spinner (to theright of the button), they’re converted into a singlevertex. You can weld a selection set of vertices, aslong as each pair of vertices is within the threshold.

Connect—Connects any two end vertices, resultingin a linear segment, regardless of the tangentvalues of the end vertices. Click the Connectbutton, point the mouse over an end vertex untilthe cursor changes to a cross, and then drag fromone end vertex to another end vertex.

Insert—Inserts one or more vertices, creatingadditional segments. Click anywhere in a segmentto insert a vertex and attach the mouse to thespline. Then optionally move the mouse andclick to place the new vertex. Continue movingthe mouse and clicking to add vertices. A singleclick inserts a corner vertex, while a drag creates aBezier (smooth) vertex.


Make First—Specifies which vertex in the selectedshape is the first vertex. The first vertex of a splineis indicated as a vertex with a small box aroundit. Select one vertex on each spline within thecurrently edited shape that you want to change andclick the Make First button.

On open splines, the first vertex must be theendpoint that is not already the first vertex. Onclosed splines, it can be any point that isn’t alreadythe first vertex. Click the Make First button, andthe first vertices will be set.

The first vertex on a spline has special significance.The following table defines how the first vertex isused.

Shape Use First Vertex Meaning

Loft Path Start of the path. Level 0.

Loft Shape Initial skin alignment.

PathConstraint

Start of the motion path. 0% location onthe path.

Trajectory First position key.

Fuse—Moves all selected vertices to their averagedcenter.

Fuse is useful for making vertices coincide whenbuilding a spline network for use with the Surfacemodifier (page 2–212).

Note: Fuse doesn’t join the vertices; it simply movesthem to the same location.

Three selected vertices (left); fused vertices (right)


Cycle—Selects successive coincident vertices.Select one of two or more vertices that share theexact same location in 3D space, and then clickCycle repeatedly until the vertex you want isselected.

Cycle is useful for selecting a specific vertex from agroup of coincident vertices at a spline intersectionwhen building a spline network for use with theSurface modifier (page 2–212).

Tip: Watch the info display at the bottom of theSelection rollout to see which vertex is selected.

CrossInsert—Adds vertices at the intersection oftwo splines belonging to the same spline object.Click CrossInsert, and then click the point ofintersection between the two splines. If thedistance between the splines is within the unitdistance set by the CrossInsert Threshold spinner(to the right of the button), the vertices are addedto both splines.

You can continue using CrossInsert by clickingdifferent spline intersections. To finish, right-clickin the active viewport or click the CrossInsertbutton again.

CrossInsert is useful for creating vertices at splineintersections when building a spline network foruse with the Surface modifier (page 2–212).

Note: CrossInsert doesn’t join the two splines, butsimply adds vertices where they cross.

Fillet—Lets you round corners where segmentsmeet, adding new control vertices. You can applythis effect interactively (by dragging vertices) ornumerically (using the Fillet spinner). Click theFillet button, and then drag vertices in the activeobject. The Fillet spinner updates to indicate thefillet amount as you drag.

Original rectangle (left), after applying Fillet (top right), andafter applying Chamfer (bottom right)

If you drag one or more selected vertices, allselected vertices are filleted identically. If you dragan unselected vertex, any selected vertices are firstdeselected.

You can continue using Fillet by dragging ondifferent vertices. To finish, right-click in an activeviewport or click the Fillet button again.

A fillet creates a new segment connecting newpoints on both segments leading to the originalvertex. These new points are exactly <filletamount> distance from the original vertex alongboth segments. New fillet segments are createdwith the material ID of one of the neighboringsegments (picked at random).

For example, if you fillet one corner of a rectangle,the single corner vertex is replaced by two verticesmoving along the two segments that lead to thecorner, and a new rounded segment is created atthe corner.

Note: Unlike the Fillet/Chamfer modifier, you canapply the Fillet function to any type of vertex, notjust Corner and Bezier Corner vertices. Similarly,adjoining segments need not be linear.


• Fillet Amount—Adjust this spinner (to the rightof the Fillet button) to apply a fillet effect toselected vertices.

Chamfer—Lets you bevel shape corners usinga chamfer function. You can apply this effectinteractively (by dragging vertices) or numerically(using the Chamfer spinner). Click the Chamferbutton, and then drag vertices in the active object.The Chamfer spinner updates to indicate thechamfer amount as you drag.

If you drag one or more selected vertices, allselected vertices are chamfered identically. If youdrag an unselected vertex, any selected vertices arefirst deselected.

You can continue using Chamfer by dragging ondifferent vertices. To finish, right-click in an activeviewport or click the Chamfer button again.

A chamfer "chops off " the selected vertices,creating a new segment connecting new pointson both segments leading to the original vertex.These new points are exactly <chamfer amount>distance from the original vertex along bothsegments. New chamfer segments are created withthe material ID of one of the neighboring segments(picked at random).

For example, if you chamfer one corner of arectangle, the single corner vertex is replaced bytwo vertices moving along the two segments thatlead to the corner, and a new segment is createdat the corner.

Note: Unlike the Fillet/Chamfer modifier, youcan apply the Chamfer function to any type ofvertex, not just Corner and Bezier Corner vertices.Similarly, adjoining segments need not be linear.

• Chamfer Amount—Adjust this spinner (to theright of the Chamfer button) to apply a chamfereffect to selected vertices.

Tangent group

Tools in this group let you copy and paste vertexhandles from one vertex to another.

Copy— Turn this on, then choose a handle. Thisaction copies the selected handle tangent into abuffer.

Paste—Turn this on, then click a handle. Thispastes the handle tangent onto the selected vertex.

Paste Length—When this is on, the handle length isalso copied. When this is off, only the handle angleis considered, the handle length is unchanged.

Hide and Bind group

Hide—Hides selected vertices and any connectedsegments. Select one or more vertices, and thenclick Hide.

Unhide All—Displays any hidden sub-objects.

Bind—Lets you create bound vertices (page 3–662).Click Bind, and then drag from any end vertexin the current selection to any segment in thecurrent selection except the one connected to thevertex. Before dragging, when the cursor is overan eligible vertex, it changes to a + cursor. Whiledragging, a dashed line connects the vertex andthe current mouse position, and when the mousecursor is over an eligible segment, it changes toa "connect" symbol. When you release over aneligible segment, the vertex jumps to the center ofthe segment and is bound to it.

Editable Spline (Segment) 275

Bind is useful for connecting splines when buildinga spline network for use with the Surface modifier(page 2–212).

Unbind—Lets you disconnect bound vertices(page 3–662) from the segments to which they’reattached. Select one or more bound vertices, andthe click the Unbind button.

Delete—Deletes the selected vertex or vertices,along with one attached segment per deletedvertex.

Display group

Show selected segs—When on, any selectedsegments are highlighted in red at the Vertexsub-object level. When off (the default), selectedsegments are highlighted only at the Segmentsub-object level.

This feature is useful for comparing complexcurves against each other.

Editable Spline (Segment)

Select an editable spline > Modify panel > Expand theeditable spline in the stack display > Segment sub-objectlevel

Select an editable spline > Modify panel > Selectionrollout > Segment button

Select an editable spline > Right-click the spline > Tools1 (upper-left) quadrant of the quad menu > Sub-objects> Segment

A segment is the portion of a spline curve betweentwo of its vertices. While at the Editable Spline(Segment) level, you can select single and multiplesegments and move, rotate, scale or clone themusing standard methods.

Procedure

To change segment properties:

1. Select an editable spline segment, and thenright-click.

2. On the Tools 1 (upper-left) quadrant of thequad menu, choose Line or Curve.

The effect of changing segment propertiesvaries according to the type of vertices at thesegment end.

• Corner vertices always result in linesegments regardless of the segment property.

• Smooth vertices can support both line orcurve segment properties.

• Bezier and Bezier Corner vertices apply theirtangent handles only to curve segments.Tangent handles are ignored by linesegments.

• A tangent handle associated with a linesegment displays an X at the end of thehandle. You can still transform the handle,but it has no effect until the segment isconverted to a curve segment.

Tip: If you have problems transforming thehandles, display the axis constraints toolbarand change the transform axis there.

Interface






Geometry rollout


The radio buttons in this group let you determinethe tangency of the new vertices created when youshift-copy segments or splines. If you later useConnect Copy, vertices on the splines that connectthe original segment or spline to the new one willhave the type specified in this group.








Break—Lets you specify a break point at anysegment in the shape (you do not have to first selecta segment). When on, the mouse icon changes

to a Break icon. You can now click any spot on asegment. The clicked spot becomes two coincidentvertices, and the segment is split into two parts.

Attach—Attaches another spline in the scene to theselected spline. Click the object you want to attachto the currently selected spline object. The objectyou’re attaching to must also be a spline.


Reorient—Reorients the attached spline so that itscreation local coordinate system is aligned withthe creation local coordinate system of the selectedspline.


Cross Section—Creates a spline cage out ofcross–sectional shapes. Click Cross Section, selectone segment then another sub-object segment,splines are created joining the first shape with thesecond. Continue clicking segments to add themto the cage. All segments must be part of the sameobject to build cross sections. This functionalityis similar to the Cross Section modifier, but hereyou can determine the order of the cross sections.Spline cage tangency can be defined by choosingLinear, Bezier, Bezier Corner or Smooth in NewVertex Type group.

Tip: When you want to move these vertices, turnon Area Selection before you select them. Whenyou transform them, the vertices will stay together.

Refine group


The Refine group includes a number of functionsuseful for building spline networks for use with theSurface modifier (page 2–212).

Refine—Lets you add vertices without altering thecurvature values of the spline. Click Refine, andthen select any number of spline segments to adda vertex each time you click (the mouse cursorchanges to a "connect" symbol when over aneligible segment). To finish adding vertices, clickRefine again, or right-click in the viewport.

You can also click existing vertices during a refineoperation, in which case Autodesk VIZ displays adialog asking if you want to Refine or Connect tothe vertex. If you choose Connect, Autodesk VIZwill not create a vertex: it simply connects to theexisting vertex.

The Refine operation creates a different type ofvertex depending on the types of vertices on theendpoints of the segment being refined.

• If the bordering vertices are both Smooth types,the Refine operation creates a Smooth typevertex.

• If the bordering vertices are both Corner types,the Refine operation creates a Corner typevertex.

• If either of the bordering vertices is a Corneror Bezier Corner, the Refine operation createsa Bezier Corner type.

• Otherwise, the operation creates a Bezier typevertex.

Connect—When on, creates a new splinesub-object by connecting the new vertices. Whenyou finish adding vertices with Refine, Connectmakes a separate copy of each new vertex and thenconnects all of the copies with a new spline.

Note: For Connect to work, you must turn it onbefore you click Refine.

After turning on Connect and before beginningthe refinement process, turn on any combinationof these options:

• Linear—When on, makes all segments in thenew spline linear by using Corner vertices.When Linear is off, the vertices used to createthe new spline are of the Smooth type.

• Bind First—Causes the first vertex created in arefinement operation to be bound to the centerof the selected segment.

For more information, see Bound Vertex (page3–662).

• Closed—When on, connects the first and lastvertices in the new spline to create a closedspline. When Closed is off, Connect alwayscreates an open spline.

• Bind Last—Causes the last vertex created in arefinement operation to be bound to the centerof the selected segment.

For more information, see Bound Vertex (page3–662).

Connect Copy group

Connect Copy—When on, shift-cloning a segmentcreates a new spline sub-object with additionalsplines that connect the new segment’s vertices tothe vertices of the original segment. It is analogousto shift-cloning edges in Editable Mesh andEditable Poly objects.

Note: For Connect Copy to work, you must turn iton before you shift-clone.

Threshold— Determines the distance soft selectionwill use when Connect Copy is turned on. Ahigher threshold will result in more splines being


created, a lower threshold will result in fewersplines.



Threshold—The threshold distance spinner is aproximity setting that controls how close verticescan be to one another before they are automaticallywelded. Default=6.0.

Insert—Inserts one or more vertices, creatingadditional segments. Click anywhere in a segmentto insert a vertex and attach the mouse to thespline. Then optionally move the mouse andclick to place the new vertex. Continue movingthe mouse and clicking to add vertices. A singleclick inserts a corner vertex, while a drag creates aBezier (smooth) vertex.


Hide—Hides selected segments. Select one or moresegments, and then click Hide.


Delete—Deletes any selected segments in thecurrent shape.

Selected and deleted segment

Divide—Subdivides the selected segment orsegments by adding the number of verticesspecified by the spinner. Select one or moresegments, set the Divisions spinner (to the button’sright), and then click Divide. Each selectedsegment is divided by the number of verticesspecified in the Divisions spinner. The distancebetween the vertices depends on the segment’srelative curvature, with areas of greater curvaturereceiving more vertices.


Selected and divided segment

Detach—Lets you select several segments invarious splines and then detach them (or copythem) to form a new shape. Three options areavailable:

• Same Shp—(Same Shape) When on, Reorientis disabled, and a Detach operation keeps thedetached segment as part of the shape (ratherthan producing a new shape). If Copy is alsoon, you end up with a detached copy of thesegment in the same location.

• Reorient—The detached segment copies theposition and orientation of the source object’screation Local coordinate system. The newdetached object is moved and rotated so thatits Local coordinate system is positioned andaligned with the origin of the current activegrid.

• Copy—Copies the detached segment ratherthan moving it.

Original and detached splines

Display group

Show selected segs—When on, any selectedsegments are highlighted in red at the Vertexsub-object level. When off (the default), selectedsegments are highlighted only at the Segmentsub-object level.

This feature is useful for comparing complexcurves against each other.

Surface Properties rollout

Material group

You can apply different material IDs to splinesegments (see Material ID (page 3–698)). Youcan then assign a multi/sub-object material (page2–1182) to such splines, which appears when thespline is renderable, or when used for lathing orextrusion. Be sure to turn on Generate MaterialIDs and Use Shape IDs when lofting, lathing orextruding.

Set ID—Lets you assign a particular materialID number to selected segments for use withmulti/sub-object materials and other applications.Use the spinner or enter the number from thekeyboard. The total number of available IDs is65,535.

Select ID—Selects the segments or splinescorresponding to the Material ID specified in


the adjacent ID field. Type or use the spinner tospecify an ID, then click the Select ID button.

Select By Name—This drop-down list showsthe names of sub-materials if an object has aMulti/Sub-object material assigned to it. Clickthe drop arrow and select a material from the list.The segments or splines that are assigned thatmaterial are selected. If a shape does not have aMulti/Sub-Object material assigned to it, the namelist will be unavailable. Likewise, if multiple shapesare selected that have an Edit Spline modifierapplied to them, the name list is inactive.

Clear Selection—When turned on, selecting a newID or material name forces a deselection of anypreviously selected segments or splines. Whenturned off, selections are cumulative so new IDor material name selections add to a previousselection set of segments or splines. Default=on.

Editable Spline (Spline)

Select an editable spline > Modify panel > Expand theeditable spline in the stack display > Spline sub-objectlevel

Select an editable spline > Modify panel > Selectionrollout > Spline button

Select an editable spline > Right-click the spline > Tools1 (upper-left) quadrant of the quad menu > Sub-objects> Spline

While at the Editable Spline (Spline) level, you canselect single and multiple splines within a singlespline object and move, rotate, and scale themusing standard methods.

Procedure

To change spline properties:

• You change the properties of a spline from Lineto Curve by right-clicking and choosing Line orCurve from the Tools 1 (upper-left) quadrantof the quad menu.

Changing the spline property also changes theproperty of all vertices in the spline:

• Choosing Line converts vertices to Corners.

• Choosing Curve converts vertices to Beziers.

Interface

Rendering, Interpolation and Selection rollouts



See Soft Selection Rollout (page 2–312) forinformation on the Soft Selection rollout settings.

Editable Spline (Spline) 281

Geometry rollout


The radio buttons in this group let you determinethe tangency of the new vertices created when youshift-copy segments or splines. If you later useConnect Copy, vertices on the splines that connect

the original segment or spline to the new one willhave the type specified in this group.








Attach—Attaches another spline in the scene to theselected spline. Click the object you want to attachto the currently selected spline object. The objectyou’re attaching to must also be a spline.


Reorient—Reorients the attached spline so that itscreation local coordinate system is aligned withthe creation local coordinate system of the selectedspline.


Cross Section—Creates a spline cage out ofcross–sectional shapes. Click Cross Section,select one shape then a second shape, splines arecreated joining the first shape with the second.


Continue clicking shapes to add them to the cage.This functionality is similar to the Cross Sectionmodifier, but here you can determine the orderof the cross sections. Spline cage tangency can bedefined in the New Vertex Type group.

Tip: When you edit the spline cage, use AreaSelection before selecting your vertices. This willkeep their positions together as you transformthem.

Connect Copy group

Connect Copy—When on, shift-cloning a splinecreates a new spline sub-object with additionalsplines that connect the new spline’s vertices to thevertices of the original segment. It is analogous toshift-cloning edges in Editable Mesh and EditablePoly objects.

Note: For Connect Copy to work, you must turn iton before you shift-clone.

Threshold—Determines the distance soft selectionwill use when Connect Copy is turned on. Ahigher threshold will result in more splines beingcreated, a lower threshold will result in fewersplines.



Threshold—A proximity setting that controls howclose vertices can be to one another before they areautomatically welded. Default=6.0.

Insert—Inserts one or more vertices, creatingadditional segments. Click anywhere in a segmentto insert a vertex and attach the mouse to the

spline. Then optionally move the mouse andclick to place the new vertex. Continue movingthe mouse and clicking to add vertices. A singleclick inserts a corner vertex, while a drag creates aBezier (smooth) vertex.


Reverse—Reverses the direction of the selectedspline. If the spline is open, the first vertex willbe switched to the opposite end of the spline.Reversing the direction of a spline is usually donein order to reverse the effect of using the Inserttool at vertex selection level.

Original and reversed splines

Outline—Makes a copy of the spline, offset onall sides to the distance specified by the OutlineWidth spinner (to the right of the Outline button).Select one or more splines and then adjust theoutline position dynamically with the spinner, orclick Outline and then drag a spline. If the spline isopen, the resulting spline and its outline will makea single closed spline.

Editable Spline (Spline) 283

Original and outlined splines

Note: Normally, if using the spinner, you must first selecta spline before using Outline. If, however, the spline objectcontains only one spline, it is automatically selected for theoutlining process.

Center—When off (default), the original splineremains stationary and the outline is offset onone side only to the distance specified by OutlineWidth. When Center is on, the original spline andthe outline move away from an invisible center lineto the distance specified by Outline Width.

Boolean—Combines two closed polygons byperforming a 2D Boolean operation that altersthe first spline you select, and deletes the secondone. Select the first spline, then click the Booleanbutton and the desired operation, and then selectthe second spline.

Note: 2D Booleans only work on 2D splines thatare in the same plane.

There are three Boolean operations:

• Union—Combines two overlapping splinesinto a single spline, in which the overlappingportion is removed, leaving non-overlappingportions of the two splines as a single spline.


• Subtraction—Subtracts the overlapping portionof the second spline from the first spline, anddeletes the remainder of the second spline.

• Intersection—Leaves only the overlappingportions of the two splines, deleting thenon-overlapping portion of both.

Original splines (left), Boolean Union, BooleanSubtraction, and Boolean Intersection, respectively

Mirror—Mirrors splines along the length, width, ordiagonally. Click the direction you want to mirrorfirst so it is active, then click Mirror.

• Copy—When selected, copies rather than movesthe spline as it is mirrored.

• About Pivot—When on, mirrors the splineabout the spline object’s pivot point (see Pivot(page 2–805)). When off, mirrors the splineabout its geometric center.

Mirrored splines

Trim—Use Trim to clean up overlapping segmentsin a shape so that ends meet at a single point.

To trim, you need intersecting splines. Click theportion of the spline you want to remove. Thespline is searched in both directions along itslength until it hits an intersecting spline, anddeleted up to the intersection. If the sectionintersects at two points, the entire section isdeleted up to the two intersections. If the sectionis open on one end and intersects at the other, theentire section is deleted up to the intersection andthe open end. If the section is not intersected, orif the spline is closed and only one intersection isfound, nothing happens.

Extend—Use Extend to clean up open segments ina shape so that ends meet at a single point.

To extend, you need an open spline. The end ofthe spline nearest the picked point is extendeduntil it reaches an intersecting spline. If there isno intersecting spline, nothing happens. Curvedsplines extend in a direction tangent to the end ofthe spline. If the end of a spline lies directly on aboundary (an intersecting spline), then it looks foran intersection further along.

Infinite Bounds—For the purposes of calculatingintersections, turn this on to treat open splines asinfinite in length. For example, this lets you trimone linear spline against the extended length ofanother line that it doesn’t actually intersect.

Hide—Hides selected splines. Select one or moresplines, and then click Hide.


Delete—Deletes the selected spline.

Close—Closes the selected spline by joining its endvertices with a new segment.

Compound Objects 285

Detach—Copies selected splines to a new splineobject, and deletes them from the currentlyselected spline if Copy is clear.

• Reorient—The spline being detached is movedand rotated so that its creation local coordinatesystem is aligned with the creation localcoordinate system of the selected spline.

• Copy—When selected, copies rather than movesthe spline as it is detached.

Explode—Breaks up any selected splines byconverting each segment to a separate splineor object. This is a time-saving equivalent ofusing Detach on each segment in the spline insuccession.

You can choose to explode to splines or objects. Ifyou choose Object, you’re prompted for a name;each successive new spline object uses that nameappended with an incremented two-digit number.

Surface Properties rollout

Material group

You can apply different material IDs (seematerial ID (page 3–698)) to splines in shapescontaining multiple splines. You can then assigna multi/sub-object material (page 2–1182) tosuch shapes, which appears when the spline isrenderable, or when used for lathing or extrusion.

Set ID—Lets you assign a particular materialID number to selected segments for use withmulti/sub-object materials and other applications.

Use the spinner or enter the number from thekeyboard. The total number of available IDs is65,535.

Select ID—Selects the segments or splinescorresponding to the Material ID specified inthe adjacent ID field. Type or use the spinner tospecify an ID, then click the Select ID button.

Select By Name—This drop-down list showsthe names of sub-materials if an object has aMulti/Sub-object material assigned to it. Clickthe drop arrow and select a material from the list.The segments or splines that are assigned thatmaterial are selected. If a shape does not have aMulti/Sub-Object material assigned to it, the namelist will be unavailable. Likewise, if multiple shapesare selected that have an Edit Spline modifierapplied to them, the name list is inactive.

Clear Selection—When turned on, selecting a newID or material name, forces a deselection of anypreviously selected segments or splines. If turnedoff, selections are cumulative so new ID or materialname selections add to a previous selection set ofsegments or splines. Default=on.

Creating CompoundObjects

Compound Objects

Create panel > Geometry > Compound Objects

Create menu > Compound

Compound objects generally combine two ormore existing objects into a single object.


Compound objects include the following objecttypes:

Scatter Compound Object (page 1–286)

Connect Compound Object (page 1–292)

ShapeMerge Compound Object (page 1–296)

Boolean Compound Object (page 1–298)

Terrain Compound Object (page 1–306)

Loft Compound Object (page 1–312)

Scatter Compound Object

Select an object. > Create panel > Geometry > CompoundObjects > Object Type rollout > Scatter

Select an object. > Create menu > Compound > Scatter

Scatter is a form of compound object thatrandomly scatters the selected source object eitheras an array, or over the surface of a distributionobject.

The plane of the hill is used to scatter the trees and twodifferent sets of rocks.

Procedures

To create a Scatter object:

1. Create an object to be used as a source object.

2. Optionally, create an object to be used as adistribution object.

3. Select the source object, and then click Scatterin the Compound Objects panel.

Note: The source object must be either a meshobject or an object that can be converted to amesh object. If the currently selected object isinvalid, the Scatter button is unavailable.

Results of scattering source object with distributionobject visible (above) and hidden (below)

Scatter Compound Object 287

You now have two choices. You can eitherscatter the source object as an array withoutusing a distribution object, or use a distributionobject to scatter the object. See the followingprocedures.

To scatter the source object without a distributionobject:

1. Choose Use Transforms Only in the ScatterObjects rollout > Distribution group.

2. Set the Duplicates spinner to specify the desiredtotal number of duplicates of the source object.

3. Adjust the spinners on the Transforms rolloutto set random transformation offsets of thesource object.

To scatter the source object using a distributionobject:

1. Make sure the source object is selected.

2. Choose the method by which you want to clonethe distribution object (Reference, Copy, Move,or Instance.)

3. Click Pick Distribution Object, and then selectthe object you want to use as a distributionobject.

4. Make sure that Use Distribution Object on theScatter Object rollout is chosen.

5. Use the Duplicates spinner to specify thenumber of duplicates. (This is not necessaryif you’re using the All Vertices, All EdgeMidpoints or All Face Centers distributionmethods.)

6. Choose a distribution method in the ScatterObject rollout > Distribute Object Parametersgroup under Distribute Using.

7. Optionally, adjust the Transform spinners torandomly transform the duplicates.

8. If the display is too slow, or the meshes toocomplicated, consider choosing Proxy on theDisplay rollout or decreasing the percentage of

displayed duplicates by reducing the Displaypercentage.

Scatter objects (the grass) with a high number of duplicates

Interface

Pick Distribution Object rollout

Contains the options for selecting a distributionobject.

Object—Displays the name of the distributionobject selected with the Pick button.

Pick Distribution Object—Click this button, thenclick an object in the scene to specify it as adistribution object.

Reference/Copy/Move/Instance—Lets you specifyhow the distribution object is transferred to thescatter object. It can be transferred either as areference (page 3–722), a copy, an instance (page3–689), or moved, in which case the original shapeis not left behind.


Scatter Objects rollout

The options on this rollout let you specify how thesource object is scattered, and let you access theobjects that make up the compound Scatter object.

Distribution group

These two options let you choose the basic methodof scattering the source object.

Use Distribution Object—Scatters the source objectbased on the geometry of the distribution object.

Use Transforms Only—This options doesn’t needa distribution object. Instead, duplicates of thesource object are positioned using the offset valueson the Transforms rollout. If all of the Transformoffsets remain at 0, you won’t see the array becausethe duplicates occupy the same space.

Objects group

Contains a list window showing the objects thatmake up the Scatter object.

List Window—Click to select an object in thewindow so that you can access it in the Stack. For

example, if your distribution object is a sphere,you can click Distribution: D_Sphere01, open theStack list, and select Sphere to access the sphere’sparameters.

Source Name—Lets you rename the source objectwithin the compound Scatter object.

Distribution Name—Lets you rename thedistribution object.

Extract Operand—Extract a copy or an instance ofthe selected operand. Choose an operand in thelist window to enable this button.

Note: This button is available only on the Modifypanel. You can’t extract an operand while theCreate panel is active.

Instance/Copy—This option lets you specify howthe operand is extracted: as either an instance(page 3–689) or a copy.

Source Object Parameters group

These options affect the source object locally.

Duplicates—Specifies the number of scatteredduplicates of the source object.

This number is set to 1 by default, but you canset it to 0 if you want to. Note that the Duplicatesnumber is ignored if you’re distributing theduplicates using either Face Centers or Vertices. Inthese cases, one duplicate is placed at each vertexor face center, depending on your choice.


Base Scale—Alters the scale of the source object,affecting each duplicate identically. This scaleoccurs before any other transforms.

Vertex Chaos—Applies a random perturbation tothe vertices of the source object.

Animation Offset—This feature does not apply toAutodesk VIZ; it appears for file compatibilitywith 3ds Max.

Distribution Object Parameters group

These options affect how the duplicates ofthe source object are arranged, relative to thedistribution object. These options have an effectonly when a distribution object is used.

Perpendicular—When on, orients each duplicateobject perpendicular to its associate face, vertex,or edge in the distribution object. When off, theduplicates maintain the same orientation as theoriginal source object.

Use Selected Faces Only—When on, limitsdistribution to the selected faces passed up theStack. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to usethe Instance option when picking the distributionobject. You can then apply a Mesh Select modifier

to the original object and select only thosefaces you want to use for the distribution of theduplicates.

Distribute Using

The following options let you specify how thegeometry of the distribution object determines thedistribution of the source object. These options areignored if you’re not using a distribution object.

Area—Distributes duplicate objects evenly over thetotal surface area of the distribution object.

Objects distributed over a spherical surface with Areaturned on

Even—Divides the number of faces in thedistribution object by the number of duplicates,and skips the appropriate number of faces in thedistribution object when placing duplicates.

Skip N—Skips N number of faces when placingduplicates. The editable field specifies how manyfaces to skip before placing the next duplicate.When set to 0, no faces are skipped. When set to 1,every other face is skipped, and so on.

Random Faces—Applies duplicates randomly overthe surface of the distribution object.

Along Edges—Assigns duplicates randomly to theedges of the distribution object.

All Vertices—Places a duplicate object at eachvertex in the distribution object. The Duplicatesvalue is ignored.


All Edge Midpoints—Places a duplicate at themidpoint of each segment edge.

All Face Centers—Places a duplicate object at thecenter of each triangular face on the distributionobject. The Duplicates value is ignored.

Volume—Scatters objects throughout thedistribution object’s volume. All other optionsrestrict distribution to the surface. Considerturning on Display rollout > Hide DistributionObject with this option.

Objects fill a spherical volume with Volume turned on

Display group

Result/Operands—Choose whether to display theresults of the scatter operation or the operandsbefore the scattering.

Transforms rollout

The settings in the Transforms rollout let youapply random transform offsets to each duplicateobject. The values in the transform fields specifya maximum offset value that’s applied randomlywith a positive or negative value to each duplicate.Thus, if you set a rotation angle of 15 degrees,duplicates are rotated randomly from -15 to +15degrees. For example, one duplicate might berotated 8 degrees, another -13, another 5, and soon. You can use the Transform settings with orwithout a distribution object. When there is no


distribution object, you must adjust the Transformsettings in order to see the duplicates.

Rotation group

Specifies random rotation offsets.

X, Y, Z deg—Enter the maximum random rotationaloffset you want about the local X, Y, or Z axis ofeach duplicate.

Use Maximum Range—When on, forces all threesettings to match the maximum value. The othertwo settings become disabled, and the settingcontaining the maximum value remains enabled.

Local Translation group

Specifies translation of the duplicates along theirlocal axes.

X, Y, Z—Enter the maximum random movementyou want along the X, Y, or Z axis of each duplicate.


Translation on Face group

Lets you specify the translation of duplicatesalong barycentric (page 3–659) face coordinatesof the associate face in the distribution object.These settings have no effect if you’re not using adistribution object.

A, B, N—The first two settings specify thebarycentric coordinates on the surface of the face,while the N setting sets the offset along the normalof the face.


Scaling group

Lets you specify the scaling of duplicates alongtheir local axes.

X, Y, Z %—Specifies the percent of random scalingalong the X, Y, or Z axis of each duplicate.

Use Maximum Range—When on, forces all threesettings to match the maximum value. Theother two settings become disabled, and the onecontaining the maximum value remains enabled.

Lock Aspect Ratio—When on, maintains theoriginal aspect ratio of the source object. Typically,this provides uniform scaling of duplicates. WhenLock Aspect Ratio is off, and any of the X, Y, andZ settings contain values greater than 0, the resultis non-uniform scaling of duplicates because thevalues represent random scaling offsets in bothpositive and negative directions.

Display rollout

Provides options that affect the display of theScatter object.

Display Options group

These options affect the display of the source anddestination objects.

Proxy—Displays the source duplicates as simplewedges and speeds up viewport redraws whenmanipulating a complex Scatter object. This has


no effect on the rendered image, which alwaysdisplays the mesh duplicates.

Mesh—Displays the full geometry of the duplicates.

Display %—Specifies the percentage of the totalduplicate objects that appear in the viewports.This has no effect on the rendered scene.

Hide Distribution Object—Hides the distributionobject. The hidden object does not appear in theviewport or in the rendered scene.

Uniqueness group

Lets you set a seed number upon which therandom values are based. Thus, altering this valuechanges the overall effect of the scattering.

New—Generates a new, random seed number.

Seed—Use this spinner to set the seed number.

Load/Save Presets rollout

Lets you store preset values to use in other Scatterobjects. For example, after setting all of yourparameters for a specific Scatter object and savingthe settings under a specific name, you can then

select another Scatter object and load the presetvalues into the new object.

Preset Name—Lets you define a name for yoursettings. Click the Save button to save the currentsettings under the preset name.

Saved Presets group

A list window containing saved preset names.

LOAD—Loads the preset currently highlighted inthe Saved Presets list.

SAVE—Saves the current name in the Preset Namefield and places it in the Saved Presets window.

DELETE—Deletes the selected items in the SavePresets window.

Connect Compound Object

Select an object. > Create panel > Geometry > CompoundObjects > Object Type rollout > Connect

Select an object. > Create menu > Compound > Connect

The Connect compound object lets you connecttwo or more objects between "holes" in theirsurfaces. To do this, you delete faces in each objectto create one or more holes in their surfaces,position them so that the holes face one another,and then apply Connect.

Connect Compound Object 293

Left: Before connect

Right: After connect

Note: Connect is not suited to NURBS objects,because they convert into many separate meshesinstead of one big mesh. The workaround issimple: apply a Weld modifier to the NURBSobject (thus converting it to a mesh and zipping upits seams) before using it as part of a connect.

Connect generates the best mapping coordinates itcan for the bridges between the various holes in themeshes. While some ideal cases, such as a cylinderabove another cylinder, can generate good UVWmap interpolations, most cases cannot. You’ll needto apply mapping to the bridge faces with a UVWMap modifier (page 2–274).

Vertex colors, on the other hand, interpolatesmoothly.

Notes:

• You can use Connect on objects that havemultiple sets of holes. Connect will do its bestto match up the holes between the two objects.

• The mapping coordinates assigned to theoriginal two objects are maintained to theextent possible. You might find irregularities inthe bridged area, depending on the complexityand difference between the two original setsof mapping coordinates and the types ofgeometry.

Procedures

To create a Connect object:

1. Create two mesh objects.

2. Delete faces on each to create holes where youwant to bridge the objects.

Position the objects so that the normals ofthe deleted faces of one object point towardthe normals of the deleted faces of the otherobject (assuming that deleted faces could havenormals).

3. Select one of the objects. On the Create panel >Geometry > Compound Object Type rollout,click Connect.

4. Click the Pick Operand button, and then selectthe other object.

5. Faces are generated connecting the holes in thetwo objects.

6. Adjust the connection with the various options.

Example: To connect two cylinders:

1. Create a cylinder with a radius of 15 and aheight of 30. Use the default settings for theremaining parameters.

2. Create a second cylinder centered on the firstwith a radius of 30, a height of 30, and 13 sides.(The fewer sides are to demonstrate the meshinterpolation in the connection.)

3. Move the first, narrower cylinder straight upalong Z so its bottom cap is about 15 unitsabove the top cap of the larger cylinder.

4. Convert both cylinders to editable meshes.

5. Delete the lower cap of the upper cylinder, andthe upper cap of the bottom cylinder. (Hint: Goto Editable Mesh (Polygon) mode, select eachend in turn, and then press the DELETE key.)

6. Exit sub-object mode, select the lower cylinder,and click Connect.


7. Click the Pick Operand button, and then clickthe upper cylinder.

New faces are created that span the openings inthe two cylinders.

Example continued: To try out some options:

1. Go to the Modify panel and increase theSegments spinner to 5 or more.

As the segments increase, the connectionbecomes curved.

2. Set the Tension spinner to 0 to straighten theconnecting surface, increase it to 1, and thenreturn it to 0.5.

3. Try different combinations of the Bridge andEnds options.

Interface

Pick Operand rollout

Pick Operand—Click this button to connect anadditional operand to the original object.

For example, you might begin with a single objectwith two holes, and arrange two additional objects,each with one hole, outside of those holes. Clickthe Pick Operand button and select one of theobjects, which is connected, and then click PickOperand again and select the other object, whichis connected. Both connected objects are added tothe Operands list.

Reference/Copy/Move/Instance—Lets you specifyhow the operand is transferred to the compoundobject. It can be transferred either as a reference(page 3–722), a copy, an instance (page 3–689),

or moved, in which case the original is not leftbehind.

Note: Connect works only with objects that arecapable of being converted into editable surfaces,such as editable meshes (page 2–350).

Parameters rollout

Operands group

Operands list—Displays the current operands.Select an operand to rename, delete or extract byclicking it in this list.

Name—Renames a selected operand. Type in anew name, and then press TAB or ENTER.

Delete Operand—Deletes a selected operand fromthe list.

Extract Operand—Extracts a copy or an instance ofthe selected operand. Choose an operand in thelist to enable this button.

Connect Compound Object 295

Note: This button is available only in the Modifypanel. You can’t extract an operand while in theCreate panel.

Instance/Copy—Lets you specify how the operandis extracted: as either an instance (page 3–689) ora copy.

Interpolation group

Segments—Sets the number of segments in theconnecting bridge.

Tension—Controls the curvature in the connectingbridge. A value of 0 provides no curvature, whilehigher values create curves that attempt to moresmoothly match the surface normals on eitherend of the connecting bridge. This spinner has noapparent effect when Segments is set to 0.

Smoothing group

Bridge—Applies smoothing between the faces inthe connecting bridge.

Ends—Applies smoothing between the faces thatborder the old and new surfaces of the connectingbridge and the original objects. When turned off,Autodesk VIZ assigns a new material ID numberto the bridge. The new number is one higher thanthe highest ID number assigned to either of theoriginal objects. When on, the ID number is takenfrom one of the original objects.

Note: If both Bridge and Ends are on, but theoriginal objects contain no smoothing groups,then smoothing is assigned to the bridge and tothe faces bordering the bridge.

Display/Update rollout

Display group

Determines whether the shape operands aredisplayed.

• Result—Displays the result of the operation.

• Operands—Displays the operands.

Update group

These options determine when the projection forthe compound object is recalculated. Becausecomplex compound objects can slow performance,you can use these options to avoid constantcalculation.

• Always—The object is updated constantly.

• When Rendering—The object is recalculatedonly when the scene is rendered.

• Manually—Activates the Update button formanual recalculation.

Update—Recalculates the projection.


ShapeMerge Compound Object

Select an object. > Create panel > Geometry > CompoundObjects > Object Type rollout > ShapeMerge

Select an object. > Create menu > Compound >ShapeMerge

ShapeMerge combines the lettering, a text shape, with themesh that models the tire.

ShapeMerge creates a compound object consistingof a mesh object and one or more shapes. Theshapes are either embedded in the mesh, alteringthe edge and face patterns, or subtracted from themesh.

Procedure

To create a ShapeMerge object:

1. Create a mesh object and one or more shapes

2. Align the shapes in the viewport so they can beprojected toward the surface of the mesh object.

3. Select the mesh object, and click theShapeMerge button.

4. Click Pick Shape, and then select the shape.

The geometry of the surface of the mesh object isaltered to embed a pattern matching that of theselected shape.

Interface


Pick Shape—Click this button, and then click theshape you want to embed in the mesh object. Theshape is projected onto the mesh object in thedirection of the shape’s local negative Z axis. Forexample, if you create a box, and then create ashape in the Top viewport, the shape is projectedonto the top of the box. You can repeat this processto add shapes, and the shapes can be projected indifferent directions. Simply click Pick Shape again,and then pick another shape.

Reference/Copy/Move/Instance—Lets you specifyhow the shape is transferred to the compoundobject. It can be transferred either as a reference(page 3–722), a copy, an instance (page 3–689),or moved, in which case the original shape is notleft behind.

ShapeMerge Compound Object 297

Parameters rollout

Operands group

Operands list—Lists all operands in the compoundobject. The first operand is the mesh object, andany number of shape-based operands can follow.

Delete Shape—Remove selected shapes from thecompound object.

Extract Operand—Extracts a copy or an instance ofthe selected operand. Choose an operand in thelist window to enable this button.

Instance/Copy—Lets you specify how the operandis extracted. It can be extracted either as aninstance (page 3–689) or a copy.

Operation group

These options determine how the shape is appliedto the mesh.

Cookie Cutter—Cuts the shape out of the meshobject’s surface.

Merge—Merges the shape with the surface of themesh object.

Invert—Reverses the effect of Cookie Cutter orMerge. With the Cookie Cutter option, the effectis obvious. When Invert is off, the shape is a holein the mesh object. When Invert is on, the shapeis solid and the mesh is missing. When you’reusing Merge, Invert reverses the sub-object meshselection. As an example, if you merge a circleshape and apply a Face Extrude, the circular area isextruded when Invert is off, and all but the circulararea is extruded when Invert is on.

Output Sub-Mesh Selection group

Provides options that let you specify what selectionlevel is passed up the Stack. The ShapeMergeobject stores all selection levels; that is, it stores thevertices, faces, and edges of the merged shape withthe object. (If you apply a Mesh Select modifierand go to the various sub-object levels, you’ll seethat the merged shape is selected.) Thus, if youfollow the ShapeMerge with a modifier that acts ona specific level, such as Face Extrude, that modifierwill work properly.

If you apply a modifier that can work on anyselection level, such as Volume Select or XForm,the options will specify which selection level ispassed to that modifier. You can use a Mesh Selectmodifier (page 2–151) to specify a selection level.

• None—Outputs the full object.

• Face—Outputs the faces within the mergedshape.

• Edge—Outputs the edge of the merged shape.

• Vertex—Outputs the vertices defined by thespline of the shape.



Display group

Determines whether the shape operands aredisplayed.

• Result—Displays the result of the operation.

• Operands—Displays the operands.

Update group

These options specify when the display is updated.Typically, you use them when the viewport displayis slow.

• Always—Updates the display at all times.

• When Rendering—Updates the display onlywhen the scene is rendered.

• Manually—Updates the display only when youclick the Update button.

Update—Updates the display when any optionexcept Always is chosen.

Boolean Compound ObjectSelect an object. > Create panel > Geometry > CompoundObjects > Object Type rollout > Boolean

Select an object. > Create menu > CompoundObjects >Boolean

A Boolean object combines two other objects byperforming a Boolean operation on them.

Operand A (left); Operand B (right)

These are the Boolean operations for geometry:

Union—The Boolean object contains the volumeof both original objects. The intersecting oroverlapping portion of the geometry is removed.

Intersection—The Boolean object contains onlythe volume that was common to both originalobjects (in other words, where they overlapped).

Subtraction (or difference)— The Boolean objectcontains the volume of one original object with theintersection volume subtracted from it.

The two original objects are designated as operandA and B.

Beginning with version 2.5 of Autodesk VIZ, anew algorithm computes the Boolean operation.This algorithm produces more predictable resultsand less complex geometry than earlier 3D StudioBooleans. If you open a file that contains a Boolean

Boolean Compound Object 299

from an earlier version of Autodesk VIZ, theModify panel displays the interface for the earlierBoolean operation.

You can layer Booleans in the stack display, so thata single object can incorporate many Booleans. Bynavigating through the stack display, it’s possibleto revisit the components of each Boolean andmake changes to them.

Subtraction: A-B (above); B-A (below)

Union (above); Intersection (below)

Booleans with Objects That HaveMaterials Assigned to Them

Most primitives use several material IDs (page3–698) on their surfaces. For example, a boxuses material IDs 1–6 on its sides. If you assign aMulti/Sub-Object material (page 2–1182) with sixsub-materials, Autodesk VIZ assigns one to eachside. If you assign a multi/sub-object material withtwo sub-materials, Autodesk VIZ assigns the firstmaterial to sides 1, 3, and 5, and the second goesto sides 2, 4, and 6.

When you create a Boolean from objects thathave materials assigned to them, Autodesk VIZcombines the materials in the following way:


• If operand A doesn’t have a material, it inheritsoperand B’s material.

• If operand B doesn’t have a material, it inheritsoperand A’s material.

• If both operands have materials, the newmaterial is a multi/sub-object material thatcombines the materials from both operands.

For more information, see Material Attach OptionsDialog (page 1–305).

Solutions When Working with Booleans

The Boolean algorithm caused unpredictablebehavior in earlier releases. The solutions arediscussed here.

Surface Topology

Boolean requires that operands’ surface topologybe intact: This means no missing or overlappingfaces and no unwelded vertices. The surfaceshould be one continuous closed surface.

The Boolean corrects operands that fail tomeet this requirement. However, the automaticcorrection may not be exactly what you want, so insome cases it might be safer to correct the surfacesmanually.

To check for holes in the geometry, use theSTL-Check modifier (page 2–204) or the Measureutility (page 2–665).

To fill holes, use the Cap Holes modifier (page2–62).

Face Normals

Booleans require that the face normals of thesurface be consistent. Flipped normals canproduce unexpected results. Surfaces where somefaces are facing one way and adjacent faces areflipped are also problematic, and are commonlyfound in geometry imported from CAD programs.The Boolean fixes these faces as best it can.

Again, it might make more sense to correct thesemanually.

Use shaded viewports to look for normal problems,watching for objects that appear inside-out or lookotherwise incorrect. You can also turn on Show inthe Editable Mesh (Face) (page 2–366) > SurfaceProperties rollout > Normals group. Fix normalshere, or with a Normal modifier (page 2–167).

Overlapping Elements

Because Boolean operations depend on a clearunderstanding of what is inside and what is outsidea mesh, meshes that overlap themselves canproduce invalid results. For instance, if you use theCollapse utility (page 2–314) with two overlappingobjects without turning on the Boolean feature,the resulting object will not make a good Booleanoperand. This is also a problem for the Teapotprimitive (page 1–154) (with all parts turned on),which overlaps itself.

If you need to use such an object as a Booleanoperand, you might reconstruct it as a singlenon-overlapping mesh by separating thecomponents and combining them with Boolean.

Working with Inverted Meshes

Boolean doesn’t always produce the ideal result on"inverted meshes" (meshes that have been turnedinside-out by having their normals flipped).The problem is that the area inside the flippedmesh is correctly seen as "outside," but the areaoutside it may also be seen as “outside.” To remedythis, instead of inverting the mesh, make a verylarge box or other primitive centered on (but nottouching) the mesh and subtract the mesh fromit using Boolean. Then convert it to an editablemesh, and delete the box faces. This produces acorrectly inverted mesh that works correctly withBoolean.


Alignment

If two Boolean operands are perfectly alignedwithout actually intersecting, the Booleanoperation might produce the wrong result.Although this is rare, if it does occur, you caneliminate it by making the operands overlapslightly.

Relative Complexity Between Operands

Boolean works best when the two operands areof similar complexity. If you wish to subtracttext (a complex object made of many faces andvertices) from a box without any segments, theresult is many long, skinny faces that are prone torendering errors. Increasing the number of boxsegments produces better results. Try to maintaina similar complexity between operands.

Coplanar Faces/Colinear Edges

Previously, Boolean required that objects overlap.If two objects did not overlap but merely touchedan edge to an edge, or a face to a face, the Booleanwould fail.

Boolean allows for non-overlapping objects.Coincident faces/edges and vertices are no longera problem. You can use objects completely encasedwithin another object, where no edges intersect,to create Booleans.

See also Collapse Utility (page 2–314) to createBooleans with multiple objects.

See also

Fixing Boolean Problems (page 3–632)

Procedures

To create a Boolean object:

1. Select an object. This object becomes operandA.

2. Click Boolean. The name of operand A appearsin the Operands list on the Parameters rollout.

3. On the Pick Boolean rollout, choose the copymethod for operand B: Reference, Move, Copy,or Instance. (These methods are described inthe Pick Boolean rollout section, later in thistopic.)

4. On the Parameters rollout, choose the Booleanoperation to perform: Union, Intersection,Subtraction (A-B), or Subtraction (B-A). Youcan also choose one of the Cut operations,described later in the Operation group section.

5. On the Pick Boolean rollout, click PickOperand B.

6. Click in a viewport to select operand B.Autodesk VIZ performs the Boolean operation.

The operand objects remain as sub-objectsof the Boolean object. By modifying thecreation parameters of the Boolean’s operandsub-objects, you can later change operandgeometry in order to change the Boolean result.

Example: To create and modify a single object thatcontains multiple Booleans:

Suppose you want to create a box with two holesin it. One hole is to be cut by a sphere, and thesecond by a cylinder. If you want to make changesto the sphere or the cylinder later, you can do soby following these steps:

1. Create a Boolean following the steps in theprevious sections. The original object (the box)is converted to a Boolean, and is designatedoperand A. The second object (the sphere) isconverted to operand B.

2. Deselect the Boolean object. Build the cylinderif it does not already exist.

3. Select the Boolean object; and underCompound Objects, click Boolean again.

4. Click Pick Operand B and click the cylinder inthe viewport. It is converted to operand B.

5. On the Modify panel, choose Operand B fromthe Parameters rollout > Operands list. If you


want to see operand B, choose Display/Updaterollout > Display group > Operands or Result+ Hidden Ops.

If you want to modify the Cylinder or theCylinder’s parameters you can now access themin the modifier stack display.

6. If you want to modify the sphere’s parameters,choose the box in the Operands list.

7. Now there are two entries labeled Boolean inthe stack display. Choose the lower entry. TheSphere is displayed in the Operands list.

8. Choose the Sphere from the Operands list. Thesphere’s parameters are available by clicking thesphere’s name in the modifier stack display.

9. Use this technique to change parameters any ofthe operands within the multiple Boolean.

Interface

Pick Boolean rollout

When you select operand B, you designate itas a Reference, Move (the object itself), Copy,or Instance, according to your choice in thePick Boolean rollout for Boolean objects. Baseyour selection on how you want to use the scenegeometry after you create the Boolean.

Because you usually create Boolean objects fromoverlapping objects, if the B object isn’t removed(if you don’t use the default Move option), it oftenobstructs your view of the completed Boolean.You can move the Boolean or the B object to bettersee the result.

Pick Operand B—Use this button to select thesecond object to use to complete the Booleanoperation.

Reference/Copy/Move/Instance—Lets you specifyhow operand B is transferred to the Booleanobject. It can be transferred either as a reference(page 3–722), a copy, an instance (page 3–689),or moved.

• Use Reference to synchronize modifier-inducedchanges to the original object with operand B,but not vice-versa.

• Use Copy when you want to reuse the operandB geometry for other purposes in the scene.

• Use Move (the default) if you’ve created theoperand B geometry only to create a Boolean,and have no other use for it.

Object B geometry becomes part of the Booleanobject regardless of which copy method youuse.

Parameters rollout


Operands group

Operands list field—Displays the current operands.

Name—Edit this field to change the name of theoperands. Choose an operand in the Operands listand it will also appear in the Name box.

Extract Operand—Extracts a copy or an instance ofthe selected operand. Choose one of the operandsin the list window to enable this button.

Note: This button is available only in the Modifypanel. You can’t extract an operand while theCreate panel is active.

Instance/Copy—Lets you specify how the operandis extracted: as either an instance (page 3–689) ora copy.

Operation group

Union—The Boolean object contains the volumeof both original objects. The intersecting oroverlapping portion of the geometry is removed.

Intersection—The Boolean object contains onlythe volume that was common to both originalobjects (in other words, where they overlapped).

Subtraction (A-B)—Subtracts the intersectionvolume of operand B from operand A. TheBoolean object contains the volume of operand Awith the intersection volume subtracted from it.

Subtraction (B-A)—Subtracts the intersectionvolume of operand A from operand B. TheBoolean object contains the volume of operand Bwith the intersection volume subtracted from it.

Cut—Cuts operand A with operand B, but doesn’tadd anything to the mesh from operand B. Thisworks like the Slice modifier (page 2–196), butinstead of using a planar gizmo, Cut uses the shapeof operand B as the cutting plane. Cut treats thegeometry of the Boolean object as volumes ratherthan closed solids. Cut does not add geometryfrom operand B to operand A. Operand B

intersections define cut areas for altering geometryin operand A.

There are four types of Cut:

• Refine—Adds new vertices and edges tooperand A where operand B intersects thefaces of operand A. Autodesk VIZ refinesthe resulting geometry of operand A withadditional faces inside the intersected area ofoperand B. Faces cut by the intersection aresubdivided into new faces. You might use thisoption to refine a box with text so that you canassign a separate material ID to the object.

• Split—Works like Refine but also adds a secondor double set of vertices and edges along theboundary where operand B cuts operand A.Split produces two elements belonging to thesame mesh. Use Split to break an object intotwo parts along the bounds of another object.

• Remove Inside—Deletes all operand A facesinside operand B. This option modifies anddeletes faces of operand A inside the areaintersected by operand B. It works like thesubtraction options, except that Autodesk VIZadds no faces from operand B. Use RemoveInside to delete specific areas from yourgeometry.

• Remove Outside—Deletes all operand A facesoutside operand B. This option modifies anddeletes faces of operand A outside the areaintersected by operand B. It works like theIntersection option, except that Autodesk VIZadds no faces from operand B. Use Remove todelete specific areas from your geometry.



Display group

Visualizing the result of a Boolean can be tricky,especially if you want to modify . The Displayoptions on the Boolean Parameters rollout helpyou visualize how the Boolean is constructed.

The display controls have no effect until you’vecreated the Boolean.

• Result—Displays the result of the Booleanoperation; that is, the Boolean object itself.

• Operands—Displays the operands instead of theBoolean result.

Tip: When operands are difficult to see in aviewport, you can use the Operand list to selectone or the other. Click the name of the A or Boperand to select it.

• Results + Hidden Ops—Displays the "hidden"operands as wireframe.

Operand geometry remains part of thecompound Boolean object, although it isn’tvisible or renderable. The operand geometry isdisplayed as wireframes in all viewports.

Displaying the operands

Displaying the result (A-B)

Displaying the hidden operand after A-B

Material Attach Options Dialog 305

Displaying the hidden operand after B-A

Update group

By default, Booleans are updated whenever youchange the operands. The update options providealternate methods to improve performance.

• Always—Updates Booleans immediately whenyou change an operand, including the originalobject of an instanced or referenced B operand.This is the default behavior.

• When Rendering—Updates Booleans only whenyou render the scene or click Update. With thisoption, viewports don’t always show currentgeometry, but you can force an update whennecessary.

• Manually—Updates Booleans only when youclick Update. With this option, the viewportsand the render output don’t always showcurrent geometry, but you can force an updatewhen necessary.

Update—Updates the Boolean. The Update buttonis not available when Always is selected.

Material Attach Options Dialog

Use objects with different materials assigned to them. >Create panel > Geometry > Compound Objects > ObjectType rollout > Boolean > Pick Boolean rollout > PickOperand B button > Select object in the viewport thatis operand B.

When you use Boolean operations with objectsthat have been assigned different materials,Autodesk VIZ displays the Material AttachOptions dialog. This dialog offers five methods forhandling the materials and the material IDs (page3–698) in the resultant Boolean object.

Note: If operand A has no material, and operandB has a material assigned, the Boolean dialog letsyou choose to inherit the material from operand B.

If operand A has a material assigned and operandB has no material assigned, the Boolean objectautomatically inherits materials from operand A.

Procedure

To create a Boolean from objects that match materialIDs to material:

1. Create a Boolean (page 1–301) using at leastone object that has a multi/sub-object material(page 2–1182) assigned to it.

2. On the Pick Boolean rollout, click PickOperand B.

3. Click in a viewport and select the B operand.Autodesk VIZ displays the Match AttachOptions dialog.

4. Choose Match Material IDs to Material tocomplete the Boolean operation.


Interface

Match Material IDs to Material—Autodesk VIZmodifies the number of material IDs in thecombined object to be no greater than the numberof sub-materials assigned to the operands. Forexample, if you combine two boxes that havestandard materials and each box is assigned sixmaterial IDs (the default), the resulting combinedobject has two operands with one material ID each,rather than the 12 that would result from usingthe Match Material to Material ID option. Afteryou complete the operation, Autodesk VIZ createsa new multi/sub-object material with two slots.Autodesk VIZ assigns the sub-materials to theoperands as they appeared before the operation.The number of resulting material IDs matches thenumber of materials between the original objects.You might use this option to reduce the number ofmaterial IDs.

Match Material to Material IDs—Maintains theoriginal material ID assignment in the operandsby adjusting the number of sub-materials inthe resultant multi/sub-object material. Forexample, if you combine two boxes, bothassigned single materials, but with their defaultassignment of six material IDs, the result wouldbe a multi/sub-object material with 12 slots (sixcontaining instances of one box’s material, and sixcontaining instances of the other box’s material).Use this option when it’s important to maintainthe original material ID assignments in yourgeometry. Also use this option when material IDshave been assigned, but materials have not beenassigned.

Note: You can make the instanced sub-materialsunique one at a time with the Make Unique button(page 2–1072) in the Material Editor.

Do Not Modify Mat IDs or Material—If the number ofmaterial IDs in an object is greater than the numberof sub-materials in its multi/sub-object material,then the resultant face-material assignment mightbe different after the Boolean operation.

Discard New Operand Material—Discards thematerial assignment of operand B. Autodesk VIZassigns operand A’s material to the Boolean object.

Discard Original Material—Discards the materialassignment of operand A. Autodesk VIZassignsoperand B’s material to the Boolean object.

Note: A UVW Map modifier (page 2–274) mustbe used with compound objects to apply mappingcoordinates.

Terrain Compound Object

Select spline contours. > Create panel > Geometry >Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Terrain

Select spline contours. > Create menu > Compound >Terrain

The Terrain button lets you produce terrainobjects. Autodesk VIZ generates these objectsfrom contour line data. You select editable splinesrepresenting elevation contours and create a meshsurface over the contours. You can also create a"terraced" representation of the terrain object sothat each level of contour data is a step, resemblingtraditional study models of land forms.

Terrain Compound Object 307

Using contours to build a terrain

Upper left: The contours

Upper right: The terrain object

Lower left: Terrain object used as the basis of a landscape

If you import an AutoCAD drawing file to use ascontour data, Autodesk VIZ names each objectbased on the AutoCAD object’s layer, color, orobject type. A number is appended to each name.For example, an AutoCAD object on the layerBASE becomes an object named BASE.01. SeeImporting DWG Files (page 3–147) for moreinformation.

After you import or create the contour data,select the objects, and click the Terrain button,Autodesk VIZ creates a new triangulated meshobject based on the contour data. The name ofthe first selected spline becomes the name of theterrain object. Other splines in the selection aretreated according to the previously set Reference,Move, Copy, or Instance selection in the PickOperand rollout, described below.

Keep in mind that the Terrain object can useany spline objects as operands, whether theyare horizontal splines or not. Though the mostcommon scenario is when sets of elevationalcontours are used to create terrain forms, it ispossible to append or refine Terrain objects byusing non-horizontal splines.

Note: To ensure that Autodesk VIZ importspolylines as splines, when you import anAutoCAD drawing file, turn off Import AutoCADDWG File dialog > Geometry Options group >Cap Closed Entities.

Following are examples of uses of the Terrainfeature:

• Visualizing the effects of grading plans in 3D.

• Maximizing views or sunlight by studyingtopographical undulation of land forms.

• Analyzing elevation changes by using color onthe data.

• Adding buildings, landscaping, and roadsto a terrain model to create virtual cities orcommunities.

• Viewing corridors and completing ridgeanalyses from particular locations on a site byadding cameras to the scene.

Procedure

To analyze elevation changes:

1. Import or create contour data.

2. Select the contour data, and click the Terrainbutton.

3. On the Color By Elevation rollout, enterelevation zone values between the maximumand minimum elevations in the Base Elev box.Click Add Zone after entering the value.

Autodesk VIZ displays the zones in the listunder the Create Defaults button.

4. Click the Base Color swatch to change the colorof each elevation zone. For example, you coulduse a deep blue for low elevations, a light bluefor intermediate elevations, and perhaps greensfor higher elevations.

5. Click Solid To Top of Zone to see the elevationchanges in a striped effect.


6. Click Blend To Color Above to see the elevationchanges blended.

Interface


Displays the name of the terrain object.Autodesk VIZ uses the name of one of the selectedobjects to name the terrain object.


Pick Operand—Adds splines to the terrain object.You might do this if you didn’t select all the objectsbefore generating the terrain object, or if someobjects in the imported data weren’t included inthe terrain object. You can also use this optionto add existing splines in the current scene to theterrain object.

Reference/Copy/Move/Instance—When you clickPick Operand, the copy method you designatedetermines how the operands are used. WhenMove is the method, the original contour datais moved from the scene and into the operandsof the new terrain object. Copy, Reference, andInstance retain the original contour data in thescene and create copies, references or instances ofthe contour data as operands in the terrain object.This is similar to the copy method for Boolean(page 1–298).

Override—Allows you to select closed curves thatoverride any other operand data within theirinterior. Within the area an Override operandencloses (as seen in plan), other curves and points

of the mesh are disregarded and the elevationof the Override operand supersedes them. AnOverride operand is indicated in the operands listby a # after its name. Override is only effectiveon closed curves. If multiple override operandsoverlap, later overrides (higher operand numbers)take preference.

Parameters rollout

Operands group

Operand list—Displays the current operands. Eachoperand is listed as "Op" followed by a numberand the name of the object that is being used as


the operand. The operand name comprises layer,color, or object type name plus a numeric suffix.

Delete Operand—Deletes a selected operand fromthe Operands list.

Form group

• Graded Surface—Creates a graded surface of themesh over the contours.

Terrain created as a graded surface

• Graded Solid—Creates a graded surface withskirts around the sides and a bottom surface.This represents a solid that is visible from everydirection.

• Layered Solid—Creates a "wedding cake"or laminated solid similar to cardboardarchitectural models.

Terrain created as a "layered solid" surface, with levels

Stitch Border—When on, suppresses the creation ofnew triangles around the edges of terrain objectswhen edge conditions are defined by splines thatare not closed. Most terrain forms display morereasonably when this is turned off.

Retriangulate—The basic Terrain algorithm tendsto flatten or notch contours when they turnsharply upon themselves. A typical situation inwhich this may happen is when a narrow creekbed is described with contours; the resultingform may look more like a series of cascades ateach elevational contour, rather than a smoothlydescending ravine. When Retriangulate ischecked, a somewhat slower algorithm is usedthat follows contour lines more closely. Thismay be particularly evident in the Layered Soliddisplay mode. For additional precision, try usingRetriangulate in conjunction with horizontalinterpolation.

Display group

• Terrain—Displays only the triangulated meshover the contour line data.

• Contours—Displays only the contour line dataof the terrain object.

• Both—Displays both the triangulated meshand the contour line data of the terrain object.You can select the terrain object by clickingits surface, but not by clicking a contour line.When Both is selected, contour lines may notbe apparent in Wireframe display modes orwhen Edged Faces are displayed.

Update group

The items in this group box determine whenAutodesk VIZ recalculates the projection for theterrain object. Because complex terrain objectscan slow performance, you can use these optionsto avoid constant calculation.

• Always—Updates the terrain object immediatelywhen you change an operand, including the


original object of an instanced or referencedoperand.

• When Rendering—Updates the terrain objectwhen you render the scene or when you clickUpdate. With this option, viewports won’tshow current geometry unless you click Update.

• Manually—Updates the terrain object when youclick Update.

Update—Updates the terrain object. This button isnot enabled only when Always is the active option.

Simplification rollout

Horizontal group

• No Simplification—Uses all the operands’vertices to create a complex mesh. This resultsin greater detail and a larger file size than thetwo fractional options.

• Use 1/2 of Points—Uses half the set of verticesin the operands to create a less complex mesh.This results in less detail and a smaller file sizethan using No Simplification.

• Use 1/4 of Points—Uses a quarter of the ofvertices in the operands to create a less complexmesh. This results in the least detail andsmallest file size of these options.

• Interpolate Points * 2—Doubles the set ofvertices in the operands to create a more refinedbut more complex mesh. This is most effectivein terrain forms that use constructive curvessuch as circles and ellipses. This results inmore detail and a larger file size than using NoSimplification.

• Interpolate Points * 4—Quadruples the setof vertices in the operands to create a morerefined but more complex mesh. This is mosteffective in terrain forms that use constructivecurves such as circles and ellipses. This resultsin more detail and a larger file size than usingNo Simplification.

Vertical group

• No Simplification—Uses all the splineoperandsvertices of the terrain object to createa complex mesh. This results in greater detailand a larger file size than the other two options.

• Use 1/2 of Lines—Uses half the set of splineoperands of the terrain object to create a lesscomplex mesh. This results in less detail and asmaller file size than using No Simplification.

• Use 1/4 of Lines—Uses a quarter of the of splineoperands of the terrain object to create a lesscomplex mesh. This results in the least detailand smallest file size of the three options.


Color by Elevation rollout

Maximum Elev.—Displays the maximum elevationin the Z axis of the terrain object. Autodesk VIZderives this data from the contour data.

Minimum Elev.—Displays the minimum elevationin the Z axis of the terrain object. Autodesk VIZderives this data from the contour data.

Reference Elev.—This is the reference elevation,or datum, that Autodesk VIZ uses as a guidefor assigning colors to zones of elevation. Afterentering a reference elevation, click the CreateDefaults button. Autodesk VIZ treats elevationsabove the reference elevation as solid land andthose below the reference elevation as water.

If you enter a value no greater than the minimumelevation in the object, Autodesk VIZ dividesthe range between the reference and minimumelevations into five color zones: dark green, lightgreen, yellow, purple, and light gray.

If you enter a value between the minimum andmaximum elevations, Autodesk VIZ creates sixcolor zones. Two zones (dark blue and lightblue) are used for elevations below the referenceelevation. These are considered to be under water.One zone (dark yellow) is used for a narrow rangearound the reference elevation. Three zones(dark green, light green, light yellow) are used forelevations above the reference elevation.

If you enter a value at or above the maximumelevation, Autodesk VIZ divides the range betweenthe minimum and reference elevations into threezones (dark blue, medium blue, light blue).

Zones by Base Elevation group

Create Defaults—Creates elevation zones.Autodesk VIZ lists the elevation at the bottom ofeach zone, referenced to the datum (the referenceelevation). Autodesk VIZ applies the color of thezone at the base elevation. Whether the colorsblend between zones depends on your choice ofthe Blend to Color Above or Solid to Top of Zoneoption.

Color Zone group

The items in this group box assign colors toelevation zones. For example, you might wantto change levels of blue to indicate the depth forwater. Your changes in the Color Zone area don’taffect the terrain object until you click the ModifyZone or Add Zone button.

Base Elev—This is the base elevation of a zone towhich you assign color. After entering a value,click Add Zone to display the elevation in the listunder Create Defaults.


Base Color—Click the color swatch to change thecolor of the zone.

• Blend to Color Above—Blends the color of thecurrent zone to the color of the zone above it.

• Solid to Top of Zone—Makes a solid color at thetop of the zone without blending to the color ofthe zone above it.

Modify Zone—Modifies selected options of a zone.

Add Zone—Adds values and selected options for anew zone.

Delete Zone—Deletes a selected zone.

Loft Compound ObjectSelect a path or shape. > Create panel > Geometry >Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Loft

Select a path or shape. > Create menu > CompoundObjects > Loft

Roadway created as a lofted shape

Loft objects are two-dimensional shapes extrudedalong a third axis. You create loft objects fromtwo or more existing spline objects. One of thesesplines serves the path. The remaining splinesserve as cross-sections, or shapes, of the loftobject. As you arrange shapes along the path,

Autodesk VIZ generates a surface between theshapes.

You create shape objects to serve as a path forany number of cross-section shapes. The pathbecomes the framework that holds the crosssections forming your object. If you designate onlyone shape on the path, Autodesk VIZ assumes anidentical shape is located at each end of the path.The surface is then generated between the shapes.

Autodesk VIZ places few restrictions onhow you create a loft object. You can createcurved, three-dimensional paths and eventhree-dimensional cross sections.

When using Get Shape, as you move the cursorover an invalid shape, the reason the shape isinvalid is displayed in the prompt line.

Unlike other compound objects, which are createdfrom the selected object as soon as you click thecompound-object button, a Loft object is notcreated until you click Get Shape or Get Path, andthen select a shape or path.

Loft is enabled when the scene has one or moreshapes. To create a loft object, first create oneor more shapes and then click Loft. Click eitherGet Shape or Get Path and select a shape in theviewports.

Once you create a loft object, you can add andreplace cross-section shapes or replace the path.

You can’t animate the path location of a shape.

You can convert loft objects to NURBS surfaces(page 2–480).

Procedures

To create a loft object:

Creating loft objects is detailed and offers manychoices, but the basic process is quite simple.

1. Create a shape to be the loft path.

Creation Method Rollout 313

2. Create one or more shapes to be loft crosssections.


• Select the path shape and use Get Shape toadd the cross sections to the loft.

• Select a shape and use Get Path to assigna path to the loft. Use Get Shape to addadditional shapes.

You can use the loft display settings to view theskin generated by your loft in both wireframe andshaded views.

To create a loft with Get Path:

1. Select a shape as the first cross-section shape.

2. Click Create panel > Geometry > CompoundObjects > Loft.

3. On the Creation Method rollout, click Get Path.

4. Choose Move, Copy, or Instance.

5. Click a shape for the path.

The cursor changes to the Get Path cursor as youmove it over valid path shapes. If the cursor doesnot change over a shape, that shape is not a validpath shape and cannot be selected. The first vertexof the selected path is placed at the first shape’spivot and the path tangent is aligned with theshape’s local Z axis.

To create a loft with Get Shape:

1. Select a valid path shape as the path.

2. If the selected shape is not a valid path, the GetShape button is unavailable.

3. Click Create panel > Geometry > CompoundObjects > Loft.

4. On the Creation Method rollout, click GetShape.

5. Choose Move, Copy, or Instance.

6. Click a shape.

The cursor changes to the Get Shape cursor as youmove it over potential shapes. The selected shapeis placed at the first vertex of the path.

Tip: You can flip the shape along the path byholding down CTRL when using Get Shape. Forexample, if you select the lowercase letter "b" witha CTRL+click, the loft will look like the letter "d".

Interface

You use the following rollouts for setting loft objectparameters:

Creation Method Rollout (page 1–313)

Surface Parameters Rollout (page 1–314)

Path Parameters Rollout (page 1–316)

Skin Parameters Rollout (page 1–317)

Once you’ve created a loft object, you can also usethe Modify panel’s Deformations rollout to addcomplexity. See Deformations (page 1–322) forfurther information.

Creation Method Rollout

Select a path or shape. > Create panel > Geometry> Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Loft >Creation Method rollout

Select a path or shape. > Create menu > Compounds >Loft > Creation Method rollout

You can choose between a shape or a path forcreating the loft object using the Creation Methodrollout, as well as the type of action for the loftobject.

Interface


On the Creation Method rollout, you determinewhether to use a shape or path for creating the loftobject, and the type of action you want for theresulting loft object.

Get Path—Assigns a path to the selected shape orchanges the current assigned path.

Get Shape—Assigns a shape to the selected path orchanges the current assigned shape.

Tip: Hold down CTRL while getting the shape toflip the direction of the shape’s Z axis.

Move/Copy/Instance—Lets you specify how thepath or shape is transferred to the loft object. It canbe moved, in which case no copy is left behind, ortransferred as a copy or an instance (page 3–689).

Tip: Use the Instance option if you expect to edit ormodify the path after the loft is created.

Surface Parameters Rollout

Select a path or shape. > Create panel > Geometry >Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Loft > SurfaceParameters rollout

Select a path or shape. > Create menu > Compounds >Loft > Surface Parameters rollout

On the Surface Parameters rollout, you controlsmoothing of the surface of the loft as well asdesignate if texture mapping is applied along theloft object.

Interface

Smoothing group

Left: Smoothing the length

Right: Smoothing the width

Rear: Smoothing both length and width

Smooth Length—Provides a smooth surface alongthe length of the path. This type of smoothing isuseful when your path curves or when shapes onthe path change size. Default=on.

Surface Parameters Rollout 315

Smooth Width—Provides a smooth surface aroundthe perimeter of the cross-section shapes. Thistype of smoothing is useful when your shapeschange the number of vertices or change form.Default=on.

Mapping group

Bitmap used to create the lines on the road

Mapped roadway showing U and V dimensions for the loft

Apply Mapping—Turns lofted mapping coordinateson and off. Apply Mapping must be on in order toaccess the remaining items.


Length Repeat—Sets the number of times a maprepeats along the length of the path. The bottomof the map is placed at the first vertex of the path.

Width Repeat—Sets the number of times a maprepeats around the perimeter of cross-sectionshapes. The left edge of a map is aligned with thefirst vertex of each shape.

Normalize—Determines how path vertex spacingaffects a map along both the path length andshape width. When on, vertices are ignored.Map coordinates and Repeat values are appliedevenly along the length of the path and around theshapes. When off, major path divisions and shapevertex spacing affects map coordinate spacing.Map coordinates and Repeat values are appliedproportionally according to the path divisionspacing or shape vertex spacing.

Before and after applying Normalize to loft

Materials group

Generate Material IDs—Creates Material IDs duringthe loft process.

Use Shape IDs—Offers the choice of using thespline material IDs to define the material IDs.

Note: Prior to version 3 of Autodesk VIZ, splinescould not hold material IDs.

Note: Shape IDs are inherited from shape crosssections, not from the path spline.


Shape material IDs used to give the roadway two materials:concrete for supports and railings, asphalt with white linesfor the traffic lanes

Output Group

Patch—The lofting process produces a patchobject.

Mesh—The lofting process produces a meshobject. This is the default, and was the only outputtype available with Loft in versions prior to version3 of Autodesk VIZ.

You can also create NURBS objects from lofting bychoosing Convert To: NURBS from the modifierstack right-click menu (page 3–487).

Path Parameters Rollout

Select a path or shape. > Create panel > Geometry >Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Loft > PathParameters rollout

Select a path or shape. > Create menu > Compounds >Loft > Path Parameters rollout

The Path Parameters rollout lets you control theposition of shapes at various intervals along thepath of the loft object.

Interface

On the Path Parameters rollout, you control theposition of multiple shapes at different intervalsalong the path of the loft object.

Path—Lets you set a path level by entering a valueor dragging the spinner. If Snap is on, the valuewill jump to the previous snap increment. ThePath value depends on the selected measuringmethod. Changing the measuring method causesthe Path value to change.

Inserting different shapes at different positions on the path

Snap—Lets you set a consistent distance betweenshapes along the path. The Snap value dependson the selected measuring method. Changing themeasuring method also changes the Snap value tokeep snap spacing constant.

On—When On is turned on, Snap is active.Default=off.

Percentage—Expresses the path level as apercentage of the total path length.

Skin Parameters Rollout 317

Distance—Expresses the path level as an absolutedistance from the first vertex of the path.

Path Steps—Places shapes on path steps andvertices, rather than as a percentage or a distancealong the path.

When Path Steps is on, the following take place:

• The Path spinner specifies the step along thepath. The first step, at 0, is the first vertex.

• The total number of steps, including vertices,appears in parentheses beside the Path spinner.

• The current path level is indicated by thestandard yellow X when it’s a step, and by asmall boxed X when it’s a vertex.

• Get Shape places a selected shape on thespecified step or a vertex of the path.

• Adaptive Path Steps on the Skin Parametersrollout is unavailable. (If it were available, thepath steps and shapes would change positionsalong the path, depending on the result of theadaptive algorithm.)

Please note the following when using the PathSteps option:

• When you switch to Path Steps with a loft objectthat already contains one or more shapes, analert message tells you that this action mayrelocate shapes. This is because there are alimited number of path steps, and only oneshape can be on a single step or vertex. ThePercentage and Distance options, on the otherhand, provide an almost unlimited number oflevels on which to place shapes. Thus, if youchange from Percentage or Distance to PathSteps, the shapes must be moved to existingsteps. If there are more shapes than can bemoved to nearby steps, you could end up withmore than one shape on a step. Switching fromPath Steps to either Percentage or Distance,however, can always be done without loss ofdata.

• If you alter the Path Steps spinner while in PathSteps mode, the location of your shapes mightchange. An alert message warns you of this.

Pick Shape—Sets the current level at any shapeon the path. When you pick a shape on the path,Snap is turned off and Path is set to the level ofthe picked shape, where a yellow X appears. PickShape is available only from the Modify panel.

Previous Shape—Jumps the path level from itscurrent location to the previous shape along thepath. A yellow X appears at the current level.Clicking this button turns Snap off.

Next Shape—Jumps the path level from its currentlocation to the next shape along the path. A yellowX appears at the current level. Clicking this buttonturns Snap off.

Skin Parameters Rollout

Select a path or shape. > Create panel > Geometry >Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Loft > SkinParameters rollout

Select a path or shape. > Create menu > Compounds >Loft > Skin Parameters rollout

On the Skin Parameters rollout, you adjust thecomplexity of the mesh of the loft object. You canalso optimize the mesh by controlling the facecount.

Procedure

Example: To use a constant cross-section:

1. Enlarge the Front viewport to full screen, andthen use the Rectangle tool (page 1–244) withCTRL held down to create a square about 20x 20 units.

2. Create another rectangle beside it about 200 x100 units.

3. Apply a Skew modifier to the large rectangle,but don’t alter the Skew parameters.


4. Create a loft object in which the larger rectangleis the path and the square is the shape.

5. On the Modify panel, open the Skin Parametersrollout, and turn on Skin in the Display group.

You can now see the wireframe structure ofthe lofted rectangle, with cross-sectional sidesparallel to its corners.

Make sure the color assigned the loft object iseasily visible. Change it if necessary.

6. Turn off Constant Cross-Section, and observethe corners.

When Constant Cross-Section is off, thecorners become pinched.

7. Turn on Constant Cross-Section to restore thecorners.

Acute angles can cause problems when the crosssections formed by the path steps intersect atthe corners. You can mitigate this by avoidingacute angles or by reducing the path steps.

8. Press H on the keyboard to display the Selectby Name dialog, and choose Rectangle02 (thesecond larger rectangle).

9. On the Skew panel, change the Skew Axis to Y,and then set the Amount spinner to 95.

10.Use Zoom Region to zoom in on the upper-leftcorner of the rectangle so you can see the meshin detail.

At a skew of less than 100, the acute angle stillworks because the path cross-sections haven’tintersected.

11.Set the Skew Amount to 300, and examine thesame corner.

At this angle, the path cross sections intersect,causing problems in the mesh.

12.Select the loft object, and set the Path Steps to 1.

The cross sections no longer intersect, and thecorner is clean.

When creating straight-edge molding forarchitectural modeling, you can avoid mangledcorners by simply reducing the path steps to 0.

Interface

Capping group

Cap Start—When on, the end of a loft at the firstvertex of the path is covered, or capped. When off,the end is open, or uncapped. Default=on.

Cap End—When on, the end of a loft at the lastvertex of the path is covered, or capped. When off,the end is open, or uncapped. Default=on.

Morph—Arranges cap faces in a predictable,repeatable pattern necessary for creating morphtargets (for compatibility with 3ds Max). Morphcapping can generate long, thin faces that do notrender or deform as well as those created with gridcapping.

Grid—Arranges cap faces in a rectangular gridtrimmed at the shape boundaries. This method


produces a surface of evenly sized faces that can bedeformed easily by other modifiers.

Roadway lofted with capping turned off

Roadway lofted with capping turned on

Options group

Shape Steps—Sets the number of steps betweeneach vertex of the cross-section shapes. This valueaffects the number of sides around the perimeterof the loft.

Left: Shape Steps=0.

Right: Shape Steps=4.

Path Steps—Sets the number of steps between eachmain division of the path. This value affects thenumber of segments along the length of the loft.

Frame lofted with Path Steps=1


Frame lofted with Path Steps=5

Optimize Shapes—When on, the Shape Stepssetting is ignored for straight segments ofcross-section shapes. If multiple shapes are on thepath, only straight segments that have a match onall shapes are optimized. Default=off.

Left: Optimize Shapes turned on

Right: Optimize Shapes turned off

Optimize Path—When on, the Path Steps setting isignored for straight segments of the path. Curvedsections respect the Path steps setting. Availableonly with Path Steps mode. Default=off.

When Optimize Path is off, the lofted roadway uses moresteps.

When Optimize Path is on, straight sections of the loftedroadway don’t require additional steps.

Adaptive Path Steps—When on, analyzes theloft and adapts the number of path divisionsto generate the best skin. Main divisions alongthe path occur at path vertices, shape locations,and deformation curve vertices. When off,main divisions along the path occur only at pathvertices. Default=on.

Contour—When on, each shape follows thecurvature of the path. The positive Z axis of eachshape is aligned with the tangent to the path at theshape’s level. When off, shapes remain paralleland have the same orientation as a shape placedat level 0. Default=on.


Lofting the roadway with Contour off causes it to twist.

Roadway lofted with Contour turned on

Banking—When on, shapes rotate about the pathwhenever the path bends and changes height in thepath’s local Z axis. The bank amount is controlledby Autodesk VIZ. Banking is ignored if the path is2D. When off, shapes do not rotate about their Zaxis as they traverse a 3D path. Default=on.

Roadway lofted with Banking turned on

Constant Cross Section—When on, the crosssections are scaled at angles in the path to maintainuniform path width. When off, the cross sectionsmaintain their original local dimensions, causingpinching at path angles.

Frame lofted with Constant Cross Section turned off


Frame lofted with Constant Cross Section turned on

Linear Interpolation—When on, generates a loftskin with straight edges between each shape.When off, generates a loft skin with smooth curvesbetween each shape. Default=off.

Left: Object lofted with Linear Interpolation turned off

Right: Object lofted with Linear Interpolation turned on

Flip Normals—When on, reverses the normals 180degrees. Use this option to correct objects that areinside-out. Default=off.

Quad sides—When on, and when two sections ofa loft object have the same number of sides, thefaces that stitch the sections together are displayedas quads. Sides between sections with differentnumbers of sides are not affected, and are stillconnected with triangles. Default=off.

Transform Degrade—Causes the loft skinto disappear during sub-object shape/pathtransformations. For example, moving a vertexon the path causes the loft to disappear. Whenoff, you can see the skin during these Sub-Objecttransformations. Default=off.

Note: In releases prior to Autodesk VIZ 2005, theTransform Degrade default was on.

Display group

Skin—When on, displays a loft’s skin in all viewsusing any shading level and ignores the Skin InShaded setting. When off, displays only the loftsub-objects. Default=on.

Skin in Shaded—When on, displays a loft’s skin inshaded views regardless of the Skin setting. Whenoff, skin display is controlled by the Skin setting.Default=on.

The loft object now retains the Skin and Skin InShaded settings from one loft object to the nextone created.

Deformations

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformationsrollout

Deformation controls let you scale, twist, teeter,bevel or fit shapes along the path. The interfacefor all deformations is a graph. Lines with controlpoints on the graph represent the deformationsalong the path. Control points on the graphs canbe moved for modeling purposes or for variousspecial effects.

Manually creating and placing shapes along thepath to produce these models would be a difficulttask. Lofts solve this problem through the useof deformation curves. The deformation curvesdefine changes in scale, twisting, teetering, andbeveling along the path.

Deform Scale 323

You gain access to loft deformation curvesthrough the Modify panel’s Deformations rollout.Deformations are not available in the Create panel.You must open the Modify panel after you’ve loftedto access the Deformations rollout, which offersthe following features:

• Each deformation button displays its owndeformation dialog.

• You can display any or all of the deformationdialogs simultaneously.

• The button to the right of each deformationbutton is a toggle to enable or disable thedeformation’s effect.

Procedures

To apply deformations to a loft:

1. Select a loft object.

2. Go to the Modify panel and choose Loft fromthe modifier stack display if it’s not alreadydisplayed.

3. Expand the Deformations rollout.

4. Click the deformation that you want to use.

The window for the selected deformationappears.

To toggle the deformation effect:

• Click Enable/Disable to the right of thedeformation buttons.

Interface

Deform Scale (page 1–323)

Deform Twist (page 1–324)

Deform Teeter (page 1–325)

Deform Bevel (page 1–326)

Deform Fit (page 1–327)

Deformation Dialog (page 1–328)

Deform Scale

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformationsrollout > Scale

You can loft objects such as columns and buglesfrom a single shape that changes only its scale as ittravels along a path. Use Scale deformation whenyou want to make these types of objects.

These are the properties of Scale deformationcurves:

• The two curves are red for X-axis scaling andgreen for Y-axis scaling.

• Default curve values are at 100%.

• Values greater than 100% make the shape larger.

• Values between 100% and 0% make the shapesmaller.

• Negative values scale and mirror the shape.

See Deformation Dialog (page 1–328) for specificinformation on the dialog controls.


Scale deformation curve dialog

Procedure

To use Scale deformation:


2. Click Loft in the modifier stack display.

3. Click Scale on the Deformations rollout.

4. Edit the deformation curves for the X axis andY axis.

Deform Twist

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformationsrollout > Twist

Twist deformation lets you create objects thatspiral or twist along their length. Twist specifiesthe amount of rotation about the path.

Twist deformation curve dialog

Using twist to deform the lofted roadway

These are the properties of Twist deformationcurves:

• A single red curve determines shape rotationabout the path.

• The default curve value is 0 degrees of rotation.

• Positive values produce counterclockwiserotation, when viewed from the start of thepath.

• Negative values produce clockwise rotation.

• Both twist deformation and banking producerotation about the path. Twist rotation is addedto a shape after the banking angle is applied.You can use Twist deformation to exaggerate orreduce the amount of banking.


Procedure

To use Twist deformation:



3. Click Twist on the Deformations rollout.

4. Edit the single deformation curve to specifyrotation about the path.

Deform Teeter 325

Deform Teeter

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformationsrollout > Teeter

Teeter deformation rotates shapes about their localX axis and Y axis. Teetering is what Autodesk VIZdoes automatically when you select Contour on theSkin Parameters rollout. Use Teeter deformationwhen you want to manually control contoureffects.

Teeter deformation curve dialog

Roadway lofted with no teeter

Roadway lofted with teeter turned on. Teeter affects the Xand Y axis orientation of the shape in relation to the path.

These are the properties of Teeter deformationcurves:

• The two curves are red for X-axis rotation andgreen for Y-axis rotation.

• Default curve values are at 0 degrees rotation.

• Positive values rotate the shapecounterclockwise about the shape’spositive axis.

• Negative values rotate the shape clockwiseabout the shape’s positive axis.


Procedure

To use Teeter deformation:



3. Click Teeter on the Deformations rollout.

4. Edit the deformation curves for X axis and Yaxis rotation.


Deform Bevel

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformationsrollout > Bevel

Roadway with beveled edges

Nearly every object that you encounter in thereal world is beveled. Because it is difficult andexpensive to manufacture a perfectly sharp edge,most objects are created with chamfered, filleted,or eased edges. Use Bevel deformation to simulatethese effects.

Note: Bevel is not available when loft output is setto Patch.

These are the properties of Bevel deformationcurves:

• The single red curve is for bevel amount.

• Bevel values are specified in current units.

• The default curve value is 0 units.

• Positive values reduce the shape, bringing itcloser to the path.

• Negative values add to the shape, moving itaway from the path.

When shapes are nested, the bevel direction isreversed for interior shapes.


Normal and Adaptive Beveling

The Bevel Deformation dialog provides threetypes of beveling: Normal, Adaptive Linear, andAdaptive Cubic. These are available from a flyoutat the right end of the dialog toolbar.

With normal beveling, the beveled shaperemains parallel to the original, regardless of thecrotch angle of the shape. Steep crotch anglescombined with excessive bevel amounts result inovershooting at the crotch.

Adaptive beveling alters the length of the bevelshape based on the crotch angle. Adaptive Linearalters the length-to-angle in a linear fashion.Adaptive Cubic alters it more on steep angles thanon shallow angles, producing a subtly differenteffect. Both forms of adaptive beveling result innonparallel beveled edges, and both are less likelyto produce invalid bevels due to overshoots at thecrotch.

To see the differences in the three types of beveling,loft a star shape along a straight path and applya bevel. When you switch among the three typesof beveling, you’ll see the difference in the beveloutline. Alter one radius of the star to examinethe beveling with shallow and with sharp crotchangles.

Procedure

To use Bevel deformation:



3. Click Bevel on the Deformations rollout.

4. Adjust the deformation curve.

Deform Fit 327

Deform Fit

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformationsrollout > Fit

Fit curves define a lofted shape.

Fit deformation lets you use two Fit curves todefine the top and side profiles of your object. UseFit deformation when you want to generate loftobjects by drawing their profiles.

Fit shapes are really scale boundaries. As yourcross-section shape travels along the path, its Xaxis is scaled to fit the boundaries of the X-axis fitshape and its Y axis is scaled to fit the boundariesof the Y-axis fit shape.

Note: Fit is not available when loft output is set toPatch.

Procedure

To use Fit deformation:



3. Click Fit on the Deformations rollout.

4. Select shapes in the viewport to use as fit curves.

Interface

Fit Deformation dialog

The Fit Deformation dialog contains differentbuttons than the other deformations. Fordescriptions of the first eight buttons on thetoolbar, see Deformation Dialog (page 1–328).The following descriptions apply to the toolsspecific to Fit deformation, and are listed from leftto right in the order they appear on the toolbar.

Fit Deformation toolbar

Mirror Horizontally—Mirrors the shape across thehorizontal axis.

Mirror Vertically—Mirrors the shape across thevertical axis.

Rotate 90 CCW—Rotates the shape 90 degreescounterclockwise.

Rotate 90 CW—Rotates the shape 90 degreesclockwise.

Delete Control Point—Deletes the selected controlpoint.

Reset Curve—Replaces the displayed Fit curve witha rectangle 100 units wide and centered on thepath. If Make Symmetrical is on, both Fit curvesare reset even though only one might be displayed.

Delete Curve—Deletes the displayed Fit curve.If Make Symmetrical is on, both Fit curves aredeleted even though only one might be displayed.


Get Shape—Lets you select the shape to use for Fitdeformation. Click Get Shape, and then click theshape to use in a viewport.

Generate Path—Replaces the original path with anew straight-line path.

Deformation Dialog

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformationsrollout > Scale, Twist, Teeter, Bevel, or Fit

The Deformation dialogs for Scale, Twist, Teeter,Bevel, and Fit use the same basic layout. Thebuttons in the window’s toolbar and prompt areaperform the following functions:

• Change deformation curve display.

• Edit control points.

• Navigate the Deformation dialog.

Editing Deformation Curves

A deformation curve starts as a straight line usinga constant value. To produce more elaboratecurves, you insert control points and change theirproperties.

Use the buttons in the center of the Deformationdialog toolbar to insert and change deformationcurve control points (see Interface, later in thistopic).

Control Point Types

Control points on a deformation curve canproduce curves or sharp corners, depending onthe control point type. To change a control pointtype, right-click the control point and choose oneof these from the shortcut menu:

• Corner—Non-adjustable linear control pointproducing a sharp corner.

• Bezier Corner—Adjustable Bezier control pointwith discontinuous tangent handles set to

produce a sharp corner. This type produces acurve that looks like the corner type but hascontrol handles like the Bezier Smooth type.

• Bezier Smooth—Adjustable Bezier control pointwith locked continuous tangent handles set toproduce a smooth curve.

Selecting Control Points

Use the Move Control Point and Scale ControlPoint buttons with standard selection techniquesto select control points.

Procedures

To drag Bezier tangent handles:

1. Select one or more Bezier Smooth or BezierCorner control points to display their tangenthandles.

2. Click one of the Move Control Point buttons.

3. Drag any tangent handle.

• Only the tangent handle you drag is affected.Tangent handles on other selected controlpoints do not change.

• If the tangent handle you drag is part of aBezier Smooth control point, both handlesmove to maintain the Bezier Smooth type.

• If the tangent handle you drag is part ofa Bezier Corner control point, only thathandle moves.

To move a control point using the Position andAmount fields:

1. Select a single control point.


• Move the control point horizontally byentering a value in the Position field.

• Move the control point vertically by enteringa value in the Amount field.

Deformation Dialog 329

To change the control point type:

You can change control point types at any time byright-clicking a selection of one or more controlpoints.

1. Select one or more control points.

2. Right-click any selected control point.

3. Choose a control point type from the shortcutmenu.

The following conditions apply to changingcontrol point types:

• The first and last control points must use theCorner or Bezier Corner type.

• Converting a Bezier Smooth point to aBezier Corner point unlocks the tangenthandles but does not change their position.The curve appears smooth until you dragone of the tangent handles.

• Converting a Bezier Corner point or insertedBezier point to Bezier Smooth locks thetangent handles and changes their positionand magnitude. The handles are rotated tothe average between their two angles. Thehandle magnitudes are averaged and setequal.

Interface

Toolbar

Buttons for working with a second curve aredisabled for the Twist and Bevel deformations,which use only one curve. The disabled buttons

are Make Symmetrical, Display X Axis, Display YAxis, Display XY Axes, and Swap Deform Curves.

Make Symmetrical—You can apply the samedeformation to both axes of a shape using MakeSymmetrical, which is both an action buttonand a curve editing mode. Turning on MakeSymmetrical has the following effect:

• When a single curve is displayed, it copies thedisplayed deformation curve to the curve forthe hidden axis.

• When both axes are displayed, the ApplySymmetry dialog is also displayed. Click thebutton for the curve you want to apply to bothaxes.

• Changes you make to the selected curve areduplicated on the other curve.

When Make Symmetrical is not active, curveediting is applied only to the selected curve.

Display X Axis/Y Axis/XY Axes—You can displayone or both deformation curves using the curvedisplay buttons near the upper-left corner of theDeformation dialog.

Turn on the following buttons to displaydeformation curves:

• Display X Axis—Displays only the X axisdeformation curve in red.

• Display Y Axis—Displays only the Y axisdeformation curve in green.

• Display XY Axes—Displays X axis and Y axisdeformation curves together, each using itsown color.

Swap Deform Curves—Copies curves between theX axis and Y axis. This button has no effect whenMake Symmetrical is on.

Click Swap Deform Curves to copy the X axiscurve to the Y axis, and the Y axis curve to the Xaxis. It doesn’t matter which curve is currentlydisplayed or selected.


Move Control Points—This flyout contains threebuttons for moving control points and Bezierhandles:

• Move Control Point—Changes the amountof deformation (vertical movement) andthe location of the deformation (horizontalmovement).

• Move Vertical—Changes the amount ofdeformation without changing the location.

• Move Horizontal—Changes the location of thedeformation without changing the amount.

If one control point is selected, you can move it byentering values in the control point Position andAmount fields at the bottom of the Deformationdialog.

You cannot move end points horizontally.Intermediate control points are constrainedhorizontally to stay between the points on eitherside. The amount of horizontal constraint isdetermined by the control point type.

• You can move corner control points very closetogether, until one is directly above the other.

• You can move Bezier control points no closerthan the length of their tangent handles.

Moving Bezier Tangent Handles—You can use theMove Control Point buttons to drag a tangenthandle’s angle and magnitude on Bezier Smoothand Bezier Corner vertices.

Dragging a tangent handle has the followingconstraints:

• You cannot move tangent angles beyondvertical. This prevents deformation curvesfrom doubling back on themselves.

• You cannot move tangent magnitudes beyondthe preceding or next control point on the path.

Pressing SHIFT while moving a Bezier Smoothtangent handle converts the control point to aBezier Corner type.

Scale Control Point—Scales the value of one ormore selected control points with respect to 0. Usethis function when you want to change only thedeformation amounts of selected control pointswhile maintaining their relative ratio of values.

• Drag downward to reduce values.

• Drag upward to increase values.

Insert Control Point—This flyout contains buttonsfor inserting two control point types.

Insert Corner Point—Click anywhere on adeformation curve to insert a corner control pointat that location.

Insert Bezier Point—Click anywhere on adeformation curve to insert a modified Beziercontrol point at that location. The tangent handlesof the Bezier control point are set to maintain theshape of the curve before the point was inserted.

If you are not sure which type of control pointyou need, or if you change your mind, you canconvert the point to another type by right-clickingthe point and selecting the type from the shortcutmenu.

Both Insert Control Point buttons put you ininsertion mode. Right-click or choose anotherbutton to exit the mode.

Delete Control Point—Deletes selected controlpoints. You can also delete selected points bypressing the DELETE key.

Reset Curve—Deletes all but the end control pointsand sets the curves back to their default values.

Bevel Type—This flyout, available only in the BevelDeformation dialog, lets you choose Normal,Adaptive Linear or Adaptive Cubic as the beveltype. For more information, see Deform Bevel(page 1–326).

Deformation Dialog 331

Deformation grid

The area in the Deformation dialog that displaysthe deformation curves is called the deformationgrid. This grid charts the value of the deformationalong the length of the path.

These are the main grid components:

Active area—The light-colored area of the griddefines the first and last vertex boundaries ofthe path. The ends of the deformation curve lieon each boundary and cannot be moved off theboundary.

Horizontal lines—Mark deformation values onthe vertical scale. The following table lists eachdeformation curve type and the meaning of thedeformation values.

Deformation Type Deformation Value

Scale Percentage

Twist Rotation Angle

Teeter Rotation Angle

Bevel Current Units

The thick horizontal line at 0 represents thedeformation value at the loft path.

Vertical lines—Mark levels of the path. The levelsdisplayed vary with the Adaptive Path Steps settingon the Skin Parameters rollout (page 1–317).

If Adaptive Path Steps is on, levels are displayed atall path vertices and shape locations.

If Adaptive Path Steps is off, levels are displayedonly at path vertices.

Path ruler—Measures the length of the path. Thevalues on the ruler measure percentage along thepath. You can drag the path ruler vertically in theDeformation dialog.

Deformation curves—You can see one or twocurves in the Deformation dialog, based on the

deformation type and the curve display setting.The curves are color-coded by axis.

A red curve displays deformation along the shape’slocal X axis. A green curve displays deformationalong the shape’s local Y axis.

Control Point fields—At the bottom of theDeformation dialog are two edit fields. When asingle control point is selected these fields displaythe path location and deformation amount of thecontrol point.

Control Point Position—The left field displays thelocation of the control point on the loft path as apercentage of the total path length.

Control Point Amount—The right field displays thedeformation value of the control point.

Deformation Dialog status bar

The Deformation dialogs have their own viewnavigation buttons in the lower-right corner.These give you controls for zooming and panningthe view of the deformation grid as you editthe curve values. The status bar also displaysinformation about the current tool and the selectedcontrol point.

Numeric fields—These two fields are accessible onlyif a single control point is selected. The first givesthe point’s horizontal position, and the secondgives its vertical position, or value. You can editthese fields with the keyboard.

Lock Aspect—This button is present only in theFit Deformation dialog. When active, it restrictszooming to vertical and horizontal at the sametime.

Zoom Extents—Changes the view magnification sothe entire deformation curve is visible.

Zoom Horizontal Extents—Changes the viewmagnification along the path length so the entirepath area is visible in the dialog.


Zoom Vertical Extents—Changes the viewmagnification along the deformation values so theentire deformation curve is displayed in the dialog.

Zoom Horizontally—Changes magnification alongthe path length.

• Drag to the right to increase magnification.

• Drag to the left to decrease magnification.

Zoom Vertically—Changes magnification along thedeformation value.

• Drag upward to increase magnification.

• Drag downward to decrease magnification.

Zoom—Changes magnification along both thepath length and the deformation value, preservingthe curve aspect ratio.

• Drag upward to increase magnification.

• Drag downward to decrease magnification.

Zoom Region—Drag a region on the deformationgrid. The region is then magnified to fill thedeformation dialog.

Pan—Drag in the view to move in any direction.

Scroll bars—Drag the horizontal and vertical scrollbars to pan the view in a single direction.

Path Commands

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Modifier stackdisplay > Sub-object level > Path > Path Commands

The Path Commands rollout appears only whenyou are modifying an existing loft object and haveselected Path from the Sub-Object list. The Putcommand allows you to make a copy or instanceof the loft path.

Interface

Put group

Put—Places the path into the scene as a separateobject (as a Copy or Instance).

Shape Commands

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Modifier stackdisplay > Sub-object level > Shape > Shape Commandsrollout

These controls let you align and compare shapesalong the loft path.

Interface

Path Level—Adjusts the shape’s position on thepath.

Compare—Displays the Compare dialog (page1–333) in which you can compare any number ofcross-section shapes.

Reset—Undoes rotation and scale of the shapeperformed with the Select and Rotate or Selectand Scale.

Compare Dialog 333

Delete—Deletes the shape from the loft object.

Align group

The six buttons in this group let you align theselected shape in relation to the path. Lookingdown at a shape from the viewport in which it’screated, the orientation is left to right along the Xaxis, and top to bottom along the Y axis.

You can use a combination of these buttonsfor placements such as corner alignment. Theoperations are additive. In other words, you canuse both Bottom and Left to place the shape in thelower-left quadrant.

Center—Centers the shape on the path, based onthe bounding box of the shape.

Default—Returns the shape to its position whenfirst placed on the loft path. When you use GetShape, the shape is placed so that the path goesthrough its pivot point. This is not always thesame as the center of the shape. Therefore, clickingCenter is different than clicking Default.

Left—Aligns the left edge of the shape to the path.

Right—Aligns the right edge of the shape to thepath.

Top—Aligns the top edge of the shape to the path.

Bottom—Aligns the bottom edge of the shape tothe path.

Put group

Put—Puts the shape into the scene as a separateobject.

Compare Dialog

Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Modifier stackdisplay > Sub-object level > Shape > Shape Commandsrollout > Compare button

The Compare dialog lets you compare any numberof cross-section shapes in a loft object for purposesof making sure their first vertices are properlyaligned. If shapes’ first vertices aren’t aligned,unexpected lofting results can occur.

Interface

Pick Shape—Lets you select shapes to display fromthe selected loft object. Click the Pick Shapebutton in the upper-left corner of the dialog. Then,in the viewport, select the shapes to display. Selecta shape a second time to remove it from the display.

When you position the mouse cursor over a shapein the loft object, the cursor image changes toshow whether the shape appears in the dialogwindow: a + sign appears if the shape isn’t selected(indicating that if you select the shape, it will be


added to the dialog window), and a - sign appearsif the shape is already selected.

With each shape, the Compare dialog displays thefirst vertex as a small square. For correct lofting,the first vertices of all shapes on the path need tobe in the same position.

Reset—Removes all shapes from the display.

Dialog controls

You can scroll the Compare dialog with the scrollbars at the bottom and right sides. You can also usethe buttons in the lower-right corner to performView Extents, Pan, Zoom, and Zoom Regionfunctions.

Align group

While the Compare dialog is open, you can affectthe shapes’ positions in the dialog window with theShape Commands rollout > Align group buttons.Turn off Pick Shape, select a shape in the viewport,and then click the Align group buttons. See ShapeCommands (page 1–332) for further information.

Creating Systems

Systems

Create panel > Systems

Systems help you create animations that wouldbe much more difficult or time-consuming toproduce using features independently.

• Sunlight (page 1–335) creates and animates adirectional light that follows the geographicallycorrect angle and movement of the sun over theearth at a given location.

• Daylight (page 1–335) creates an assembly witha sky and a sun. Using the Get location functionyou can create and animate a light that followsthe geographically correct angle and movementof the sun over the earth at a given location.

Systems are primarily intended for plug-in (page3–716) component software. Additional systemsmight be available if your configuration includesplug-in systems.

Procedure

To create a system:

1. On the Create panel, click Systems.

The Systems panel is displayed.

2. On the Object Type rollout, choose the Daylightsystem.

3. Drag in a viewport to create the system.

A Compass icon is created in the viewport.When you release the mouse button theDaylight icon is created. You can adjust thedirection of the compass using the NorthDirection spinner in the Site group on theControl Parameters rollout.

Sunlight and Daylight Systems 335

Bones System

Bone Tools Rollouts

Sunlight and DaylightSystems

Create panel > Systems > Sunlight button and Daylightbutton

Create menu > Lights > Daylight System and SunlightSystem

Create menu > Systems > Daylight System and SunlightSystem

The Sunlight and Daylight systems use light ina system that follows the geographically correctangle and movement of the sun over the earth ata given location. You can choose location, date,time, and compass orientation. You can alsoanimate the date and time. This system is suitablefor shadow studies of proposed and existingstructures. Latitude, Longitude, North Direction,and Orbital Scale can be animated as well.

Sunlight and Daylight have a similar user interface.The difference is that:

• Sunlight uses a directional light (page 2–933).

• Daylight combines sunlight (page 3–736) andskylight (page 3–732). The sunlight componentcan be either an IES Sun light (page 2–949),or a standard light (a target direct light (page2–931)). The sky component can be either anIES Sky light (page 2–951) or a Skylight (page2–935).

The IES Sun and IES Sky lights are photometriclights. It is appropriate to use them if you arecreating a rendering that uses radiosity (page2–1350) with exposure control (page 3–73).

The Standard light and Skylight are notphotometric. It is appropriate to use them ifyour scene uses standard lighting (Sunlightwith its Directional light works for this, too).

Large view shows compass and light in a viewport. Theresulting rendered images are seen above it.

Note: When you create a sunlight system or adaylight system that uses a target direct light forthe sun, the directional light’s hotspot is set toencompass all geometry in the scene, so thatshadows will render correctly. Specifically, thediameter of the hotspot is set to 65 per cent of thelongest diagonal length of the scene extents (page3–726).

Procedures

To create a sunlight or daylight system:

1. On the Create panel, click Systemsand then click Sunlight or Daylight.

2. Choose a viewport in which to create a compassrose (the compass direction of your "world").This should be a Top or Perspective view.


3. Drag to create the radius of a compass rose (theradius is for display purposes only), and thenclick and move to set the orbital scale of the sunlight over the compass rose. This can be anydistance you find convenient, since directionaland IES Sun lights produce parallel illuminationregardless of where their icon is located.

Upon creation you have two objects in yourscene:

• The compass rose (page 2–642), whichis a helper object that provides the worlddirection for your sun.

• The light itself, which is a child of thecompass rose, and is permanently targetedon the center of the compass rose.

If you created a Daylight system, the DaylightParameters rollout on the Modify panel letsyou choose the type of sunlight and skylight.The Sunlight drop-down list lets you choosebetween Standard (directional) or IES Sun.The Skylight drop-down list lets you choosebetween Skylight or IES Sky. Both these listsoffer you the option of choosing no sunlightor no skylight.

Controls for the geographic location and timeof day are on the Motion panel. The defaulttime is noon, and the default date and time zoneare based on your computer’s local settings.The default location is San Francisco, CA.

The directional light created by the system ismanaged by two special controllers: Solar Dateand Solar Time. After you create your system,you can access its creation parameters (timeand date, location, orbital scale, and location)in the Motion panel for the directional light.The parameters are interrelated, so you canadjust them in any order. Generally, it’s easiestto choose a location first, and then adjust thedate and time. You can access the parametersfor selected sunlight or skylight objects in theModify panel. The radius of the compass rose

is also editable from the Modify panel, afterselecting the compass rose object.

If Date/Time position is selected the Sunand Sky multipliers are automatically set andanimated according to their position. They canbe edited only by using the Manual Positionoverride.

Tip: Use Exposure Control with Daylight if yourscene rendering is too bright or too dark.

Example: To create a shadow study:

1. Create a Daylight system.

2. On the Modify panel, set the date and Location.

Note: Once the Daylight system has beencreated, you can find these controls on theMotion panel.

3. Turn on the Auto Key button.

4. In the Control Parameters Time group, adjustthe Hours spinner to a start time in earlymorning.

5. Click the Go To End button.

6. Animate the end time to late afternoon.

7. Render to an animation from a Top view, or aview above your scene to get a complete view ofyour environment and its shadows.

Interface

Daylight Parameters rollout (Daylight systemonly)

The Daylight Parameters rollout lets you definethe daylight system’s sun object. You can set thesunlight and skylight behaviors.

This rollout appears on the Modify panel when thelight component of the Daylight system is selected.

Sunlight and Daylight Systems 337

Sunlight—Select one of three options for sunlightin your scene:

• IES Sun—Uses an IES Sun object (page 2–949)to simulate the sun.

• Standard—Uses a Target Direct light (page2–931) to simulate the sun.

• No Sunlight—No sunlight is simulated.

Active—Turns sunlight on and off in the viewport.

Control Parameters rollout

This rollout appears on the Create panel, and onthe Motion panel when the light component of theDaylight or Sunlight system is selected. Manual Override (Daylight system only)—When on,

you can manually adjust the location of the sunobject in your scene, as well as the intensity valueof the sun object.

Azimuth/Altitude—Displays the azimuth andaltitude of the sun. Azimuth is the compassdirection of the sun in degrees (North=0,East=90). Altitude is the height of the sun abovethe horizon in degrees (Sunrise or Sunset=0).

Time group

Provides settings for the time, date, and time zone.

If the location you choose uses Daylight SavingsTime, turn on the Daylight Saving Time checkbox.


The Sunlight system adjusts the sun’s azimuth andaltitude accordingly during the summer months.

Hours/Mins/Secs—Specify the time of day.

Month/Day/Year—Specify the date.

Time Zone—Time zones range from –12 to 12. Ifyou’re uncertain about a time zone, you can lookthem up in Window’s Date > Time Propertiesdialog (available through My Computer > ControlPanel > Date > Time). Click the Time Zone tab,and then display the list of world locations andtheir time zones.

Daylight Savings Time—When on, calculatesdaylight savings by adjusting azimuth and altitudeduring the summer months.

Location group

Provides controls for setting the location of yourscene in the world.

Get Location—Displays the Geographic Locationdialog (page 1–338), which lets you set the latitudeand longitude values by selecting a location froma map or a list of cities.

Note: For precise locations, enter exact coordinatesusing Latitude/Longitude.

Latitude/Longitude—Specify the location based onthe latitude and longitude.

Site group

Orbital Scale—Sets the distance of the sun (thedirectional light) from the compass rose. Because adirectional light casts parallel beams, this distancehas no effect on the accuracy of the sunlight.However, the light must point toward your model(not away from it), and the light’s hotspot andfalloff do have an effect.

The best way to ensure that the light is set upcorrectly is to change one viewport to the light’sview (for example, Sun 01). Then adjust the light’slocation using Dolly (page 3–472), and set the

hotspot so it illuminates the whole model, with nofalloff.

North Direction—Sets the rotational directionof the compass rose in the scene. This is thegeographical orientation of the compass rose. Bydefault, north is 0 and points along the positive Yaxis of the ground plane. Positive X (East) is 90degrees. Adjust the North Direction to correspondto your site. Accuracy of the system depends onthis correspondence.

Geographic Location Dialog

Select Sunlight or Daylight system > Motion panel >Location group > Get Location button

The Geographic Location dialog is part of theSunlight and Daylight systems’ (page 1–335)interface. It lets you set the latitude and longitudevalues by selecting a location from a map or a listof cities. The dialog displays a list of cities at left,and a map on the right.

Procedures

To use a map:

1. In the Location group on the ControlParameters rollout, click the Get Locationbutton.

2. On the Geographic Location dialog choose amap from the Map list.

3. Click in the map to specify a location.

Autodesk VIZ displays a small cross at thelocation you picked. If Nearest Big City is on, itplaces the cross at the nearest large city on thelist, and highlights the city’s name in the list.

4. Click OK to set the Latitude and Longitude tothe location of the cross.

To choose a city by name:

1. Choose a map from the Map list.

Geographic Location Dialog 339

The City list updates to show cities in the regionof the map.

2. Choose the name of a city from the list.

3. Click OK to set the Latitude and Longitude tothe location of the city.

Interface

City—Displays a list of cities within the selectedMap region. As an alternative to selecting alocation by clicking the map, you can select a citydirectly from this list. The cross on the map movesto the location of the selected city.

Map—Lets you choose a map for a portion of theworld, or you can choose the World map, whichincludes the entire world.

Nearest Big City—When on, clicking the mapmoves the cross to the nearest listed city, whichbecomes highlighted in the list. When off, clickingthe map places the cross exactly where youclicked, and its position generates the Latitude andLongitude values for that position, regardless ofany cities that might be nearby.

City Name Text Box—Displays the name of thecity you select. If you adjust the Latitude orLongitude spinners after selecting a location, thisarea becomes blank.

Moving, Rotating, and ScalingObjects

To change an object’s position, orientation, orscale, click one of the three transform buttonson the Main toolbar or choose a transform froma shortcut menu. Apply the transform to aselected object using the mouse, the status barCoordinate Display fields, a type-in dialog, or anycombination of the above.

The column can be moved, rotated, and scaled.

These topics describe the basics of usingtransforms and animating them:

Moving and Rotating Objects (page 1–345)

Scaling Objects (page 1–346)

Using Transform Gizmos (page 1–348)

Animating Transforms (page 1–354)

Transform Managers (page 1–354)

Specifying a Reference Coordinate System (page1–356)

Choosing a Transform Center (page 1–356)

Using the Axis Constraints (page 1–358)

Transform Commands (page 1–359)

Transform Coordinates and Coordinate Center(page 1–363)

Transform Constraints (page 1–368)

Transform Tools (page 1–374)


Using SHIFT+Clone (page 2–8)

Procedures

To transform an object using the controls on thetoolbar:

1. On the toolbar, click one of thethree transform buttons: Select And Move(page 1–360), Select And Rotate (page 1–360),or Select And Scale (page 1–361). Thesebuttons are usually referred to as Move, Rotate,and Scale.

Transforms: Moving, Rotating, andScaling Objects

342 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects

2. Position the mouse over the object you wantto transform.

• If the object is already selected, the cursorchanges to indicate the transform.

• If the object is not selected, the cursorchanges to a crosshairs icon to show that theobject can be selected.

3. Drag the mouse to apply the transform.

If you drag the mouse over an unselected object,it becomes selected and is also transformed.

Tip: You can use the Transform gizmo to easilyrestrict transforms to one or two axes. SeeUsing Transform Gizmos (page 1–348).

To cancel a transform:

• Right-click while you’re dragging the mouse.

To transform a selected object from the quad menu:

1. Right-click the selected object.

The quad menu appears, showing the threetransforms on its Transform (lower-right)quadrant.

2. Choose one of the transforms.

The equivalent transform button is activatedon the toolbar.

3. Drag the object or its transform gizmo to applythe transform.

Using Transform Type-In

The Transform Type-In allows you to enter precisetransform values to apply to selected objects. Youcan access equivalent controls as the CoordinateDisplay (page 3–437) on the status bar, or you canopen a small dialog that remains on your screenwhile you work. The contents update to match thecurrently active transform and object selection.

To use transform type-in:

1. Apply a transform to a selected object.

2. Either use the Coordinate Display type-in fieldson the status bar, or choose Tools menu >Transform Type-In.

The keyboard shortcut for accessing the dialogis F12. You can also open the TransformType-In by right-clicking a transform buttonon the main toolbar.

3. You can do any of the following, switching fromone to the other as required:

• Type a value in an axis field and pressENTER to apply the transform change to theobject in the viewport.

• Drag a spinner in an axis field to update theobject in the viewport.

• Drag the object to apply the transform andread the resulting change in the dialog.

For example, if Move is active, the dialogfields read out both the absolute and offsetpositions of the selected object in worldspace. If no object is selected, the fields turngray.

Using Type-In with Sub-Object Selection

You can use the Transform Type-In with anysub-object selection or gizmo. The transformaffects the axis tripod for the selection.

Absolute and offset world coordinates are thoseof the tripod. If multiple vertices are selected,the tripod is at the center of the selection and itslocation is given in world coordinates.

Because axis tripods cannot be scaled, AbsoluteScale fields are unavailable when in sub-objectmode.

See Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects(page 1–125) for information on sub-objectselection and gizmos.

Axis Tripod and World Axis 343

Axis Tripod and World Axis

Two visual aids in Autodesk VIZ give youinformation about your current orientation in theworkspace.

Axis Tripod

If no transform tool is active, an axis tripodappears in the viewports whenever you select oneor more objects, to assist you visually in yourtransforms. When a transform tool is active, thetransform gizmo (page 1–348) appears instead,unless you’ve turned it off.

The axis tripod appears when the transform gizmo isinactive.

The axis tripod consists of three lines, labeled X, Y,and Z, and shows you three things:

• The orientation of the tripod reveals theorientation of the current reference coordinatesystem.

• The location of the junction of the three axislines shows you where your transform center is.

• The highlighted red axis lines show you the axisor axes to which the transform is constrained.For example, if only the X axis line is red, youcan move objects only along the X axis.

World Axis

In the lower-left corner of each viewport youcan find the world axis, which shows the currentorientation of the viewport with respect to worldcoordinate system. The world axis colors are redfor X, green for Y, and blue for Z. You can togglethe display of the world axis in all viewports byturning off Display World Axis, on the Viewportspanel (page 3–551) of the Preference Settingsdialog.

The world axis shows the current viewport orientation.

See also



Using Transforms

Changing a model by changing its position, rotation, orscale

A transform is an adjustment of an object’sposition, orientation, or scale, relative to the 3Dworld (or world space) in which you’re working.You can apply three types of transform to anobject:


• Position

• Rotation

• Scale

This section presents these brief topics designed tohelp you quickly start learning how to transformobjects, and how to animate your transforms:

Applying Transforms (page 1–344)

Moving and Rotating Objects (page 1–345)

Scaling Objects (page 1–346)


Animating Transforms (page 1–354)


Specifying a Reference Coordinate System (page1–356)

Choosing a Transform Center (page 1–356)


Applying Transforms

To use a transform, you click one of the threetransform buttons on the Main toolbar or choosea transform from the quad menu. You then applythe transform to a selected object using the mouse,a type-in dialog, or both.

Using the Transform Type-In

The Transform Type-In (page 1–352) is a smalldialog you can keep on your screen while youwork. Its contents update to match the currentlyactive transform and selected object.

There is also a coordinate display area on the statusbar where you can monitor and update objects’position, rotation, and scale values.

Using Type-In with Sub-Object Selection

You can use Transform Type-In with anysub-object selection or gizmo. The transformaffects the axis tripod for the selection.

Absolute and offset world coordinates are thoseof the object’s or selection’s coordinate system,whose origin is indicated by the axis tripod. Ifmultiple vertices are selected, the tripod is at thecenter of the selection and its location is given inworld coordinates.

Because axis tripods cannot be scaled, AbsoluteScale fields are unavailable when you are at asub-object level.

See Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects(page 1–125) for information on sub-objectselection and gizmos.

Procedures

To transform an object using the Main toolbar:

1. On the Main toolbar, click oneof the three transform buttons: Select AndMove (page 1–360), Select And Rotate (page1–360), or Select And Scale (page 1–361).These buttons are usually referred to as Move,Rotate, and Scale.

2. Position the mouse over the object you wantto transform.

• If the object is already selected, the cursorchanges to indicate the transform.

• If the object is not selected, the cursorchanges to a small plus sign to show that theobject can be selected.

3. Drag the mouse to apply the transform.

If you drag the mouse over an unselected object,it becomes selected and is also transformed.

You can use the Transform gizmo to easilyrestrict transforms to one or two axes. SeeUsing Transform Gizmos (page 1–348).

Moving and Rotating Objects 345

To cancel a transform:

• Right-click while you’re dragging the mouse.

To transform an object from the quad menu:

1. Right-click a selected object. The quad menu(page 3–399) lists the three transforms.

2. Choose one of the transforms. The equivalenttransform button is selected on the .

3. Drag the object to apply the transform.


1. Choose Tools menu > Transform Type-In todisplay the dialog.

2. Apply a transform to a selected object.

3. You can do any of the following, switching fromone to the other as required.

• Type a value in an axis field and pressENTER to apply the transform change tothe selection.

• Drag a spinner in an axis field to update theselection.

• Drag the object to apply the transform andread the resulting change in the dialog.

For example, if Move is active, the dialog fieldsread out both the absolute and offset positions ofthe selected object in world space. If no object isselected, the fields turn gray.

To use transform type-in on the status bar:

1. Select an object or a group of objects.

2. On the Main toolbar, choose a transform(Move, Rotate, or Scale) to perform on theobjects.

3. On the status bar, you can do any of thefollowing, switching from one to another asrequired:

• Type a value in an axis field and pressENTER to apply the transform change to the

selection. The Absolute/Offset toggle, to theright of the X, Y, and Z fields, lets you switchbetween entering values that are absolute(in world space) or offset (relative to theselection’s present position, orientation, anddimensions).

• Drag a spinner in an axis field to update theselection.

• Drag the object to apply the transform andread the resulting change in the X, Y, and Zfields.

Tip: To see the Z field, drag the transformtype-in portion of the toolbar while a panhand is visible.

Moving and Rotating Objects

Moving translates, or repositions, an object in the3D world. Rotation changes the orientation of anobject.


To move an object:

• Click Select And Move (page 1–360) onthe toolbar. The button highlights. You cannow select objects, move previously selectedobjects, or both select and move objects in asingle mouse action.

The direction of the movement is determinedboth by your mouse and by the current referencecoordinate system. In addition, the AxisConstraint setting or usage of the transform gizmolimits movement along one or two axes. See latertopics in this section for details.

To rotate an object:

• Click Select And Rotate (page 1–360) onthe toolbar. The button highlights. You cannow select objects, rotate previously selectedobjects, or both select and rotate objects in asingle mouse action.

The axis about which the rotation takes place isdetermined by the Axis Constraint setting. Thecenter of rotation is determined by the TransformCenter setting. See later topics in this section fordetails.

Move Gizmo (page 1–349)

Rotate Gizmo (page 1–349)

Scale Gizmo (page 1–350)

Failure to Move or Rotate

In some cases, an object might fail to move orrotate, even when the proper button is on and theobject is selected. This could be due to one of thefollowing reasons:

• The object is frozen. See Selecting Objects(page 1–57).

• A transform controller has been assigned tothe object. See Animation Controllers (page2–697).

• Inverse Kinematics mode is on and thepreference called Always Transform Childrenof the World is off. See Introduction to InverseKinematics (IK) (page 2–781).

Scaling Objects

Scaling changes the size of an object.

The Scale transform button is a flyout that providesthree types of scale. The type of scale visible on thetoolbar is the type that appears in the quad menu,accessed by right-clicking a selected object.

With the transform gizmo, you don’t need to selecta scale type for Uniform or Non-Uniform scaling.

Scaling Objects 347

You can perform both types by selecting differentaxes on the transform. For more information, seeUsing Transform Gizmos (page 1–348).

To scale an object:

• Set the Select And Scale flyout to the scaletype you want to use, then click it. The buttonhighlights.

You can now select objects, scale previouslyselected objects, or both select and scale objectsin a single mouse action.


Uniform Scale

Uniform scale maintains an object’s proportions.

Use Uniform Scale (page 1–361) to scale theselection equally on all three axes.

The center of the scale is determined by theTransform Center setting. The axis constraintsetting and the Coordinate system have no effecton uniform scaling. See topics later in this section.

Non-Uniform Scale

Non-uniform scale can change proportions by settingdifferent values for different axes.

Use Non-Uniform Scale (page 1–362) to scale theselection differently along the three axes.

The Axis Constraint (page 3–396) settingdetermines the axis or axes along which thescaling occurs. The Reference Coordinate systemdetermines the direction of the scaling, and theTransform Center button determines the centerabout which the scaling takes place.

Squash

Squash scales two axes in opposite directions, maintainingthe object’s original volume.

Use Squash (page 1–363) to scale the selection inone direction along one axis and in the opposite


direction along the other axes. Squash gives theappearance of maintaining the volume of theselection.

The Axis Constraint setting specifies the axisof scale, while the remaining axes scale in theopposite direction. If you use a double-axisconstraint, the single remaining axis scales in theopposite direction.

Notes on Scaling

If you scale an object and later check its baseparameters in the Modify panel, you see thedimensions of the object before it was scaled. Thebase object exists independently of the scaledobject that is visible in your scene.

You can use the Measure utility (page 2–665) tomeasure the current dimensions of an object thathas been scaled or changed by a modifier.

Using Transform Gizmos

Select an object. > main toolbar > Click any transformbutton to display the object’s Transform Gizmo icon.

Move gizmo

Rotate gizmo

Scale gizmo

The Transform gizmos are viewport icons thatlet you quickly choose one or two axes whentransforming a selection with the mouse. Youchoose an axis by placing the mouse over any axisof the icon, and then drag the mouse to transformthe selection along that axis. In addition, whenmoving or scaling an object, you can use otherareas of the gizmo to perform transforms alongany two axes simultaneously. Using a gizmo avoidsthe need to first specify a transform axis or axes

Using Transform Gizmos 349

on the Axis Constraints toolbar (page 3–396), andalso lets you switch quickly and easily betweendifferent transform axes and planes.

A Transform gizmo appears when one or moreobjects are selected and one of the transformbuttons (Select And Move (page 1–360), SelectAnd Rotate (page 1–360), or Select And Scale(page 1–361)) is active on the toolbar. Eachtransform type uses a different gizmo. By default,each axis is assigned one of three colors: X is red,Y is green, and Z is blue. The corners of the Movegizmo are assigned the two colors of the relatedaxes; for example, the corner for the XZ plane isred and blue.

When you position the mouse over any axis, itturns yellow to indicate that it’s active. Similarly,position the mouse over one of the plane handles,and both associated axes turn yellow. You can nowdrag the selection along the indicated axis or axes.Doing so changes the Axis Constraints toolbar"Restrict to ..." setting (page 1–358).

Move Gizmo

The Move gizmo includes plane handles, and theoption to use a center box handle.

You can select any of the axis handles to constrainmovement to that axis. In addition, the planehandles allow you to constrain movement to theXY, YZ, or XZ planes. The selection hotspot iswithin the square formed by the plane handles.You can change the size and offset of the handlesand other settings on the Gizmos panel (page3–554) of the Preferences dialog (page 3–536).

The Move gizmo with the YZ axes selected.

You can constrain translation to the viewportplane by dragging the center box. To use thisoptional control, turn on Move In Screen Space.

Rotate Gizmo

The Rotate gizmo is built around the conceptof a virtual trackball. You can rotate an objectfreely, about the X, Y, or Z axis, or about an axisperpendicular to the viewport.


The axis handles are circles around the trackball.Drag anywhere on one of them to rotate theobject about that axis. As you rotate about the X,Y, or Z axis a transparent slice provides a visualrepresentation of the direction and amount ofrotation. If you rotate more than 360°, the sliceoverlaps and the shading becomes increasinglyopaque. The software also displays numerical datato indicate a precise rotational measurement.

In addition to XYZ rotation, you can also use freerotation or the viewport handle to rotate objects.

Drag inside the Rotate gizmo (or the outer edgeof the gizmo) to perform free rotation. Rotation

should behave as if you were actually spinning thetrackball.

The outermost circle around the Rotate gizmo isthe Screen handle, which lets you rotate the objecton a plane parallel to the viewport.

You can adjust settings for the Rotate gizmo onthe Gizmos panel (page 3–554) of the Preferencesdialog (page 3–536)

Scale Gizmo

The Scale gizmo includes plane handles andscaling feedback through the stretching of thegizmo itself.

The plane handles let you perform uniform andnon-uniform scaling without changing yourselection on the toolbar:

• To perform Uniform scaling, drag in the centerof the gizmo.

The Transform gizmo with Uniform scaling selected.

• To perform non-uniform scaling, drag on asingle axis or a plane handle.

Using Transform Gizmos 351

Top: The Scale gizmo with the YZ plane handle selected

Bottom: Non-uniform scaling on the YZ plane

Note: To perform a Squash operation, you mustchoose Select and Squash (page 1–363) on themain toolbar.

The Scale gizmo provides feedback by changingits size and shape; in the case of a uniform scaleoperation, it will grow or shrink as the mousemoves, and during non-uniform scaling, thegizmo will stretch and deform while dragging.However, once the mouse button is released, thegizmo returns to its original size and shape.

You can adjust settings for the Scale gizmo on theGizmos panel (page 3–554) of the Preferencesdialog (page 3–536)

Notes

Using a Transform gizmo sets the default axisconstraint to the last axis or plane you used.

Dragging a Transform gizmo temporarily disablessnaps. To retain snapping capabilities with theTransform gizmo enabled, set the constraints, andthen transform the selection without dragging onany gizmo handles.

If Lock Selection Set is on, you can drag anywherein the viewport to transform the object. Draggingan axis, however, still applies the constraint alongthat axis.

Procedure

Example: To explore use of the transform gizmo:

1. Reset the program, then create a sphere,and then click the Select and Move button.

The Transform gizmo appears at the center ofthe sphere. Because the default axis constrainton the Axis Constraints toolbar is XY Plane,the X and Y shafts of the Transform gizmo areyellow (active), while the Z shaft is blue.

2. Point to any part of the sphere away from theTransform gizmo, and drag to confirm that thesphere is locked to the XY plane.

3. Point to the Z-axis shaft, and drag.

The Z shaft turns yellow, the X and Y shaftsturn red and green, respectively, and the spheremoves along the Z axis.

4. Point to the Y shaft, and drag.

The Y shaft turns yellow, and the sphere movesalong only the Y axis.

5. Point to the red-and-green corner markopposite the ends of the X and Y axes, and drag.


The sphere moves along the XY plane.

6. Press the SPACEBAR to turn on Selection Lock(page 3–436).

7. Drag the mouse anywhere in a viewport awayfrom the selection.

The sphere moves along the XY plane.

8. Point to the X shaft, and drag.

The sphere moves along only the X axis.

Experiment with other transformations, suchas rotation and scale. Try different referencecoordinate systems. Experiment with sub-objecttransformations.

Interface

Change default colors—Customize menu >Customize User Interface dialog > Colors panel(page 3–519) > Gizmos Element > ActiveTransform Gizmo and Transform Gizmo X/Y/Z.

Enable/disable Transform Gizmo—Customize menu> Preferences > > Transform Gizmo group Gizmospanel (page 3–554) > On check box.

Note: When you turn off the Transform gizmoin Preferences, the standard axis tripod appearsinstead. To toggle display of either the gizmo orthe tripod, press the X key or use Views menu >Show Transform Gizmo.

There are additional controls for each Gizmo inthe Gizmos panel (page 3–554) of the Preferencesdialog.

Gizmos Preferences (page 3–554)

Transform Type-In

Status bar > Transform Type-In

Tools menu > Transform Type-In

Main toolbar > Right-click Select And Move, Select AndRotate, or one of the Select And Scale buttons.

Transform Type-In allows you to enter precisevalues for move, rotate, and scale transforms(page 3–742). You can use Transform Type-Inwith anything that can display an axis tripod orTransform gizmo.

You can also use the Transform Type-In boxes onthe status bar (page 3–427). To use the TransformType-In boxes on the status bar, simply enter theappropriate values in the boxes and press ENTERto apply the transformation. You can alternatebetween entering absolute transform values oroffset values by clicking the Relative/AbsoluteTransform Type-In button to the left of thetransform boxes.

If you choose Transform Type-In from the Toolsmenu or right-click one of the toolbar buttons, theTransform Type-In pops up as a dialog. The titleof the dialog reflects the active transform. If Rotateis active, the dialog’s title is Rotate and its controlsaffect rotation. If Scale is active, its title is Scale,and so on. You can enter either absolute transformvalues or offset values with the Transform Type-Indialog.

In most cases, both Absolute and Offset transformsuse the currently chosen reference coordinatesystem (page 1–364). The exceptions are View,which uses the World coordinate system, andScreen, which uses World for Absolute movesand rotations. Also, scaling always uses the Localcoordinate system for Absolute. In the dialog,labels change to show the reference coordinatesystem being used.

Transform Type-In 353

When you use the Transform Type-In at asub-object level, you transform the transformgizmo of the sub-object selection. So, for example,the absolute position values represent the absoluteworld position of the transform gizmo. If you’veselected a single vertex, it’s the absolute worldposition of the vertex.

If multiple vertices are selected, the Transformgizmo is placed at the center of the selection, so theposition you specify in the Transform Type-In setsthe absolute position of the center of the selectedvertices.

When multiple vertices are selected in Localtransform mode, you end up with multipletransform gizmos. In this case, only the Offsetcontrol is available.

Because the axis tripods are not scaled, theAbsolute Scale control is not available at thesub-object level. Only Offset is available.

When you use the Transform Type-In for Absoluterotation, the state of the Center flyout is respected.You can perform absolute rotations about thepivot point of the object, the selection center,or transform coordinate center. See Choosing aTransform Center (page 1–356).

Procedure


1. Select an object or a group of objects.

2. Choose a transform to perform on the objects(Move, Rotate, or Scale).

3. You can do any of the following, switching fromone to another as required:

• Type a value in an axis field and pressENTER to apply the transform change to theobject in the viewport.

• Drag a spinner in an axis field to update theobject in the viewport.

• Drag the object to apply the transform andread the resulting change in the axis fields.

For example, if Move is active, the fieldsread out both the absolute positions of theselected object in world space. If no object isselected, the fields turn gray.

Interface

Status bar

Absolute/Offset Mode Transform

Type-In—When this is off, the software treatsvalues you enter into the X, Y, and Z fields asabsolutes. When this is on, the software appliestransform values you enter as relative to currentvalues; that is, as an offset. Default=off.

X, Y, and Z—Display and accept entry for values ofposition, rotation, and scale along each axis.

Absolute group (Dialog)

X, Y, and Z—Display and accept entry for absolutevalues of position, rotation, and scale along eachaxis. Position and rotation are always displayed, asworld scale is always local.

Offset group (Dialog)

X, Y, and Z—Display and accept entry for offsetsof the position, rotation, and scale values alongeach axis.

Displayed offset values revert to 0.0 after eachoperation. For example, if you enter 45 degreesin a Rotate Offset field, when you press ENTER,


the software rotates the object 45 degrees fromits previous position, increases the Absolute fieldvalue by 45 degrees, and resets the Offset field to0.0.

Offset labels reflect the active reference coordinatesystem. The Offset can be Offset: Local, Offset:Parent, and so on. If you use Pick to select thereference coordinate system of a particular object,the Offset will be named with that object.

Animating Transforms

You can animate changes in position, rotation, andscale (transforms) by turning on the Auto Keybutton and then performing the transform at anyframe other than frame 0. This creates a key forthat transform at the current frame.

Example: To animate an object moving among threepoints:

1. Turn on the Auto Key button (page2–672).

The Auto Key button and the highlight borderaround the active viewport both turn red.

2. Drag the time slider to frame 25.

3. Move the object from its current position (pointA) to another location (point B).

The software creates Move keys at frames 0 and25. These appear on the track bar (page 3–432).The establishing key at frame 0 describes theobject’s original position, at point A. The keyat frame 25 describes the object’s position atpoint B.

4. Drag the time slider to frame 50.

5. Move the object from point B to a third location(point C).

The software creates a Move key at frame 50that describes the object’s position at point C.

6. Click the Auto Key button to stop recording.

7. Click the Play button (page 3–445).

The object moves from point A to point B overframes 0 to 25, and then proceeds to point Cover frames 26 to 50.

8. The Play button has turned into a Stopbutton; click Stop to stop playback.

You can combine different transforms in a singleanimation sequence, so that an object appears tomove as it rotates and changes in size.

See Animation Concepts and Methods (page2–669) for more information on animationtechniques.

An object animated among three points

Transform Managers

Autodesk VIZ provides three controls, collectivelyreferred to as the transform managers. Thesecontrols modify the action of the transform tools.

The transform manager controls are as follows:

• The Reference Coordinate System drop-downlist (page 1–356), which controls the orientationof the transform axes, is found to the right ofthe Move, Rotate, and Scale transform buttonson the main toolbar.

Transform Managers 355

• The Transform Center flyout (page 1–356),which controls the center about which thesoftware applies the transform, is found tothe right of the Reference Coordinate Systemdrop-down list.

• The axis constraint (page 1–358) restricts thetransform along one or two axes. The axisconstraint tools appear on the Axis Constraintstoolbar, which is off by default. You can turn iton by right-clicking an empty spot on the Maintoolbar and choosing Axis Constraints fromthe menu.

Definitions

Certain terms are used in the description oftransforms and the transform managers.

• An axis is a straight line along which an objectis moved or scaled, or about which an object isrotated. When you work in 3D, you use threeaxes, labeled X, Y, and Z, which are oriented 90degrees from each other.

• A coordinate system specifies the orientation ofthe X, Y, and Z axes used by a transform.

For example, in the World coordinate system,as seen from the Front view, the X axis runshorizontally from left to right, the Y axisruns from back to front, and the Z axis runsvertically, from bottom to top.

On the other hand, each object carries its ownLocal coordinate system. If the object has beenrotated, its Local coordinate system might bedifferent from the world coordinate system.

• The transform center, or pivot point, is the spotabout which a rotation takes place, or to andfrom which scaling occurs.

Using the transform managers, you can specifyany combination of axes, transform coordinatesystems, and transform centers.

Axis Tripod Icon

• An axis tripod appears in the viewports whenyou select one or more objects, to assist youvisually in your transforms. This tripodconsists of three lines, labeled X, Y, and Z, andshows you three things:

• The orientation of the tripod reveals theorientation of your coordinate system.

• The location of the junction of the three axislines shows you where your transform center is.

• The highlighted red axis lines show you the axisor axes to which the transform is constrained.For example, if only the X axis line is red, youcan move objects only along the X axis.

Note: The Transform gizmo supplants the axistripod for selections when a transform modeis active. Besides providing all of the abovefunctions, it lets you specify the transform axisor axes without explicitly setting constraints;see Using the Axis Constraints (page 1–358).For more on the Transform gizmo, see UsingTransform Gizmos (page 1–348).

You can toggle the display of the axis tripod inall viewports by choosing Views menu > ShowTransform Gizmo, or by pressing the X key.

Transform Manager Settings

The state of the three transform managers(coordinate system, center, and axis constraints)is stored with each type of transform. When youswitch from Move to Rotate to Scale, the transformmanagers change to whatever combination theywere in when you last used that transform.

For example, if you click Rotate and set thetransform managers to Local, Selection Center,and Y constraint, when you click Move, thecontrols might shift to View, Pivot Point, and XYconstraint (whichever combination was set thelast time you used Move). When you go back


to Rotate, the controls revert to Local, SelectionCenter, and Y constraint.

Tip: To avoid surprises, always click the transformbutton first, and then set the transform managers.If, instead, you first set the transform managers,their settings are likely to change as soon as youchoose a new transform button. One way toremember this is always to set the transform andmanagers by working from left to right on thetoolbar. Alternatively, you can turn on Customizemenu > Preferences > General tab > ReferenceCoordinate System group > Constant, which keepsthe transform manager settings the same for alltransforms.

Specifying a Reference CoordinateSystem

The reference coordinate system determines theorientation of the X, Y, and Z axes used by thetransform. The type of transform system you useaffects all transform operations.

You specify the transform coordinate system usingthe Reference Coordinate System list (page 1–364).

Creating a Local Axis

While modeling, it’s often helpful to have atemporary, movable local axis so you can rotate orscale about an arbitrary center.

Note: This technique does not work for animation.See Choosing a Transform Center (page 1–356)for animation tips.

To create an adjustable local axis:

1. Create a Point helper object.

You can use the Create panel or the Createmenu. On the Create panel, click the Helpersbutton, click Point, and then click in a viewport.Or, choose Create menu > Helpers > Point, andthen click in a viewport.

2. From the Transform Coordinate System list,choose Pick, and then click the point object.

The name of the point object appears in the listas the active coordinate system.

Now you can use the point object’s coordinatesystem as an adjustable axis.

To use the adjustable axis:

1. Place the point object where you want the rotateor scale transform to be centered.

2. Select the object you want to transform.

3. Choose the point object’s name in theTransform Coordinate System drop-down list.

4. From the Use Center flyout (page 1–366)choose Use Transform Coordinate Center. Formore information, see Choosing a TransformCenter (page 1–356).

5. Proceed with the transform.

Choosing a Transform Center

The transform center affects scale and rotationtransforms, but has no effect on positiontransforms.

The software lets you choose from three types oftransform center using the Use Center flyout (page1–366) on the main toolbar. When you change thetransform center, the junction of the axis tripodicon moves to the location you specify.

By default, Autodesk VIZ sets the transformcenter to Use Pivot Point center for single objects.When you select multiple objects, the defaulttransform center changes to Use Selection Center,because selection sets have no pivot point. You canchange the transform center in either case, and theprogram remembers and restores the transformcenter setting separately for selections of singleand multiple objects (during the current session).

Choosing a Transform Center 357

For example, you might select a single object andchoose Use Transform Coordinate Center, andthen select multiple objects and choose Use PivotPoint Center. When you next select a single object,the program switches back to Use TransformCoordinate Center. Then, when you select multipleobjects, the center switches back to Pivot Point.

1. User selects single object.

2. User clicks Use Transform Coordinate Center from UseCenter flyout on Main toolbar.

3. User adds second object to selection.

4. Transform center changes to Use Selection Center whenselection set contains more than one object.

5. User clicks Use Pivot Point Center while multiple objectsstill selected.

6. User selects single object.

7. Transform center returns to Use Transform CoordinateCenter (see step 2).

8. User selects multiple objects.

9. Transform center returns to Use Pivot Point Center (seestep 5).

Transforming About Snapped Points

While the transform center choices are often usefulat the object level, they are not usually convenient


when transforming sub-object selections. You canoverride the active transform center and performthe current transform about a temporary pointby using snaps. When Snaps is active, and yourselection is locked, the point you snap to will setthe point about which the transform is performed.Using this technique, you can:

• Move relative to two snap points.

• Rotate about a snapped point.

• Scale about a snapped point.

For more details, see Snap Settings (page 2–654).

Animation and the Transform Center

Because of the nature of keyframing, you cananimate rotation and scale transforms properlyonly by using an object’s local pivot point. Forexample, while modeling, you can rotate an objectthat’s offset from the world origin around theworld center coordinate system. The object sweepsaround the origin in a large arc. However, if youattempt to animate this, the object rotates about itslocal axis and moves in a straight line from oneend of the arc to the other.

To avoid this discrepancy, if the Auto Key button ison and either the Rotate or Scale button is active,the Use Center flyout is unavailable and set to UsePivot Point. When the Auto Key button is off,all transforms use the center settings previouslydescribed.

You can override this behavior by turning offLocal Center During Animate (page 3–548) in theAnimation Preferences settings.

Keep in mind that this affects only the center ofthe transform. The orientation of the selectedtransform coordinate system is still in effect.

Animating "Off-Center"

You can animate a rotation or scale about anoff-center point by linking your object as the child

of a dummy helper object, and then rotating orscaling the dummy.

Another technique is to offset the pivot point ofyour object using the Hierarchy panel.

For information about linking, dummy objects,and the Hierarchy panel, see Hierarchies (page2–763).

Using the Axis Constraints

The Restrict to ... buttons, also called the AxisConstraint buttons, are located on the AxisConstraints toolbar (page 3–396), which is off bydefault. You can turn it on by right-clicking anempty spot on toolbar and choosing Constraintsfrom the pop-up menu. These buttons let youspecify one or two axes about or along which thetransform takes place.

Note: It’s generally easier to use the Transformgizmos than these buttons; see Using TransformGizmos (page 1–348). However, it is helpful tounderstand the concepts explained below.

Axis Constraint buttons

Only one of the four Axis Constraint is active at atime. When a button is turned on, transforms areconstrained to the axis it specifies. For example,if you turn on the Restrict To X button, you canrotate an object only about the X axis of the currenttransform coordinate system.

The axis or axes to which you’re constrainedare highlighted in red on the axis tripod icon inviewports, or in yellow on the Transform gizmo.

Reset XForm Utility 359

The first three buttons constrain the transformto a single axis. The fourth button is a flyout, theRestrict To Plane flyout (page 1–370), that specifiesdouble-axis combinations.

For example, if Restrict To YZ Plane is active,you can move an object only along the YZ plane,you can scale it only along the Y and Z axes, andyou can rotate it about the Y and Z axes (or acombination of the two) but not about the X axis.

Note: Normally, axis constraints apply when usingSnap. You can override this by turning off Use AxisConstraints in Snap Options (page 2–660).

Keyboard Shortcuts for Axis Constraints

As an alternative to using the buttons on the AxisConstraints toolbar, you can use the function keysF5 through F8 to select the four axis constraintbuttons. F5 activates the X button, F6 the Y, F7 theZ, and F8 activates the double-axis flyout. Press F8repeatedly to cycle through the three double-axisoptions.

Reset XForm Utility

Utilities panel > Utilities rollout > More button > Utilitiesdialog > Reset XForm

Use the Reset Transform utility to push objectrotation and scaling values onto the modifierstack and align object pivot points and boundingboxes with the World coordinate system. ResetTransform removes all Rotation and Scale valuesfrom selected objects and places those transformsin an XForm modifier.

To reset the transform of a group, use theTransform button in the Reset group box of theHierarchy > Pivot command panel.

Procedure

To reset an object’s transform:

1. Select an object.

2. On the Utilities panel > Utilities rollout, clickthe More button and choose Reset XForm.

3. On the Reset Transform rollout, click ResetSelected.

Object rotation and scaling are now carriedby an XForm modifier placed at the top of themodifier stack.

When you apply the Reset Transform utility,an XForm modifier (page 2–309) that carriesthe rotation and scale values is placed at thetop of the Modifier Stack display. You canapply other modifiers above and below theXForm modifier. You can select the XFormmodifier and add other Move, Rotate, and Scaletransforms. You can delete the XForm modifierto completely remove the transforms from theobject. You can collapse the object to absorb therotation and scale values into the object mesh.

Interface

Reset selected—Removes all Rotation and Scalevalues from selected objects and places thosetransforms in an XForm modifier.

Transform CommandsThe basic transform commands are the moststraightforward way to change an object’s position,rotation, or scale. These commands appear onthe default main toolbar (page 3–395). They are


also available from the default quad menu (page3–399).

Select and Move (page 1–360)

Select and Rotate (page 1–360)

Select and Uniform Scale (page 1–361)

Select and Non-Uniform Scale (page 1–362)

Select and Squash (page 1–363)



Transform Type-In (page 1–352)

Select and Move

Main toolbar > Select and Move

Right-click an object. > Move

Use the Select And Move button to select andmove objects.

To move a single object, you do not need to select itfirst. When this button is active, clicking an objectselects it and dragging the mouse moves it.

To restrict object movement to the X, Y, or Z axis,or to any two axes, click the appropriate buttonon the Axis Constraints toolbar (page 3–396), usethe Transform gizmo (page 1–348), or right-clickthe object, and select the constraint from theTransform submenu.

Moving an object

Move Gizmo (page 1–349)

Select and Rotate

Main toolbar > Select and Rotate

Right-click an object. > Rotate

Use the button to select and rotate objects.

To rotate a single object, you don’t need to select itfirst. When this button is active, clicking an objectselects it and dragging the mouse rotates it.

When you are rotating an object about a singleaxis (as is usually the case), don’t rotate themouse, expecting the object to follow the mousemovement. Just move the mouse straight up andstraight down. Up rotates the object one way,down rotates it the opposite way.

To restrict rotation about the X, Y, or Z axis, or toany two axes, click the appropriate button on theAxis Constraints toolbar (page 3–396), right-clickthe object, and select the constraint from theTransform submenu.

Select and Scale Flyout 361

Rotating an object

Rotate Gizmo (page 1–349)

Procedure

This procedure illustrates the intuitive usage ofthe default Euler XYZ rotation controller (page2–707).

To animate object rotation interactively:

1. Add an object.

2. Move the timeslider (page 3–430) to a frame other than 0 andturn on Auto Key (page 3–441).

3. Choose Select And Rotate.

4. Rotate the object on any axis by any amount.

5. Move the time slider to a later frame.

6. Rotate the object on the same axis by an amountgreater than 180 degrees.

7. Play back the animation.

The rotation plays back exactly as you recordedit.

Select and Scale Flyout

Main toolbar > Select and Scale flyout

The Select and Scale flyout provides access to threetools you can use to change object size. These are,from top to bottom:

Select and Uniform Scale (page 1–361)

Select and Non-Uniform Scale (page 1–362)

Select and Squash (page 1–363)

Note: The Smart Scale command activates theSelect And Scale function and, with repeatedinvocations, cycles through the available scalingmethods. By default, Smart Scale is assigned tothe R key; you can use Customize User Interface(page 3–511) to assign it to a different keyboardshortcut, a menu, etc.

Select and Uniform Scale

Main toolbar > Select and Uniform Scale (on Select AndScale flyout)

Right-click an object. > Scale (selects current toolbarScale mode)

The Select And Uniform Scale button, availablefrom the Select And Scale flyout (page 1–361),lets you scale objects by the same amount alongall three axes, maintaining the object’s originalproportions.


Uniform scale does not change an object’s proportions.

To scale a single object, you don’t need to select itfirst. When this tool is active, clicking an objectselects it and dragging the mouse scales it.


Select and Non-Uniform Scale

Main toolbar > Select and Non-Uniform Scale (on SelectAnd Scale flyout)


The Select And Non-Uniform Scale button,available from the Select And Scale flyout (page1–361), lets you scale objects in a non-uniformmanner according to the active axis constraint.

Non-uniform scale can change proportions with differentvalues for different axes.

You can restrict the objects’ scaling about the X, Y,or Z axis, or to any two axes, by first clicking theappropriate button on the Axis Constraints toolbar(page 3–396), or with the Transform gizmo (page1–348).

To scale a single object, you don’t need to select itfirst. When this tool is active, clicking an objectselects it and dragging the mouse scales it.

Important: Avoid applying non-uniform scale at

the object level. Non-uniform scaling is applied as

a transform and changes the axes of the object, so

it affects other object properties. It also alters the

properties passed hierarchically from parent to child.

When you perform other operations on the object, such

as rotation, inverse kinematic calculations, and other

positioning operations, you might not get the results

you expect. To recover from these problems, use the

Hierarchy panel’s Reset Scale button or the Utilities

panel’s Reset XForm utility. Either of these options

will reset the axes to use the non-uniform scale as the

fundamental scale for the object.

As an alternative to non-uniform scaling, consider using

the XForm modifier (page 2–309).


Select and Squash 363

Select and Squash

Main toolbar > Select And Squash (on Select And Scaleflyout)


The Select And Squash tool, available from theSelect And Scale flyout (page 1–361), lets you scaleobjects according to the active axis constraint.Squashing an object always involves scaling downon one axis while simultaneously scaling upuniformly on the other two (or vice-versa).

Squash scales two axes in opposite directions, maintainingthe object’s original volume.

You can restrict object scaling to the X, Y, or Z axis,or to any two axes, by first clicking the appropriatebutton on the Axis Constraints toolbar (page3–396).

When the Select And Squash tool is active, clickingan object selects it and dragging the mouse scalesit.

Important: Avoid using Select And Squash at the object

level. The non-uniform scaling that it effects is applied

as a transform and changes the axes of the object,

so it affects other object properties. It also alters the

properties passed hierarchically from parent to child.

When you perform other operations on the object, such

as rotation, inverse kinematics calculations, and other

positioning operations, you may not get the results

you expect. To recover from these problems, use the

Hierarchy panel’s Reset Scale button or the Utilities

panel’s Reset XForm utility. Either of these options

will reset the axes to use the non-uniform scale as the

fundamental scale for the object.

As an alternative to non-uniform scaling with Select

And Squash, consider using the XForm modifier (page

2–309).

See also


Transform Coordinates andCoordinate CenterControls for setting the coordinate system andthe active center for transforms to use are on thedefault main toolbar (page 3–395).

Reference Coordinate System (page 1–364)

Use Pivot Point Center (page 1–367)

Use Selection Center (page 1–367)

Use Transform Coordinate Center (page1–367)



Reference Coordinate System

Main toolbar > Reference Coordinate System list

The Reference Coordinate System list letsyou specify the coordinate system used for atransformation (Move, Rotate, and Scale). Optionsinclude View, Screen, World (page 3–748), Parent,Local (page 3–692), Gimbal, Grid, and Pick.

In the Screen coordinate system, all views(including perspective views) use the viewportscreen coordinates.

View is a hybrid of World and Screen coordinatesystems. Using View, all orthographic views usethe Screen coordinate system, while perspectiveviews use the World coordinate system.

Note: The coordinate system is set on atransform-by-transform basis, so choose thetransform before you specify the coordinatesystem. If you do not want the coordinate systemto change, turn on Customize menu > Preferences> General tab > Ref. Coord. System group >Constant.

Interface

View—In the default View coordinate system,X, Y, and Z axes are the same in all orthogonalviewports. When you move an object using thiscoordinate system, you are moving it relative tothe space of the viewport.

• X always points right.

• Y always points up.

• Z always points straight out of the screentoward you.

Different orientations of the View coordinate system:

1. Top viewport.

2. Front viewport.

3. Left viewport.

4. Perspective viewport.

Screen—Uses the active viewport screen as thecoordinate system.

• X is horizontal, running in a positive directiontoward the right.

• Y is vertical, running in a positive directionupward.

• Z is depth, running in a positive directiontoward you.

Since the Screen mode depends on the activeviewport for its orientation, the X, Y, and Zlabels on an axis tripod (page 1–343) in aninactive viewport show the orientation ofthe currently active viewport. The labels onthat tripod will change when you activate theviewport it is in.

Reference Coordinate System 365

The coordinate system in Screen mode is always relative tothe point of view.

World—Uses the world coordinate system. Seenfrom the front:

• X runs in a positive direction to the right.

• Z runs in a positive direction upward.

• Y runs in a positive direction away from you.

The World coordinate system is always fixed.

Parent—Uses the coordinate system of the parentof the selected object. If the object is not linked toa specific object, it’s a child of the world, and theparent coordinate system is the same as the worldcoordinate system.

Example of a Parent object coordinate system

Local—Uses the coordinate system of the selectedobject. An object’s local coordinate system iscarried by its pivot point (page 3–715). You canadjust the position and orientation of the localcoordinate system, relative to its object, using theoptions on the Hierarchy command panel.

When Local is active, the Use Transform Centerbutton is inactive and all transforms use the localaxis as the center of transformation. In a selectionset of several objects, each uses its own center forthe transform.

Local uses an individual coordinate system for each object.

Gimbal—The Gimbal coordinate system is similarto Local, but its three rotation axes are notnecessarily orthogonal to each other.


When you rotate about a single axis with the Localand Parent coordinate systems, this can changetwo or three of the Euler XYZ tracks. The Gimbalcoordinate system avoids this problem: Euler XYZrotation about one axis changes only that axis’strack. This makes function curve editing easier.Also, absolute transform type-in with Gimbalcoordinates uses the same Euler angle values asthe animation tracks (as opposed to Euler anglesrelative to the World or Parent coordinate system,as those coordinate systems require).

For move and scale transforms, Gimbalcoordinates are the same as Parent coordinates.When the object does not have an Euler XYZRotation controller assigned, Gimbal rotation isthe same as Parent rotation.

The Euler XYZ controller can be the activecontroller in a List controller, too.

Grid—Uses the coordinate system of the activegrid.

Using an active grid coordinate system.

Pick—Uses the coordinate system of another objectin the scene.

After you choose Pick, click to select the singleobject whose coordinate system the transformswill use. The object’s name appears in theTransform Coordinate System list.

Because the software saves an object’s name in thelist, you can pick an object’s coordinate system,change the active coordinate system, and thenuse the object’s coordinate system again at a latertime. The list saves the four most recently pickedobject names.

When using Pick to specify an object as a referencecoordinate system, you can press H to display theSelect Objects dialog (page 1–74) and pick theobject from there.

Using another object as the coordinate system

Use Center Flyout

Main toolbar > Use Center flyout

The Use Center flyout provides access to threemethods you can use to determine the geometriccenter for scale and rotate operations. They are,from top to bottom:

Use Pivot Point Center (page 1–367)

Use Selection Center (page 1–367)

Use Transform Coordinate Center (page 1–367)

Use Pivot Point Center 367

Use Pivot Point Center

Main toolbar > Use Pivot Point Center (on Use Centerflyout)

The Use Pivot Point Center button, available fromthe Use Center flyout (page 1–366), lets you enablerotation or scaling of one or more objects aroundtheir respective pivot points (page 3–715).

The axis tripods (page 1–343) show the centersthat are currently being used.

Note: The transformation center mode is set ona transform-by-transform basis, so select thetransform before you select the center mode. Ifyou do not want the center setting to change, turnon Customize menu > Preferences > General tab >Reference Coordinate System group > Constant.

Applying a rotation with the Pivot Point rotates each objectaround its own local axis.

Use Selection Center

Main toolbar > Use Selection Center (on Use Center flyout)

The Use Selection Center button, available fromthe Use Center flyout (page 1–366), lets youenable rotation or scaling of one or more objectsaround their collective geometric center. If youtransform multiple objects, the software calculates

the average geometric center of all the objects anduses that for the transform center.

The axis tripod (page 1–343) shows the center thatis currently being used.


With the Selection Center option, an averaged coordinatesystem is used to rotate the objects.

Use Transform CoordinateCenter

Main toolbar > Use Transform Coordinate Center (on UseCenter flyout)

The Use Transform Coordinate Center button,available from the Use Center flyout (page 1–366),lets you enable rotation or scaling of an object orobjects around the center of the current coordinatesystem. When you designate another object asthe coordinate system with the Pick function (seeSpecifying a Reference Coordinate System (page1–356)), the coordinate center is the location ofthat object’s pivot.


The axis tripod (page 1–343) shows the center thatis currently being used.


An example of the World coordinate center

Transform ConstraintsControls for constraining transforms to operatealong a single axis, or in a single plane, are on theAxis Constraints toolbar (page 3–396), which bydefault is not displayed. You can turn it on byright-clicking the main toolbar and choosing AxisConstraints from the pop-up menu.

Tip: The Transform gizmos also provide a way toconstrain transforms. Also, you can use thesekeyboard shortcuts to switch constraints:

• Restrict to X = F5

• Restrict to Y = F6

• Restrict to Z = F7

• Restrict Plane Cycle = F8

Restrict To X (page 1–368)

Restrict To Y (page 1–369)

Restrict To Z (page 1–369)

Restrict To XY Plane (page 1–370)

Restrict To YZ Plane (page 1–371)

Restrict To ZX Plane (page 1–371)




Restrict To X

Axis Constraints toolbar > Restrict to X

Keyboard > F5

Use Restrict To X To limit all transformations(move, rotate, scale) to the X axis.

When you click Move and then Restrict To X,you will only be able to move the object on thisaxis. Use this when you want to make sure youdon’t inadvertently move an object in the otherdirections.

You can also restrict transformations to the X axiswhen using the Transform gizmo (page 1–348).Dragging the X tripod leg will allow you to moveonly in X.

Restrict To Y 369

Note: Constraints are set on a transform-by-transform basis, so select the transform before youselect the axis constraint. If you do not want theconstraints to change, turn on Customize menu >Preferences > General tab > Reference CoordinateSystem group > Constant.

The axis constraints are stored separately atobject and sub-object levels. If you set thesethree controls one way while in sub-object modeand another way while in object selection level,when you return to sub-object mode, they’rerestored to the way they were previously set. Forexample, if you’re using XY constraints at objectlevel, then switch to sub-object level and use Zconstraint, when you return to object level, XYwill be restored.

Snaps can conflict with Restrict To X. Go toCustomize menu > Grid And Snap Settings> Options > Translation to find the Use AxisConstraints check box. When this is off, Snapstake precedence over axis constraints.

Restrict To Y

Axis Constraints toolbar > Restrict to Y

Keyboard > F6

Restrict To Y lets you limit all transformations(move, rotate, scale) to the Y axis.

When you click Move and then Restrict To Y,you will be able to move the object only on thisaxis. Use this when you want to make sure youdon’t inadvertently move an object in any otherdirection.

You can also restrict transformations to the Yaxis using the Transform gizmo (page 1–348).Dragging the Y tripod leg will allow you to moveonly in Y.

Note: Constraints are set on a transform-by-transform basis, so select the transform before you

select the axis constraint. If you do not want theconstraints to change, turn on Customize menu >Preferences > General tab > Reference CoordinateSystem group > Constant.


Snaps can conflict with Restrict To Y. Go toCustomize menu > Grid And Snap Settings> Options > Translation to find the Use AxisConstraints check box. When this is off, Snapstake precedence over axis constraints.

Restrict To Z

Axis Constraints toolbar > Restrict to Z

Keyboard > F7

Restrict To Z lets you limit all transformations(move, rotate, scale) to the Z axis.

When you click Select And Move and then RestrictTo Z, you will be able to move the object only onthis axis. Use this when you want to make sure youdon’t inadvertently move an object in any otherdirection.

You can also restrict transformations to the Z axiswhen using the Transform gizmo (page 1–348).Dragging the Z tripod leg will allow you to moveonly in Z.

Note: Constraints are set on a transform-by-transform basis, so select the transform before youselect the axis constraint. If you do not want theconstraints to change, turn on Customize menu >


Preferences > General tab > Reference CoordinateSystem group > Constant.


Snaps can conflict with Restrict To Z. Go toCustomize menu > Grid And Snap Settings> Options > Translation to find the Use AxisConstraints check box. When this is off, Snapstake precedence over axis constraints.

Restrict To Plane Flyout

Axis Constraints toolbar > Restrict to Plane flyout

The Restrict To Plane flyout, available from theAxis Constraints toolbar (page 3–396), lets youlimit all transformations (move, rotate, scale) tothe XY (page 1–370), YZ (page 1–371), or ZX(page 1–371) planes (by default, parallel with theTop view). Alternatively, you can cycle throughthe planar constraints (XY, YZ, ZX) by repeatedlypressing the F8 key.

You can also select planar constraint by using theMove Transform Gizmo (page 1–348). Instead ofdragging one of the axis indicators, drag one of theplane indicators near the center of the gizmo.

When you move an object along a plane that ishead-on to your view, the object moves along thesingle available axis shown in the view.

Note: Constraints are set on a transform-by-transform basis, so select the transform before youselect the axis constraint. If you do not want theconstraints to change, turn on Customize menu >Preferences > General tab > Reference CoordinateSystem group > Constant.


Restrict To XY Plane

Axis Constraints toolbar > Restrict to XY Plane (on Restrictto Plane flyout)

Keyboard > F8 (cycles through plane constraints)

Restrict To XY Plane lets you limit alltransformations (move, rotate, scale) to the XYaxes (by default, parallel with the Top view).

You can also select planar constraint by usingthe Transform gizmo (page 1–348). Instead ofclicking the tripod heads, choose the corner marksthat are part of the gizmo. You can cycle throughconstraints by selecting the other sets of cornermarks to choose the alternate planes.



Restrict To YZ Plane 371



Snaps can conflict with Restrict To XY Plane. Goto Customize menu > Grid And Snap Settings> Options > Translation to find the Use AxisConstraints check box. When this is off, Snapstake precedence over axis constraints.

Restrict To YZ Plane

Axis Constraints toolbar > Restrict to YZ Plane (on Restrictto Plane flyout)


Restrict To YZ Plane lets you limit alltransformations (move, rotate, scale) to the YZaxes (by default, parallel with the Left view).






Snaps can conflict with Restrict To YZ Plane. Goto Customize menu > Grid And Snap Settings> Options > Translation to find the Use AxisConstraints check box. When this is off, Snapstake precedence over axis constraints.

Restrict To ZX Plane

Axis Constraints toolbar > Restrict to ZX Plane (on Restrictto Plane flyout)


Restrict To ZX Plane lets you limit alltransformations (Move, Rotate, and Scale) to theZX axes (by default, parallel with the Front view).







Snaps can conflict with Restrict To ZX Plane. Goto Customize menu > Grid And Snap Settings> Options > Translation to find the Use AxisConstraints check box. When this is off, Snapstake precedence over axis constraints.

Ortho Snapping Mode

Snaps toolbar > Ortho Snapping Mode button

When drawing a Line spline (page 1–242) orWall object (page 1–193), Ortho Snapping Modeconstrains line creation to the horizontal or verticaldirections relative to the active grid. That is, withOrtho on, you can draw only lines that are parallelto lines of the active grid. Ortho is particularlyuseful for drawing plans where all lines must be at90 degrees to each other, such as a house plan. Toconstrain line-drawing to other angle increments,use Polar Snapping Mode (page 1–373) instead.

The following provisions apply to using Ortho:

• Use of Ortho is mutually exclusive of use of thePolar Snapping Mode toggle (page 1–373); onlyone can be active at a time.

• Ortho Snapping applies primarily to thecreation of line splines and wall objects. It can

be used while creating other objects, but resultsare likely to be unsatisfactory.

Ortho mode displays a compass which gives areadout of the current angle of the input relative tothe positive direction of the local X axis.

Note: If you hold down the ALT key in Orthomode, the next point becomes doubly constrainedby both the previous point and the first pointof the current object. This allows you to closesplines precisely. In this mode, two compasses aredisplayed; one each at the first and previous points.

Procedures

To use Ortho:

1. Turn on the Ortho Snapping Mode button.

The button appears depressed.

2. Begin to draw a Line spline.

An orange compass appears where you placethe first point, along with a red numberindicating the angle of the current line segmentwith the positive direction of the local X axis.

3. Move the mouse cursor around in the viewport.

The line jumps to 90-degree angle incrementson the local X axis, while the compass readingupdates to show the current angle.

4. Click to place the next vertex.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’re ready tocomplete the shape.

6. Do either of the following:

• To finish the shape at the most recent vertexwithout closing it, right-click anywhere.

• To finish the shape by closing it, position themouse cursor close to the first point andthen click. A small dialog opens asking ifyou want to close the spline; click Yes.

See also

Snaps Toolbar (page 3–398)

Polar Snapping Mode 373

Polar Snapping Mode

Snaps toolbar > Polar Snapping Mode button

When drawing a Line spline (page 1–242) orWall object (page 1–193), Polar Snapping Modeconstrains line creation to angle incrementsdetermined by the Angle Snap setting relative tothe active grid. To change the Angle Snap setting,right-click the Angle Snap Toggle button on themain toolbar and in the Options panel > Generalgroup, edit the Angle setting.

Polar is particularly useful for drawing plans whereangles between all lines must conform to specificangle increments, such as 45 degrees. If all linesmust be at 90-degree angles to each other, usethe Ortho Snapping Mode toggle (page 1–372)instead.

The following provisions apply to using Polar:

• Use of Polar is mutually exclusive of use of theOrtho toggle; only one can be active at a time.

• Polar applies primarily to the creation of linesplines and wall objects. It can be used whilecreating other objects, but results are likely tobe unsatisfactory.

Polar mode displays a compass that provides areadout of the current angle of the input relative tothe positive direction of the local X axis.

Note: If you hold down ALT in Polar mode, thenext point becomes doubly constrained by boththe previous point and the first point of the currentobject. This allows you to close splines precisely.In this mode, two compasses are displayed; oneeach at the first and previous points.

Note: Polar also enables Angle Snap (page 2–653)for rotating existing objects.

Procedures

To use Polar:

1. Turn on the Polar Snapping Mode button.

The button appears depressed.

2. Begin to draw a line spline.

An orange compass appears where you placethe first point, along with a red numberindicating the angle of the current line segmentwith the positive direction of the local X axis.

3. Move the mouse cursor around in the viewport.

The line jumps to specific angle incrementsfrom the X-axis, while the compass readingupdates to show the current angle. You set theangle increment in the Grid And Snap Settingsdialog > Options panel (page 2–660) > Generalgroup, which you can access by right-clickingthe Angle Snap Toggle button on the maintoolbar.

4. Click to place the next vertex.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’re ready tocomplete the shape.

6. Do any of the following:

• To finish the shape at the most recent vertexwithout closing it, right-click anywhere.

• To finish the shape by closing it, position themouse cursor close to the first point andthen click. A small dialog opens asking ifyou want to close the spline; click Yes.

• To finish the shape by closing it whileconstraining the line to the polar snap, firstposition the mouse cursor close to the firstpoint, press and hold ALT to constrain themouse by both the previous point and thefirst point, and then click. This vertex isautomatically placed at the current angleincrement from the first point, so that youneed only click the first point to close theshape.


See also

Snaps Toolbar (page 3–398)

Transform ToolsThe transform tools can transform objectsaccording to certain conditions. Some of them,such as Array, can also create copies of objects.

These tools (except for Array, Snapshot, SpacingTool, and Clone And Align) are available on thedefault main toolbar (page 3–395); the remainderare on the Extras toolbar (page 3–397). Also, theyall appear on the default Tools menu (page 3–385).

Mirror Selected Objects (page 1–375)

Array (page 1–376)

Snapshot (page 1–380)

Spacing Tool (page 1–381)

Clone and Align Tool (page 1–386)

Align (page 1–389)

Quick Align (page 1–392)

Normal Align (page 1–392)

Place Highlight (page 1–394)

Align Camera (page 1–395)

Align to View (page 1–395)




Array Flyout

Extras toolbar > Array flyout

The Array flyout, available from the Extras toolbar(page 3–397), provides access to various tools forcreating arrays of objects. These are, from top tobottom:

Array (page 1–376)

Snapshot (page 1–380)

Spacing Tool (page 1–381)

Clone and Align Tool (page 1–386)

Mirror Selected Objects 375

Mirror Selected Objects

Main toolbar > Mirror Selected Objects

Tools menu > Mirror

Mirroring an object

Clicking Mirror displays the Mirror dialog (page1–375), which enables you to move one or moreobjects while mirroring their orientation. TheMirror dialog also allows you to mirror thecurrent selection about the center of the currentcoordinate system. You can create a clone with themirror dialog at the same time. If you mirror ahierarchical linkage you have the option to mirrorthe IK limits.

Mirror Dialog

Tools menu > Mirror > Mirror dialog

Main toolbar > Mirror > Mirror dialog

The Mirror dialog enables you to move one ormore objects while mirroring their orientation. Italso lets you mirror the current selection about thecenter of the current coordinate system. You cancreate a clone with the mirror dialog at the sametime. If you mirror a hierarchical linkage you havethe option to mirror the IK limits.

The Mirror dialog uses the current referencecoordinate system (page 1–364), as reflected inits name. For example, if Reference CoordinateSystem is set to Local, the dialog is named Mirror:Local Coordinates. There is one exception: IfReference Coordinate System is set to View, Mirroruses Screen coordinates.

As you adjust the various settings in the Mirrordialog, you see the results in the viewports.

For more information on using Mirror, seeMirroring Objects (page 2–21).

Procedures

To mirror an object:

1. Make any object selection.

2. Click Mirror on the Main toolbar, orchoose Tools menu > Mirror.

The Mirror dialog opens.

3. Set the mirror parameters in the dialog andclick OK.

The active viewport changes to show the effectof each parameter as you set it. When you clickOK, the software creates the choice of mirrorthat you see previewed.

To make a clone using mirror:

1. Make any object selection

2. Click Mirror on the Main toolbar, orchoose Tools menu > Mirror.

The Mirror dialog opens.

3. In the Clone Selection group, choose Copy,Instance, or Reference.

4. Make any additional settings as desired andthen click OK.


Interface

Mirror Axis group

The mirror axis choices are X, Y, Z, XY, XZ,and YZ. Choose one to specify the direction ofmirroring. These are equivalent to the optionbuttons on the Axis Constraints toolbar (page3–396).

Offset—Specifies the distance of the mirroredobject’s pivot point (page 3–715) from the originalobject’s pivot point.

Clone Selection group

Determines the type of copy made by the Mirrorfunction. Default is No Clone.

No Clone—Mirrors the selected object withoutmaking a copy.

Copy—Mirrors a copy of the selected object to thespecified position.

Instance—Mirrors an instance (page 3–689) of theselected object to the specified position.

Reference—Mirrors a reference (page 3–722) ofthe selected object to the specified position.

If you animate (page 2–669) the mirror operation,mirroring generates a Scale key. If you set Offsetto a value other than 0.0, mirroring also generatesPosition keys.

Mirror IK Limits—Causes the IK constraints to bemirrored (along with the geometry) when youmirror the geometry about a single axis. Turnthis off if you don’t want the IK constraints to beaffected by the mirror command.

The end effectors used by the IK are not affectedby the Mirror command. To successfully mirroran IK hierarchy, first delete the end effectors: Goto the Motion panel > IK Controller Parametersrollout > End Effectors group and, under Position,click the Delete button. After the mirror operation,create the new end effector using the tools on thesame panel.

Array

Extras toolbar > Array

Tools menu > Array

A one-dimensional array

Array Dialog 377

The Array command displays the Array dialog(page 1–377), which enables you to create an arrayof objects based on the current selection.

Array Dialog

Extras toolbar > Array > Array dialog

Tools menu > Array > Array dialog

The Array dialog enables you to create an array ofobjects based on the current selection.

The items in the Array Dimensions group letyou create one-, two-, and three-dimensionalarrays. For example, a row of five objects is asingle-dimension array, even though it takes upthree-dimensional space in the scene. An arrayof objects that’s five rows by three columns is atwo-dimensional array, and an array of objectsthat’s five rows by three columns by two levels is athree-dimensional array.

Tip: You can preview the array by turning on thePreview button. With Preview on, changing thearray settings updates the viewports in real time.

Procedures

To create an array:

1. Select the object(s) to array.

2. Click the Array button, or choose Tools> Array.

3. On the Array dialog, select the type of objectto output: Copy, Instance, (page 3–689) orReference (page 3–722)).

4. In the Preview group, click the Preview buttonto turn it on.

This lets you see the results of the arrayoperation in the viewports, with changesappearing in real time.

5. In the Array Transformation group, clickthe arrows to set Incremental or Totals arrayparameters for Move, Rotate, and Scale.

6. Enter coordinates for the Array Transformationparameters.

7. Indicate whether you want a 1D, 2D, or 3Darray.

8. Set Count to the number of copies on each axis.

9. Enter the appropriate values in the numericfields for Incremental Row Offsets.

10.Click OK.

The current selection is duplicated the specifiednumber of times, with each object transformedas indicated.

To replace an array:

1. Undo the array to replace, using Edit > UndoCreate Array, or press CTRL+Z.

2. Change the coordinate system and transformcenter, if needed.

3. Click the Array button, or choose Tools >Array, and adjust any parameters on the Arraydialog that is displayed.

4. Click OK to create a new array, which replacesthe previous version. Repeat these steps tofine-tune the array.

Example: To create an array of objects that numbers5 x 4 x 3:

1. Create a sphere with a radius of 10 units.

2. Choose Tools > Array to display the Arraydialog.

3. In the Incremental set of parameters, set MoveX (the upper-left field) to 50. This causes eachobject in the array to be positioned 50 unitsapart on the X axis.

4. In the Array Dimensions group, choose the 3Dbutton to enable all the spinners in that group.


5. Set the 1D Count spinner to 5, the 2D Countspinner to 4, and the 3D Count spinner to 3.

This creates a row of 5 objects that are 50 unitsapart, and then 4 rows of those five objects,and then 3 rows of the 5 x 4 matrix of objects,resulting in a box array.

6. In the 2D row, set the Y spinner to 80.

7. In the 3D row, set the Z spinner to 100.

8. Click OK.

A box array of spheres appears. The firstdimensional array is five created along theX world axis, 50 units apart (as specified inthe Array Transform group). The seconddimensional array is four layers created alongthe Y world axis, 80 units apart (as specifiedin the Array Dimensions group). The thirddimensional array is three layers created alongthe Z world axis, 100 units apart. The totalnumber of objects in the array is 60.

Example: To create a 360-degree array:

1. Reset Autodesk VIZ.

2. Near the top of the Front viewport (awayfrom its center), create a long, thin box at thetwelve-o’clock position (as if the viewport werea clock face).

If the Front viewport is not visible, pressALT+W to switch to a four-viewport layout.

3. Choose Use Transform Coordinate Centeron the Main toolbar.

4. Choose Tools > Array.

5. Click the arrow button to the right of the Rotatelabel to enable the three Rotate fields in theTotals section.

6. Set the Z parameter to 360.0.

7. In the Array Dimensions group, choose 1D andset Count to 12.

8. Click OK.

The software creates an array of 12 boxes in afull circle.

Interface

Array Transformation group

Specifies which combination of the threetransforms to use to create the array. You alsospecify the extent, along the three axes, for eachtransform. You can specify the extent of thetransform in increments between each object,or in totals for all objects. In either case, thedistances are measured between the pivot pointsof the objects. The arrays occur using the currenttransform settings, so the group title changesdepending on the transform settings.

Click the left or right arrow button for Move,Rotate, or Scale to indicate whether you want to setIncremental or Total array parameters.

Array Dialog 379

Incremental

Move—Specifies the distance between each arrayedobject along the X, Y, and Z axes, in units.

Rotate—Specifies the degree of rotation about anyof the three axes for each object in the array, indegrees.

Scale—Specifies the percentage of scale along anyof the three axes for each object in the array, inpercentages.

Totals

Move—Specifies the overall distance, along each ofthe three axes, between the pivot points of the twoouter objects in the resulting array. For example, ifyou’re arraying 6 objects and set Move X total to100, the six objects will be arrayed in a row that’s100 units between the pivot points of the two outerobjects in the row.

Rotate—Specifies the total degrees of rotationapplied to the objects along each of the three axes.You can use this, for example, to create an arraythat totals 360 degrees.

Re-Orient—Rotates the generated objects abouttheir local axes while rotating them about theworld coordinates. When clear, the objectsmaintain their original orientation.

Scale—Specifies the total scale of the objects alongeach of the three axes.

Uniform—Disables the Y and Z spinners andapplies the X value to all axes, resulting in auniform scale.

Type of Object group

Determine the type of copies made by the Arrayfunction. The default is Copy.

Copy—Arrays copies of the selected object to thespecified position.

Instance—Arrays instances of the selected objectto the specified position.

Reference—Arrays references of the selected objectto the specified position.

Array Dimensions group

Lets you add to the Array Transformationdimension. The additional dimensions arepositional only. Rotation and scale are not used.

1D—Creates a one-dimensional array, based onthe settings in the Array Transformation group.

Count—Specifies the total number of objects alongthis dimension of the array. For 1D arrays, this isthe total number of objects in the array.

2D—Creates a two-dimensional array.

Count—Specifies the total number of objects alongthis second dimension of the array.

X/Y/Z—Specifies the incremental offset distancealong each axis of the second dimension of thearray.

3D—Creates a three-dimensional array.

Count—Specifies the total number of objects alongthis third dimension of the array.

X/Y/Z—Specifies the incremental offset distancealong each axis of the third dimension of the array.

Total in Array—Displays the total number of entitiesthat the array operation will create, including thecurrent selection. If you’re arraying a selection set,the total number of objects will be the result ofmultiplying this value times the number of objectsin the selection set.

Preview—Toggles a viewport preview of thecurrent array settings. Changing a setting updatesthe viewports immediately. If the update slows


down feedback with large arrays of complexobjects, turn on Display As Box.

Display as Box—Displays the array-preview objectsas bounding boxes instead of geometry.

Reset All Parameters—Resets all the parameters totheir default settings.

Snapshot

Extras toolbar > Snapshot (on Array flyout)

Tools menu > Snapshot

Using an ice-cream cone animated along a path, Snapshotcreates a stack of cones.

Clicking Snapshot displays the Snapshot dialog(page 1–380). This enables you to clone ananimated object over time.

You can create a single clone on any frame, or spacemultiple clones along the animation trajectory(path) (page 3–741). The spacing can be a uniformtiming or a uniform distance. To use snapshot,select any object that has animation assigned to it.

Snapshot Dialog

Extras toolbar > Snapshot (on Array flyout) > Snapshotdialog

Tools menu > Snapshot > Snapshot dialog

The Snapshot tool lets you clone an object that hasbeen animated. You can make a single clone at anyframe, or multiple clones spaced over a selectednumber of frames. Snapshot creates static clones,not animation.

Snapshot spaces the clones equally in time.Adjustments in Track View let you space the clonesequally along the path instead (see the secondprocedure, below).

Like other clone techniques, Snapshot createscopies, instances, or references.

Procedures

To clone an object over time:

1. Select an object with an animation path.

Snapshot also shows the effect of any othertransform animations, such as rotate or scale.

2. Click the Snapshot button on the Extrastoolbar > Array flyout, or choose Tools menu> Snapshot.

3. Set parameters in the dialog, and click OK.

To space clones evenly by distance:

1. Select an object with an animated position.

2. Open Track View and find the Position trackfor the original object.

3. Click Assign Controller and check that thetrack is using a Bezier Position controller. Doone of the following:

• If the track is already using a Bezier Positioncontroller, proceed to step 4.

Spacing Tool 381

• If the track is not using a Bezier Positioncontroller, change the controller (page2–857), then proceed to step 4.

4. Select all the transform keys and right-clickone of the selected keys to display the Key Infodialog (page 2–694).

5. Click Advanced to expand the dialog.

6. Click Normalize Time.

7. Set Constant Velocity on.

8. Click the Snapshot button on the Arrayflyout, or choose Tools menu > Snapshot.

The Snapshot dialog appears.

9. Set parameters in the dialog, and click OK.

Interface

Snapshot group

Single—Makes a clone of the geometry of theobject at the current frame.

Range—Makes clones of the geometry of theobject along the trajectory over a range of frames.Specify the range with the From/To settings andthe number of clones with the Copies setting.

From/To—Specifies the range of frames to place thecloned object along the trajectory.

Copies—Specifies the number of clones to placealong the trajectory. They are evenly distributedover the time period, but not necessarily over thespatial distance along the path.

Clone Method group

With the Copy, Instance, and Reference methods,the clone retains any animation within the object,so all the clones will be animated in the same way.

Copy—Clones copies of the selected object.

Instance—Clones instances (page 3–689) of theselected object.

Reference—Clones references (page 3–722) of theselected object.

Mesh—Use this to create mesh geometry.

Spacing Tool

Extras toolbar > Spacing Tool (on Array flyout)

Tools menu > Spacing Tool

The Spacing tool lets you distribute objects basedon the current selection along a path defined by aspline or a pair of points.

The distributed objects can be copies, instances(page 3–689), or references (page 3–722) of thecurrent selected object. You define a path bypicking a spline or two points and by setting anumber of parameters. You can also specify howthe spacing between objects is determined andwhether the pivot points of the objects align to thetangent of the spline.


The Spacing tool distributes the vases along the sides of thecurved street. The vases are all the same distance from eachother; fewer appear on the shorter side.

Tip: You can use compound shapes containingmultiple splines as the spline path for distributingobjects. Before creating shapes, turn off StartNew Shape on the Create panel. Then create yourshapes. The software adds each spline to thecurrent shape until you click the Start New Shapebutton so that it’s turned on. When you select thecompound shape so that the Spacing tool can useit as a path, objects are distributed along all ofthe splines of the compound shape. For example,you might find this technique useful in spacinglight standards along a path defined by separatedsplines.

Procedure

To distribute objects along a path:

1. Select the objects to distribute.

2. Click Spacing Tool, or choose Tools menu> Spacing Tool.

Note: The Spacing tool is also available onrollouts for various components of the Railingobject (page 1–188).

3. On the Spacing Tool dialog, click Pick Path orPick Points to specify a path.

If you click Pick Path, select a spline from yourscene to use as the path.

If you click Pick Points, pick a start and an endto define a spline as the path. When you’refinished with the Spacing tool, the softwaredeletes this spline.

4. Choose a spacing option from the Parameterslist.

The parameters available for Count, Spacing,Start Offset, and End Offset are dependent onthe spacing option you choose.

5. Specify the number of objects to distribute bysetting the value of Count.

6. Depending on the spacing option you choose,adjust the spacing and offsets.

7. Under Context, choose Edge to specify thatspacing be determined from the facing edges ofeach object’s bounding box, or choose Centersto specify that spacing be determined from thecenter of each object’s bounding box.

8. Turn on Follow if you want to align the pivotpoints of the distributed objects to the tangentof the spline.

9. Under Type of Object, select the type of objectto output (copy, instance (page 3–689), orreference (page 3–722)).

10.Click Apply.

Spacing Tool 383

Interface

The Spacing tool gives you a choice of two basicmethods for setting spacing: using a path, orspecifying endpoints explicitly.

Pick Path—Click this, and then click a spline in theviewport to use as the path. The software uses thespline as the path along which to distribute objects.

Pick Points—Click this, and then click a start andan end to define a path on the construction grid.You can also use object snap to specify points inspace. The software uses these points to create aspline as the path along which to distribute objects.When you’re finished with the Spacing tool, thesoftware deletes the spline.

Parameters group

Count—The number of objects to distribute.

Spacing—Specifies the space in units between theobjects. The software determines this spacingbased on whether you chose Edges or Centers.

Start Offset—The number of units specifying anoffset from the start of the path. Clicking the lockicon locks the start offset value to the spacing valueand maintains the count.

End Offset—The number of units specifying anoffset from the end of the path. Clicking the lockicon locks the end offset value to the spacing valueand maintains the count.

Distribution drop-down list—This list contains anumber of options for how to distribute the objectsalong the path, as follows:

• Free Center—Distributes equally spaced objectsalong a straight line toward the end point of thepath, beginning at the start of the path. A splineor a pair of points defines the path. You specifythe number of objects and the spacing.

• Divide Evenly, Objects at Ends—Distributesobjects along a spline. The group of objectsis centered at the middle of the spline. TheSpacing tool evenly fills the spline with thenumber of objects you specify and determinesthe amount of space between objects. Whenyou specify more than one object, there arealways objects at the ends of the spline.

• Centered, Specify Spacing—Distributes objectsalong a path. The group of objects is centeredat the middle of the path. The Spacing toolattempts to evenly fill the path with as manyobjects as it can fit along the length of thepath using the amount of space you specify.Whether there are objects at the ends of thepath depends on the length of the path and thespacing you provide.

• End Offset—Distributes the number of objectsyou specify along a straight line. The objectsbegin at an offset distance that you specify.This distance is from the end of the spline to its


start point, or from the second pair of pointsto the first point. You also specify the spacingbetween objects.

• End Offset, Divide Evenly—Distributes thenumber of objects you specify between the startof a spline or a pair of points and an end offsetthat you specify. The software always places anobject at the end or its offset. When you specifymore than one object, there is always an objectplaced at the start. The Spacing tool attemptsto evenly fill the space with the objects betweenthe end offset and the start.

• End Offset, Specify Spacing—Distributes objectstoward the start of a spline or a pair of points,starting at the end or its offset. The softwarealways places an object at the end or its offset.You specify the spacing between objects and theoffset from the end. The Spacing tool attemptsto evenly fill the space with as many objectsas it can fit between the end or its offset andthe start. There might not always be an objectplaced at the start.

• Start Offset—Distributes the number of objectsyou specify along a straight line. The objectsstart at an offset distance that you specify. Thisdistance is from the start of the spline to its endpoint, or from the first of a pair of points to thesecond. You also specify the spacing betweenobjects.

• Start Offset, Divide Evenly—Distributes thenumber of objects you specify between theend of a spline or a pair of points, starting atan offset that you specify from the start. Thesoftware always places an object at the start orits offset. When you specify more than oneobject, there is always an object placed at theend. The Spacing tool attempts to evenly fillthe space with the objects between the start orits offset and the end.

• Start Offset, Specify Spacing—Distributesobjects toward the end of a spline or a pair of

points, starting at the start. The software alwaysplaces an object at the start or its offset. Youspecify the spacing between objects and theoffset from the start. The Spacing tool attemptsto evenly fill the space with as many objectsas it can fit between the start or its offset andthe end. There might not always be an objectplaced at the end.

• Specify Offsets and Spacing—Distributes asmany equally spaced objects as possible along aspline or between a pair of points. You specifythe spacing between objects. When you specifyoffsets from the start and end, the softwaredistributes equally spaced objects between theoffsets. There might not always be an objectplaced at the start and ends.

• Specify Offsets, Divide Evenly—Distributes thenumber of objects you specify along a splineor between a pair of points. If you specify oneobject the software places it at the center of thepath. If you specify more than one object thesoftware always places an object at the startoffset and the end offset. If you specify morethan two objects the software evenly distributesthe objects between the offsets.

• Space from End, Unbounded—Distributes thenumber of objects you specify along a straightline from the end toward the start of a splineor a pair of points. You specify the spacingbetween objects. The software locks the endoffset so that it’s the same as the spacing.

• Space from End, Specify Number—Distributesthe number of objects you specify toward thestart of a spline or a pair of points, startingat the end. The Spacing tool determines theamount of space between objects based on thenumber of objects and the length of the splineor the distance between the pair of points. Thesoftware locks the end offset so that it’s thesame as the spacing.

Spacing Tool 385

• Space from End, Specify Spacing—Distributes asmany equally spaced objects as possible towardthe start of a spline or a pair of points, startingat the end. You specify the spacing betweenobjects. The software locks the end offset sothat it’s the same as the spacing.

• Space from Start, Unbounded—Distributes thenumber of objects you specify along a straightline toward the end of a spline or a pair ofpoints, starting at the start. You specify thespacing between objects. The software locks thestart offset so that it’s the same as the spacing.

• Space from Start, Specify Number—Distributesthe number of objects you specify toward theend of a spline or a pair of points, starting atthe start. The Spacing tool determines theamount of space between objects based on thenumber of objects and the length of the splineor the distance between the pair of points. Thesoftware locks the start offset so that it’s thesame as the spacing.

• Space from Start, Specify Spacing—Distributesas many evenly spaced objects as possibletoward the end of a spline or a pair of points,starting at the start. You specify the spacingbetween objects. The software locks the startoffset so that it’s the same as the spacing.

• Specify Spacing, Matching Offsets—Distributesas many evenly spaced objects as possible alonga spline or between a pair of points (and theiroffsets). You specify the spacing. The softwarelocks the start and end offsets so that they’rethe same as the spacing.

• Divide Evenly, No Objects at Ends—Distributesthe number of objects you specify along a splineor between a pair of points (and their offsets).The Spacing tool determines the amount ofspace between objects. The software locks thestart and end offsets so that they’re the same asthe spacing.

Context group

1. Edge-to-edge spacing

2. Center-to-center spacing

Edges—Use this to specify that spacing isdetermined from the facing edges of each object’sbounding box.

Centers—Use this to specify that spacing bedetermined from the center of each object’sbounding box.

Follow—Use this to align the pivot points of thedistributed objects to the tangent of the spline.

Type of Object group

Determines the type of copies made by the Spacingtool. The default is Copy. You can copy, instance(page 3–689), or reference (page 3–722) objects.

Copy—Distributes copies of the selected object tothe specified position.

Instance—Distributes instances of the selectedobject to the specified position.

Reference—Distributes references of the selectedobject to the specified position.

Tip: You can use compound shapes containingmultiple splines as the spline path for distributing


objects. Before creating shapes, turn off Start NewShape under Shapes on the Create panel. Thencreate your shapes. Autodesk VIZ adds each splineto the current shape until you click the Start NewShape button so that it’s checked. When you selectthe compound shape so that the Spacing tool canuse it as a path, objects are distributed along all ofthe splines of the compound shape. For example,you might find this technique useful in spacinglight standards along a path defined by separatedsplines.

Clone and Align Tool

Extras toolbar > Clone and Align Tool (on Array flyout)

Tools menu > Clone and Align

The Clone And Align tool lets you distribute sourceobjects based on the current selection to a secondselection of destination objects. For example, youcan populate several rooms simultaneously withthe same furniture arrangement. Similarly, if youimport a CAD file that contains 2D symbols thatrepresent chairs in a conference room, you can useClone And Align to replace the symbols with 3Dchair objects en masse.

The distributed objects can be copies, instances(page 3–689), or references (page 3–722) of thecurrent selected object. You determine the numberof clones or clone sets by specifying any number ofdestination objects. You can also specify positionand orientation alignment of the clones on one,two, or three axes, with optional offsets.

You can use any number of source objectsand destination objects. With multiple sourceobjects, Clone And Align maintains the positionalrelationships among the members of each clonedgroup, aligning the selection center with thedestination’s pivot.

Procedure

To use the Clone And Align tool:

1. Create or load an object or objects to be cloned,as well as one or more destination objects.

2. Select the object or objects to be cloned.

3. Open the Clone And Align dialog.

Note: The order of steps 2 and 3 can be reversed.

4. Do either of the following:

• Click Pick once and then click eachdestination object in turn. Next, click Pickagain to turn it off.

• Click Pick List and then use the PickDestination Objects dialog to pick alldestination objects simultaneously.

5. On the Clone Parameters rollout, choose thetype of clone, and, if appropriate, how to copythe controller. For details, see Clone OptionsDialog (page 2–6).

6. Use the Clone Parameters rollout settings tospecify position, orientation, and scale options.

7. At any time, when Pick is off, you can changethe source selection in a viewport. This causesthe dialog to lose focus; click it again to regainfocus and refresh the viewport preview of theclone operation.

8. To make the clones permanent, click Apply,and then click Cancel or the close button (X, inupper-right corner) to close the dialog.

Clone and Align Tool 387

Interface

The Clone and Align tool takes the form of anon-modal dialog; it remains open while youwork in the viewports. While the dialog is active,the results of the current settings appear as apreview in the viewports. Because of the dialog’snon-modal nature, you can change the selection ofsource and destination objects on the fly and seethe results immediately in the viewports.

When the dialog focus is lost by activating anotherdialog or clicking in a viewport (that is, its title baris gray rather than blue), the preview no longerappears in the viewports. To make the clonedobjects permanent, click Apply when the dialogis active.

Source and Destination Parameters rollout

Designate source objects by selecting them in aviewport. If you do this with the Clone And Aligndialog open, the dialog loses focus; click the dialogto regain focus and update the settings.

Destination Objects [label]—This read-only fieldshows the number of destination objects. Tochange this value, use Pick, Pick List, and Clear.

Pick—When on, each object you click in theviewports is added to the list of destination objects.Click again to turn off after picking all destinationobjects.

To qualify as a valid destination object, an objectmust:

• not have been designated as a source ordestination object.

• be selectable (frozen objects can’t be selected).

• not be a temporary cloned object.

Pick List—Opens the Pick Destination Objectsdialog, which lets you pick all destination objectssimultaneously, by name. In the dialog, highlightthe destination objects, and then click Pick.

Clear All—Removes all destination objects from thelist. Available only when at least one destinationobject is designated.

Source Objects [label]—This read-only field showsthe number of source objects. To change this value,keep the dialog open, make sure Pick is off, andthen select source objects in the viewports. Whenyou click the dialog, the field updates.


Link to Destination—Links each clone as a child ofits destination object.

Clone Parameters rollout

These settings let you determine the type of cloneto create, and, if appropriate, how to copy thecontroller. For details, see Clone Options Dialog(page 2–6).

Align Parameters rollout

The Align Position and Align Orientation groupnames are followed by the current referencecoordinate system (page 1–364), in parentheses,which they use as the coordinate system forpositioning and aligning the clones. When theView coordinate system is active, alignment usesthe World coordinate system.

The Offset parameters always use each destinationobject’s Local coordinate system.

Align Position group

X/Y/Z Position—Specifies the axis or axes onwhich to align the clones’ position. Turning on allthree options positions each set of clones at therespective destination object’s location.

X/Y/Z Offset—The distance between the destinationobject’s pivot and the source object’s pivot (orsource objects’ coordinate center). For an Offsetvalue to take effect, the respective Position checkbox must be on.

Align Orientation group

X/Y/Z Orientation—Specifies the axis or axes aboutwhich to align orientation. Turning on all threeoptions aligns each set of clones’ orientation fullywith that of the respective destination object.

X/Y/Z Offset—The angle by which the sourceobjects are rotated away from the destinationobject’s orientation about each axis. For an Offset

value to take effect, the respective Orientationcheck box must be on.

Match Scale —Use the X Axis, Y Axis, and Z Axisoptions to match the scale axis values between thesource and destination.

This matches only the scale values you’d see inthe coordinate display (page 3–437). It does notnecessarily cause two objects to be the same size.Matching scale causes no change in size if none ofthe objects has previously been scaled.

Reset All Parameters—Returns all settings in theAlign Parameters rollout to their default values.

Apply—Generates the clones as permanent objects.After clicking Apply, you can use Clone And Alignto generate additional clones, using the results ofprevious clonings as source or destination objectsif you like.

Cancel—Aborts the current cloning operation andcloses the dialog.

Align Flyout

Main toolbar > Align flyout

Align 389

The Align flyout, available from the Main toolbar(page 3–395), provides access to six differenttools for aligning objects. These are, from top tobottom:

Align (page 1–389)

Quick Align (page 1–392)

Normal Align (page 1–392)

Place Highlight (page 1–394)

Align Camera (page 1–395)

Align to View (page 1–395)

Align

Main toolbar > Align (on Align flyout)

Tools menu > Align

Keyboard > ALT+A

Align enables you to align the current selection toa target selection. The name of the target objectappears in the title bar of the Align dialog (page1–389). When performing sub-object alignment,the title bar of the Align dialog reads "AlignSub-Object Selection."

You can align the position and orientation of thebounding box (page 3–663) of the source object tothe bounding box of a target object.

You can use the Align tool with any selection thatcan be transformed. If an axis tripod is displayed,you can align the tripod (and the geometry itrepresents) to any other object in the scene. Youcan use this to align an object’s pivot point.

When performing sub-object alignment, theCurrent Object options and the Match Scale boxesare disabled. If you plan to align orientation forsub-objects, first switch to Local transform modeon the Main toolbar so that the axis tripod isproperly aligned with your sub-object selection.

Other alignment tools on the Align flyout areQuick Align (page 1–392), Normal Align (page1–392), Place Highlight (page 1–394), Align toCamera (page 1–395), and Align to View (page1–395).

Aligning objects along an axis

Upper: Y position, maximum

Lower: Y position, minimum

Align Dialog

Main toolbar > Align (on Align flyout) > Select object.

Tools menu > Align > Select object.

Interface (page 1–391)

The Align dialog enables you to align the currentselection to a target selection. The name of thetarget object appears in the title bar of the Aligndialog. When performing sub-object alignment,the title bar of the Align dialog reads "AlignSub-Object Selection."

You can align the position and orientation of thebounding box (page 3–663) of the source object tothe bounding box of a target object.


You can use the Align tool with any selection thatcan be transformed. If an axis tripod is displayed,you can align the tripod (and the geometry itrepresents) to any other object in the scene.

When performing sub-object alignment, theCurrent Object options and the Match Scale checkboxes are disabled. If you plan to align orientationfor sub-objects, first switch to Local transformmode on the Main toolbar so that the axis tripod isproperly aligned with your sub-object selection.

Procedures

To align an object with a point object:

1. Create a point helper object and position it ata target location in your scene. Rotate it asnecessary to adjust final orientation.

2. Select a source object.

3. On the Main toolbar, click Align, orchoose Tools > Align.

Choose Tools > Align.

The Align cursor appears attached to a pair ofcross hairs.

4. Move the cursor over the point object and click.

The Align Selection dialog appears. Ifnecessary, move the dialog out of the way soyou can see the active viewport.

5. In the Align Position group, turn on X Position.

The selected source object shifts to align withthe X axis of the point object.

6. Turn on Y Position and Z Position.

The source object moves so its center is at thepoint object.

7. Turn on X Axis, Y Axis, and Z Axis in the AlignOrientation group to reorient the object tomatch the coordinates of the point.

To align objects by position and orientation:

1. Select a source object (the object to move intoalignment with the target object).

2. On the Main toolbar, click Align, orchoose Tools > Align.

The Align cursor appears. When over aneligible target object, the cursor also showscrosshairs.

3. Position the cursor over the target object andclick.

The Align Selection dialog appears. By default,all options in the dialog are turned off.

4. In the Current Object and Target Objectgroups, choose Minimum, Center, Pivot Point,or Maximum.

These settings establish the points on eachobject that become the alignment centers.

5. Begin alignment by turning on any combinationof X Position, Y Position, and Z Position.

The source object moves in relation to thetarget object, along the axes of the referencecoordinate system. Setting all three moves theobjects as close as possible, given the CurrentObject and Target Object settings.

6. In the Align Orientation group, turn on anycombination of X Axis, Y Axis, or Z Axis.

The source object realigns accordingly. If theobjects already share an orientation, turningon that axis has no effect. Once two axes arealigned in orientation, the third is automatic.

To align a gizmo to another object:

1. Display the gizmo level of the Sub-Objectselection.

2. On the Main toolbar, click Align, or chooseTools > Align.

3. Click to select a target object in the viewport.(You can select the same object containing the

Align Dialog 391

gizmo to align the gizmo to a part of its ownobject.)

4. Use the available settings in the Align dialog toadjust the transformation of the gizmo.

To align a sub-object selection of geometry toanother object:


• Convert the object to an editable mesh, andthen perform the sub-object selection at anylevel.

• Apply a Mesh Select modifier, followed by anXForm modifier. (The Mesh Select modifierby itself doesn’t allow transforms.)

2. On the Main toolbar, click Align, or chooseTools > Align, and then select a target object.

3. Use the settings in the Align dialog to performthe alignment.

Interface

Align Position group

X/Y/Z Position—Specifies on which axis or axesto perform the alignment. Turning on all three

options moves the current object to the targetobject’s location.

Current Object/Target Object groups

Specify which points on the objects’ boundingboxes to use for the alignment. You can choosedifferent points for the current object and thetarget object. For example, you can align thecurrent object’s pivot point (page 3–715) with thecenter of the target object.

Minimum—Aligns the point on the object’sbounding box with the lowest X, Y, and Z valueswith the chosen point on the other object.

Center—Aligns the center of the object’s boundingbox with the chosen point on the other object.

Pivot Point—Aligns the object’s pivot point withthe chosen point on the other object.

Maximum—Aligns the point on the object’sbounding box with the highest X, Y, and Z valueswith the chosen point on the other object.

Align Orientation (Local) group

These settings let you match the orientation of thelocal coordinate systems between the two objectson any combination of axes.

This option is independent of the positionalignment settings. You can leave the Positionsettings alone and use the Orientation checkboxes to rotate the current object to match theorientation of the target object.

Position alignment uses world coordinates (page3–748), while orientation alignment uses localcoordinates. (page 3–692)

Match Scale group

Use the X Axis, Y Axis, and Z Axis options tomatch the scale axis values between the twoselected objects. This matches only the scale valuesyou’d see in the Transform Type-In (page 1–352).


It does not necessarily cause two objects to be thesame size. There will be no change in size if neitherof the objects has previously been scaled.

Quick Align

Main toolbar > Quick Align (on Align flyout)

Tools menu > Quick Align

Keyboard > SHIFT+A

Quick Align lets you instantly align the positionof the current selection to that of a target object.If the current selection is a single object, QuickAlign uses the two objects’ pivots (page 3–715). Ifthe current selection comprises multiple objectsor sub-objects, Quick Align aligns the source’sselection center (page 1–367) with the pivot of thetarget object.

Procedure

To use Quick Align:

1. Select one or more objects or sub-objects toalign.

2. Press SHIFT+A or choose Quick Align fromthe Tools menu or Main toolbar > Align flyout.

The mouse cursor turns into a “lightning-bolt”symbol. When positioned over an acceptablealignment target, a crosshairs symbol alsoappears.

3. Click an object to which to align the selectionfrom step 1.

The alignment is performed.

Interface

Quick Align has no user interface or options. Seethe procedure above for usage.

Normal Align

Main toolbar > Normal Align (on Align flyout)

Tools menu > Normal Align

Keyboard > ALT+N

Normal Align uses the Normal Align dialog (page1–392) to align two objects based on the directionof the normal (page 3–704) of a face or selectionon each object. To open the Normal Align dialog,select the object to be aligned, click a face on theobject, and then click a face on a second object.Upon releasing the mouse, the Normal Aligndialog appears.

If you use Normal Align while a sub-objectselection is active, only that selection is aligned.This is useful when aligning sub-object selectionsof faces, since otherwise there’s no valid facenormal for the source object.

Normal Align respects smoothing groups and usesthe interpolated normal, based on face smoothing.As a result, you can orient the source object face toany part of the target surface, rather than havingit snap to face normals.

For an object with no faces (such as helper objectsand atmospheric gizmos), Normal Align uses theZ axis and origin of the object as a normal. Thus,you can use a Point object (page 2–638) withNormal Align.

Normal Align Dialog

Main toolbar > Normal Align > Normal Align dialog

Tools menu > Normal Align > Normal Align dialog

The Normal Align dialog, displayed by the NormalAlign tool (page 1–392), enables you to align thenormals (page 3–704) of two objects.

Normal Align Dialog 393

Procedure

To align normals:

1. Select a source object. This is the object thatmoves during alignment.

2. Click Normal Align on the Main toolbar,or choose Tools > Normal Align.

3. Drag across the surface of the source object.

The Normal Align cursor appears, attached to apair of cross hairs. A blue arrow at the cursorindicates the current normal.

4. Move the cursor and blue arrow until you locatethe normal you want to use, then release.

The blue arrow remains as reference to thesource normal.

5. Drag across the surface of the target object.

A green arrow at the cursor indicates thecurrent normal.

6. Move the cross hairs and green arrow until youlocate the normal you want to use as a target,then release.

The source object moves into alignment withthe target normal, and the Normal Align dialogappears.


• Click OK to accept the alignment.

• Using the dialog, make modifications to thealignment before clicking OK.

• Click Cancel Align to cancel the alignmentprocedure.

Interface

The Normal Align dialog lets you adjust or cancelthe current alignment, and contains the followingcontrols:

Position Offset group

Lets you translate the source object perpendicularto the normal on the X, Y or Z axes.

X/Y/Z—These three fields let you affect how muchof an offset will be given to the selected faces.

Rotation Offset group

Lets you rotate the source object about thenormal’s axis. You see the rotation in real time.

Angle—This field lets you define the angle for therotational offset.

Flip Normal—Determines whether the sourcenormal matches the target normal’s direction.This defaults to off, since you usually want thetwo normals to have opposing directions. Whenyou turn this on or off, the source object flips 180degrees.

OK/Cancel Align—The Cancel button is labeledCancel Align to make it clear that you’re not onlycanceling the settings in the dialog, but canceling


the original transform (page 3–742) of the sourceobject.

Place Highlight

Main toolbar > Place Highlight (on Align flyout)

Tools menu > Place Highlight

Keyboard > CTRL+H

Place Highlight, available from the Align flyout(page 1–388), enables you to align a light or objectto another object so that its highlight or reflectioncan be precisely positioned.

In Place Highlight mode, you can click anddrag the mouse around in any viewport. PlaceHighlight is a viewport-dependent function, souse the viewport that you’re going to be rendering.As you drag the mouse in the scene, a ray is shotfrom the mouse cursor into the scene. If it hits asurface, you see the surface normal (page 3–704)at that point on the surface.

When you designate a surface, any selected objectsare positioned along a line that represents the rayreflected off the surface about the surface normal.The objects are positioned along this line based ontheir original distance from the surface point. Forexample, if the object is 100 units from the surfacepoint before being moved, it will be positioned 100units from the surface point along the reflected ray.

If the object is a light, the position of the highlighton the surface of the object will be the surfacepoint that you’ve chosen.

Tip: Place Highlight works with any kind ofselected object. It can be used to move objectsbased on a combination of face normals and initialdistance from the face. You can also use PlaceHighlight with a selection set that contains morethan one object. All objects maintain their initialdistance from the face. In this case it has nothing

to do with highlights, but is simply being used toposition objects.

Note: Highlight rendering depends on thematerial’s specular properties and the type ofrendering you use.

Place Highlight aligns a camera and a spotlight to the sameface.

Other alignment tools on the Align flyout areAlign (page 1–389), Quick Align (page 1–392),Normal Align (page 1–392), Align to Camera(page 1–395), and Align to View (page 1–395).

Procedure

To position a light to highlight a face:

1. Make sure the viewport you plan to render isactive, and that the object you want to highlightis visible in it.

The result of Place Highlight depends on whatis visible in the viewport.

2. Select a light object.

3. Click Place Highlight, or choose Tools >Place Highlight.

Choose Tools > Place Highlight.

If the button is not visible on the toolbar,choose it from the Align flyout.

4. Drag over the object to place the highlight.

Align Camera 395

When you place an omni, free spot, ordirectional light, the software displays a facenormal for the face the mouse indicates.

When you place a target spotlight, the softwaredisplays the light’s target and the base of itscone.

5. Release the mouse when the normal or targetdisplay indicates the face you want to highlight.

The light now has a new position andorientation. You can see the highlightillumination in shaded viewports that showthe face you chose, and when you render thoseviews.

Align Camera

Main toolbar > Align Camera button (on Align flyout)

Tools menu > Align Camera

Align Camera, available from the Align flyout(page 1–388), lets you align a camera to a selectedface normal.

Align Camera works similarly to Place Highlight(page 1–394), except that it operates on facenormals instead of the angle of incidence, andoccurs when you release the mouse button insteadof dynamically acting during the mouse drag. Itspurpose is to let you align a Camera viewport toa specified face normal.

Other alignment tools on the Align flyout areAlign (page 1–389), Quick Align (page 1–392),Normal Align (page 1–392), Place Highlight (page1–394), and Align to View (page 1–395).

Procedure

To use Align Camera:

1. Select the camera used for the viewport youwant to align.

2. Click Align Camera or choose Tools menu> Align Camera.

3. In any viewport, drag the mouse over an objectsurface to choose a face.

The chosen face normal appears as a blue arrowbeneath the cursor.

4. Release the mouse to perform the alignment.

The software moves the camera so it facesand centers the selected normal in the cameraviewport.

Align to View

Main toolbar > Align to View (on Align flyout)

Tools menu > Align to View

Align to View, available from the Align flyout(page 1–388), displays the Align to View dialog(page 1–396) which lets you align the local axis ofan object or sub-object selection with the currentviewport.

You can use Align to View with any selection thatcan be transformed.

Other alignment tools on the Align flyout areAlign (page 1–389), Quick Align (page 1–392),Normal Align (page 1–392), Place Highlight (page1–394), and Align to Camera (page 1–395).

Procedure

To align a grid to a view

1. Activate a grid object (page 2–635).

2. Activate a viewport and use viewport controls(page 3–457) to set up the view you want.

3. On the Modify toolbar, click Align toView.

4. On the Align To View dialog, make the desiredsettings and click OK.


Align to View Dialog

Main toolbar > Align to View (on Align flyout) > Align toView dialog

Tools menu > Align to View > Align to View dialog.

The Align to View dialog lets you match the localaxis of an object or sub-object selection with theZ axis of the current viewport. There is also a Flipoption to reverse the selection on the Z axis. Allsettings from this dialog update in the viewport,so you can preview the effect before accepting it.

You can use this dialog with any selection that canbe transformed.

Procedure

To align the local axis of a selection with the currentviewport:

1. Select the objects or sub-objects to align.

2. Click Align to View.

3. Specify the local axis of the selected object toalign with the current viewport’s Z axis.

4. Select the Flip check box when you switch thedirection of the alignment.

The alignment takes place while the dialog isdisplayed.

5. Click OK to complete the process.

Interface

The Align to View dialog contains the followingoptions:

Align X, Align Y, Align Z—Specifies which localaxis of the selected object will be aligned with thecurrent viewport’s Z axis.

Flip—Switches the direction of the alignment.

index

Symbols & Numerics1-rail sweep surface 2–5662.5D snap 2–6512-point perspective 2–10192-rail sweep surface 2–5712-sided 3–587, 3–6492D

2D coordinates rollout 2–11992D images 3–2512D maps 2–11992D snap 2–651

2D mapglossary 3–649

32–bit floating-point output 3–2563D

3D coordinates rollout 2–12373D maps 2–12363D snap 2–651viewing and navigating 3D space 1–19

3D displacement shader (mental ray) 2–12863D DWF

exporting 3–139glossary 3–649

3D mapglossary 3–650

3DS files3DS import dialog 3–141exporting 3–143importing 3–141

3ds Maxfiles 3–136materials 2–1382

3dsviz.ini file 1–16 to 1–17

Aabout 3–628

about MAXScript 1–xiv

absolute snap 2–651, 2–654absolute/offset coordinate display 3–437acceleration (raytrace) 2–1154acceleration techniques (raytracer) 2–1151AccuRender materials

in Autodesk VIZ 3–354activate Autodesk VIZ 3–628activate all maps 1–48activating

grid object 2–650home grid 2–650joint axes 2–802maps 1–48

active link (glossary) 3–651active time segment 2–679active time segment (glossary) 3–651active viewport 1–20adaptive antialiaser dialogs 2–1155 to 2–1156adaptive control 1–138, 2–199, 2–1156, 2–1270adaptive degradation

glossary 3–652override 1–32viewport configuration dialog 3–591

adaptive subdivision dialog 2–141add

atmosphere 2–980, 3–84default lights to scene 1–46 to 1–47effect 2–980note track (Track View) 2–863time tag dialog 3–439visibility track 2–866

add keysfunction curves 2–889Track View toolbar 2–869

add selection to current layer 3–374add texture elements dialog 2–1450add/edit DBR host dialog 2–1424

Index

398 Index

addingeditable spline vertices 1–268splines 1–275, 1–280

additional help 3–628additive opacity (glossary) 3–652adjust animation range (track bar) 3–432adjust color dialog

vertexpaint modifier 2–298adjust pivot rollout 2–805adjust transform rollout 2–807adjusting

normals and smoothing 1–136object transforms 2–777pivots 2–769

Adobe Illustrator filesexporting 3–145importing AI 88 format 3–145

advanced effects rollout 2–970advanced file link settings 3–330advanced key info 2–696advanced lighting

object properties 1–114select advanced lighting rollout 2–1350

advanced lighting override material 2–1188advanced quad menu options 3–522advanced ray-traced parameters rollout 2–985advanced shaders rollout

mental ray material 2–1169advanced surface approximation dialog 2–606AEC design elements 1–180AEC extended 1–180

editing wall objects 1–198foliage 1–184railing 1–188wall 1–193

affect region 2–52soft selection rollout (EMesh) 2–312soft selection rollout (NURBS) 2–509

affine transformation (glossary) 3–653AI import dialog 3–135aliasing/antialiasing

alias against background 3–540and supersampling 2–1088fast adaptive 2–1155filters 2–1343glossary 3–653multiresolution adaptive 2–1156

align 1–389align geometry dialog (edit poly) 2–125and pivot point 2–805camera 1–395dialog 1–389editable mesh objects 2–354

editable mesh vertices 2–357flyout 1–388grid to view 2–650keys (Track View) 2–866normals 1–392, 2–626objects 2–624to view (dialog) 1–396to view (toolbar) 1–395

allow non-vertical jambs 1–180alpha channel 3–53, 3–654alpha map (baking) 2–1441altitude (sunlight and daylight systems) 1–337ambient

and diffuse map lock 2–1100and raytrace materials 2–1138color (glossary) 3–654light 2–916, 2–918 to 2–919, 3–655lighting (rendered environment) 3–53mapping 2–1122

ambient occlusion map 2–1442analysis of lighting 2–1376analyzing

Shockwave 3D files 3–230W3D files 3–230

anchor (VRML97 helpers) 3–240anchor patches 2–316angle 1–257angle of incidence 2–916, 2–918angle separation 3–540angle snap 2–653animated

bitmap 2–1080material previews 2–1079texture 3–655

animatingattachment 2–779cameras 2–1010, 2–1020lights 2–922links 2–776materials 2–1079scene 1–8shift+rotate 2–12shift+scale 2–12sub-object geometry 2–353transforms 1–354with applied IK 2–799with IK solvers 2–786with interactive IK 2–798

animationauto key mode 2–672concepts 2–669 to 2–670constraints 2–740controllers 2–697, 3–656

Index 399

glossary 3–655methods 2–669NURBS 2–455preferences settings 3–546show ghosting 1–44toggle animation mode 2–672utilities 2–907with radiosity 2–1360

animation controls 3–440animation menu 3–391

constraints 2–724, 2–740 to 2–741, 2–743, 2–745,2–748, 2–753, 2–756

dummy 2–631IK solvers 2–784make preview 2–1451previews 2–1451rename preview 2–1453view preview 2–1453walkthrough assistant 2–1020wire parameters 2–758 to 2–759

animation modeset key 2–673

animation modifiers 2–51animation quad menu 3–402animation range

ignore 2–841respect 2–841

anisotropic highlights 2–1116anisotropic shader

anisotropy mapping 2–1128basic parameters rollout 2–1104

antialiasing 2–1397, 3–676, 3–724applied ik

glossary 3–656applied IK 2–783, 2–799, 2–808apply ease curve 2–891apply ease or multiplier curve (Track View) 2–891apply multiplier curve 2–891applying materials 2–1035, 2–1039arc 1–246arc rotate 3–465 to 3–466Architectural Desktop

files 3–342materials 3–344objects 3–343, 3–360styles 3–360

architectural material 2–1157advanced lighting override rollout 2–1162and radiosity solution 2–1162physical qualities rollout 2–1159special effects rollout 2–1161templates rollout 2–1158

archive 3–111file menu 3–110program (files preferences) 3–548

archiving scenes 1–17area light rollout 2–983area light sampling rollout 2–983area lights 3–656

omni 2–938spotlight 2–939

area omni light 2–938area shadows 3–657area shadows rollout 2–986area spot light 2–939array 1–376

arraying objects 2–14button 1–376creating 2–1creating arrays 2–17, 2–19dialog 1–377flyout 1–374using the array dialog 2–15

array dialog 1–377array flyout 1–374artificial light 2–919ASCII files: exporting 3–145ASE files 3–145aspect ratio 2–1336, 3–657assemblies

and groups 1–93and selection sets 1–93attach to 1–104close 1–103create 1–101disassemble 1–104explode 1–104open 1–103working with 1–93

assembly commands 1–100assembly heads helper objects 1–105assembly menu

assemble 1–101attach 1–104detach 1–104disassemble 1–104explode 1–104

asset browser 3–117geo-referencing 3–117internet download dialog 3–130preferences 3–130using 1–15Volo View Express 3–117

asset trackingdialog 3–102

400 Index

icons 3–109open from vault 3–93

asset tracking dialog 3–102asset tracking dialog icons 3–109asset tracking prompts 3–109assign

controller (Track View) 2–857controller rollout (motion panel) 3–495material to selection 2–1071vertex colors utility 2–1303

assign renderer rollout 2–1341assigning

colors to objects 1–130controllers 2–685materials 2–1035, 2–1039

asterisk (in modifier stack) 2–36atmospheres and effects

adding atmosphere 3–57and raytracing 2–1151atmospheric effect 3–53, 3–62, 3–64, 3–68for atmospheric apparatus 3–84for lights 2–979

atmospheric apparatus 3–83BoxGizmo 3–84CylGizmo 3–85SphereGizmo 3–87

attachattach options 2–374attaching and importing Autodesk VIZ objects 2–484controls dialog (block controller) 2–737editable mesh edges 2–362editable patch 2–337editable patch object 2–321object 2–316, 2–321splines 1–266, 1–268, 1–280to assembly 1–104to groups 1–100

attachmentanimating 2–779constraint 2–741

attenuation 2–916, 2–918, 3–658and lights 3–551parameters 2–975raytrace attenuation rollout 2–1278

audio controller 2–698, 2–735AudioClip (VRML97 helpers) 3–249auto expand

animated 2–837base objects 2–837keyable 2–837materials 2–837transforms 2–837xyz components 2–837

auto key 2–672, 3–441and set key 2–674

auto termination rollout 2–816AutoCAD

blocks 3–355, 3–357importing DWG and DXF files 3–147importing DXF files 3–159instanced objects 3–355

AutoCAD blocks in Autodesk VIZ 3–340AutoCAD DWG/DXF import options dialog 3–147AutoCAD, Architectural Desktop and Revit

working with 3–339autodesk inventor files

importing 3–165Autodesk Vault 3–102Autodesk VIZ

main window 1–9user reference 1–ix

Autodesk VIZ on the web 3–628autogrid 3–659AutoGrid 2–623automatic

auto archive 3–548auto backup 1–17, 3–548auto secondary (lens effects) 3–19auto termination (IK) 2–816automatic exposure control 3–74

automatic mapping rolloutrendering to texture 2–1449

autoplay preview file 3–537AVI files 2–1451, 3–252awning window 1–228axis constraints 1–368 to 1–371, 3–396

and hierarchies 2–817and rollouts 2–817and scaling 1–346and snaps 2–654

axis constraints toolbar 3–396axis tripod 1–43

and transform managers 1–354and World Axis 1–343

axonometric views 1–22, 3–659azimuth (sunlight and daylight system 1–337

BB-spline (glossary) 3–659backburner 2–1465

network rendering 2–1456, 2–1462backburner command line control 2–1499backface cull on object creation 3–551backfacing - ignore 2–350, 2–366, 2–375background 1–42

and antialiasing 2–60, 2–1343background image 1–36

Index 401

color 3–53, 3–57image 3–53reset background transform 1–43sample slot 2–1063select background image 1–40update viewport image 1–42viewport 3–453viewport background 1–36VRML97 helpers 3–248

backlight (sample slot) 2–1062backup

auto 3–548backing up and archiving scenes 1–17backup on save 3–548files 3–548recovered files 1–18

baked material rolloutrendering to texture 2–1448

baking textures 2–1437target map slot 2–1443texture elements 2–1440

barycentriccoordinates (glossary) 3–659

basic file link settings 3–327basic key info 2–694basic parameters rollout

materials 2–1096basics

basic building blocks 1–127creating and modifying objects 1–125file linking 3–318selecting objects 1–60

batchrendering 2–1456 to 2–1457, 2–1462

batch rendering 2–1456 to 2–1457, 2–1462backburner 2–1456, 2–1462 to 2–1463batch render dialog 2–1457batch render tool 2–1457cameras 2–1456 to 2–1457, 2–1462error dialog 2–1457errors 2–1457network rendering 2–1456 to 2–1457, 2–1462presets 2–1457quick start 2–1463scene states 2–1456 to 2–1457, 2–1462using 2–1463

batch rendering completed 2–1457bend modifier 2–53bevel

bevel modifier 2–55bevel profile modifier 2–58deformation 1–326faces and polygons 2–366

patches 2–337types of beveling 1–326

bevel polygons dialog 2–431bezier

controllers 2–699handle control 2–890

bezier curves 3–660bias

mental ray shadow maps 2–989bifold door 1–223billboard (VRML97 helpers) 3–250binding

objects 2–782, 2–786, 2–808vertices 1–268

bitmap map 2–1205bitmap pager 3–542bitmap pager statistics dialog 3–129bitmap/photometric path editor 3–123, 3–132bitmaps

choosing 2–1209display 3–561, 3–565glossary 3–660Material Editor 2–1205, 2–1209path configuration 3–116, 3–532path editor 3–123

blendblend curve (NURBS) 2–520blend element parameters 2–1436blend material 2–1178blend object (glossary) 3–661blend surface (NURBS) 2–545

blend map (baking) 2–1441Blinn highlights 2–1118Blinn shader basic parameters 2–1105block

controller 2–737 to 2–738, 2–740block controller 2–702block reference 3–661block/style parent 3–661blocks 3–357

and linking to Autodesk VIZ 3–661, 3–745AutoCAD 3–340, 3–355AutoCAD and Autodesk VIZ 3–336material assignment 3–358materials 3–358multi-view 3–358propagation 3–355

blowup (render) 2–1326blur

and blur offset (glossary) 3–661rendering effect 3–41

BMP files 3–253Boolean controller 2–705

402 Index

Booleansalignment 1–298and editable splines 1–280Boolean objects 1–298Boolean operation (glossary) 3–662colinear edges 1–298combining objects that have materials 1–305complexity between operands 1–298coplanar faces 1–298face normals 1–298inverted meshes 1–298material IDs 1–298overlapping elements 1–298surface topology 1–298troubleshooting problems with 3–632with maps and materials 1–298

bound vertex 1–268, 3–662bounding box (glossary) 3–663box

BoxGizmo 3–84standard primitive 1–142

box caustics filter 2–1404box selected

render bounding box/selected dialog 2–1329break

spline at selected vertex 1–268vertices 2–357

bricks 2–1232bridge dialog 2–432bridge edges dialog 2–433brightness and contrast effect 3–46browser

material/map 2–1042browsing from Autodesk VIZ 3–117brush options 2–302BSP method 2–1425BSP method, raytrace acceleration 3–719buckets, distributed rendering 2–1421build face 2–366bump mapping 2–1131, 2–1161bump shader (mental ray) 2–1287button

2.5D snap 2–6512D snap 2–6513D snap 2–651align 1–389align camera 1–395align to view 1–395angle snap 2–653animate 3–441arc rotate 3–466array 1–376auto key 3–441

button sets (utilities) 3–500clone and align tool 1–386crossing 1–85current frame 3–446dolly camera 3–467dolly light 3–472dolly target 3–467, 3–472full screen 3–459get material 2–1069go forward to sibling 2–1076go to end 3–446go to frame 3–446go to parent 2–1076go to start 3–445light falloff 3–475light hotspot 3–473lock selection 2–865make unique (Material Editor) 2–1072material and map type 2–1078Material Editor 2–1057Material Editor options 2–1066maximize viewport 3–459mirror 1–375next frame 3–446normal align 1–392orbit/pan camera 3–470orbit/pan light 3–477pan (Track View) 2–899pan (user interface) 3–465percent snap 2–653perspective 3–468pick material from object 2–1078place highlight 1–394play/stop 3–445previous frame 3–445quick align 1–392quick render (Production) 2–1330redo 1–90render scene 2–1325roll camera 3–469roll light 3–475scale keys 2–869, 2–888scale values 2–888select and link 2–768select and manipulate 2–643select and move 1–360select and rotate 1–360select and uniform scale 1–361select by material 2–1069select by name 1–74select object 1–73selection center 1–367selection lock 3–436

Index 403

sets of modifiers 3–493show curves 3–434show end result 2–1076snapshot 1–380spacing tool 1–381spinner snap 2–653squash 1–363transform coordinate center 1–367truck camera 3–470truck light 3–476undo 1–90unlink selection 2–769use pivot point center 1–367zoom 3–461zoom (Track View) 2–900zoom all 3–461zoom extents 3–462zoom extents all 3–459zoom extents all selected 3–459zoom extents selected 3–462zoom horizontal extents 2–899zoom region 3–464zoom region (Track View) 2–901zoom selected object 2–896zoom value extents 2–900

button appearance 3–524by layer 3–663bylayer 3–362

CC-Ext 1–171calculation order (joint precedence) 2–792calculator 1–10camera correction modifier 2–1019camera effects rollout 2–1400camera map modifier

object space 2–60world space 2–41

camera map per pixel 2–1302camera match

camera match helper 2–1018camera match point 2–1018camera match utility 2–1014camera point 2–1018CamPoint 2–1018

camera toolscustomize heights dialog 3–413

camera viewright-click menu 3–453

camera viewports 1–31, 3–467cameras 2–995, 2–1001

align camera button 1–395animating 2–1010, 2–1020camera object icons 2–995

camera view 1–22camera viewport controls 3–467choosing for vertical views 2–995common parameters 2–1003create camera from view 1–46depth of field parameters (mental ray renderer) 2–1012dolly or target 3–467free 2–999match camera to view 1–395multi-pass parameters 2–1012orbit/pan 2–1010, 3–470placing 1–6roll 3–469setting lens size 2–1003target 2–1000truck 3–470using clipping planes to exclude geometry 2–1009using horizon to match perspective 2–1009using move and rotate to aim 2–1008using transforms to aim 2–1008with target 2–1000zoom 2–1010

cameras palette 3–412candela 3–694canopy mode 1–184cap holes modifier 2–62cap surface 2–557capsule 1–166capture viewport 1–33casement window 1–229category, hiding and unhiding objects by 1–68caustics 2–1391, 2–1404caustics (mental ray) 2–1380caustics and global illumination rollout 2–1404CCB files 2–299cellular map 2–1238center 1–356chains (kinematic) 2–796, 3–690chamfer

and editable splines 1–268chamfer curve (NURBS) 2–523ChamferBox 1–162ChamferCyl 1–163editable mesh edges 2–362glossary 3–663

chamfer dialog 2–435change of value over time 2–886

404 Index

changed feature in 2007 2–97, 2–157, 2–247, 2–252, 2–377,2–381, 2–384, 2–399, 2–726, 2–836, 2–860, 2–868,2–887, 2–897, 2–900, 2–989, 2–1059, 2–1320, 2–1334,2–1400, 2–1409, 2–1411, 2–1413, 2–1415, 2–1421,2–1426, 2–1436, 2–1457, 3–147, 3–157, 3–258, 3–277,3–281, 3–284, 3–292, 3–296, 3–298 to 3–299, 3–330,3–440, 3–529, 3–531, 3–533, 3–546, 3–548, 3–551,3–720

changed name 2–1232, 2–1254changed path 2–1154, 2–1339, 2–1341 to 2–1342, 2–1370

to 2–1371, 2–1375, 2–1433changing

controller properties 2–683light objects 2–921link inheritance 2–779smoothing 1–138video system 2–1064

channel 1–256channel (map) 3–695checker map 2–1212children

don’t affect 2–807choose directory dialog 3–529, 3–531choose renderer dialog 2–1341choosing

child-to-parent precedence 2–794colors for realism 2–1030parent-to-child precedence 2–795playback speed and frame rate 2–680transform center 1–356

CIBSE files 3–663cineon image file format dialog 3–253circle 1–244circular

falloff graph 3–35circular arrays 2–19circulating

materials 3–355clean multimaterial utility 2–1308clean remove 2–404clipping planes 2–1003, 2–1009, 3–664clone 2–6clone and align tool 1–386cloning 2–6

clone 2–6materials 3–355objects 1–380, 2–3, 2–13shape sub-object selections 1–261shift+move 2–9shift+rotate 2–10shift+scale 2–11sub-object geometry 2–353

closeassembly 1–103group (group menu) 1–99

close curve dialog 2–590, 2–597CLR files 3–519cmdjob.exe 2–1499codec (glossary) 3–664coincident - making splines 2–212collapse

collapse utility 2–314stack 2–314vertices 2–357, 2–366

collapse controller tool (Track View) 2–842color

and light 2–916, 2–918, 2–961and program state 1–10and realism 2–1030assigning to objects 1–130balance (render effect) 3–46bleeding 2–1392changing vertex color 2–366color selector 1–132copying 1–135, 2–1081display 1–49illegal video colors 2–1064name and color rollout 3–479object color dialog 1–130parameters 2–975selecting vertices by 2–89, 2–390temperature (light color) 2–916

color clipboard files 2–299color clipboard utility 1–135color controls 2–1110color modifier maps 2–1264color palette

vertexpaint modifier 2–299color RGB controller 2–706color selector 1–132, 3–537colors panel (customize UI) 3–519combining objects 1–298Combustion

adding workspace 2–1431combustion map 2–1213combustion workspace file 3–254command line

rendering 2–1493, 2–1496, 2–1499command panel

troubleshooting when missing 3–640command panels

create 3–479display 3–496hierarchy 3–494modify 3–480

Index 405

motion 3–495overview 3–478utilities 3–499

command-line options (MAXScript) 3–504command-line options (starting Autodesk VIZ) 3–383command-line rendering 2–1493, 2–1499

backburner command line 2–1499batch render 2–1493DOS 2–1496pre-render scripts 2–1493, 2–1499

commands provided only from the keyboard 3–381comments on the documentation 3–620common panel

render scene dialog 2–1333common parameters rollout 2–1334commonality 2–38communication center

keyboard shortcuts 3–602compare dialog (loft objects) 1–333compass helper object 2–642complete map (baking) 2–1441component color - specular 3–733composite

glossary 3–664map 2–1260material 2–1179

compositorcompositor maps 2–1259

compound materialsglossary 3–664kinds of 2–1177

compound objects 1–285Boolean 1–298connect 1–292scatter 1–286ShapeMerge 1–296terrain 1–306

concepts 2–1387concrete palette 3–405cone 1–143cone (spotlight) 2–969cone angle manipulator 2–643cone caustics filter 2–1404configuration

network rendering 2–1467configuration settings 2–1415configure

Direct3D 3–565driver 3–551, 3–560key mode 3–447modifier sets 3–493OpenGL 3–561software display driver 3–561

system paths 3–531time 3–447track bar 3–432user paths 3–529utilities button sets 3–500viewports 3–585

configure paths 3–529configure preset dialog 2–1339configure system paths 3–531configure user paths 3–529

bitmaps 2–1480, 3–532file i/o path configuration 3–533FX files 3–532plug-ins path configuration 3–535using 2–1480

connect compound object 1–292connect edges dialog 2–435connect parameter to shader dialog (mental ray) 2–1285constant

coordinate system 3–537facet shading 3–674

constrained pointglossary 3–665

constraints 2–682, 2–740attachment 2–741axis constraints 1–368 to 1–371, 3–396link 2–750look-at 2–753orientation 2–756path 2–745position 2–748surface 2–743transform constraints 1–368

constraints toolbar 1–370contacting us 1–xiicontainers (glossary) 3–665content browser 3–124

utility 3–124content browser (glossary) 3–665continuity 3–665

continuity level (glossary) 3–665NURBS concepts 2–456

contour shadingmental ray 2–1396

contrast sampling thresholds 2–1397control lattice (glossary) 3–666control objects (IK) 2–781control vertex (CV) 3–667control vertex (glossary) 3–666controller 3–666controller menu, Track View 2–841controller toolbar, Track View 2–852controller window, Track View 2–828

406 Index

controllers 2–687 to 2–689, 2–697assigning 2–685audio 2–698bezier 2–699block 2–702Boolean 2–705categories of 2–682changing length 2–819changing properties 2–683changing range 2–819collapsing procedural controllers 2–842color RGB 2–706copy 2–855default settings 3–546Euler XYZ rotation 2–707frame duration 2–819general-purpose controllers 2–687limit 2–709linear 2–715list 2–716local euler XYZ rotation 2–718look at 2–718make unique 2–861noise 2–720on/off 2–721paste 2–856point3 XYZ 2–706position XYZ 2–722properties 2–870PRS 2–723scale XYZ 2–724script 2–725slave 2–702smooth rotation 2–728specifying default 2–686TCB 2–728time duration 2–819transform script 2–731types of 2–681, 2–857understanding 2–682viewing types 2–682waveform 2–733working with 2–681

controllingdisplay performance 1–26flipping on path 2–745IK precision 2–788object display 1–49position 2–690rotation 2–690time 2–678transforms 2–690viewport rendering 1–25

controlscamera viewport 3–467light viewport 3–471perspective and orthographic 3–460special 1–10viewport 3–457

conversion modifierturn to mesh 2–240turn to patch 2–241turn to poly 2–243

convert surface dialog 2–589convex hull property (glossary) 3–666cool (glossary) 3–666coordinate display (mouse position) 3–437coordinate system 1–364coordinate system category manager dialog 3–568coordinates

absolute/offset display 3–437barycentric (glossary) 3–659coordinate display 3–437coordinate system 1–364coordinates rollouts 2–1199, 2–1237mapping 2–1036

copies 2–2creating 2–1overview 2–2

copya material, map, bitmap, or color 2–1048

copy controller 2–855copy keys 2–887copy map dialog 2–1080copy tangent handles 1–268copy time (Track View) 2–876copying

and pasting items/objects 2–883 to 2–884colors 1–135, 2–1081copy controller (Track View) 2–855copy time (Track View) 2–876copy track (Track View) 2–876joint parameters 2–812materials 2–1039, 3–355modifiers 2–855patch surface 2–316presets 3–335splines 1–280transform keys 2–676

crash recovery 1–18create assembly (assembly menu) 1–101create assembly dialog 1–102create camera from view 1–46create key dialog 2–677create material preview dialog 2–1081

Index 407

create menu 1–306, 3–387AEC objects 1–184, 1–188, 1–193, 1–203, 1–206,

1–210, 1–214, 1–222 to 1–223, 1–228 to 1–233cameras 2–995, 2–999 to 2–1000compound objects 1–286, 1–292, 1–296, 1–298, 1–312extended primitives 1–157lights 2–911NURBS 2–466, 2–468, 2–471, 2–475patch grids 2–346 to 2–347, 2–349photometric lights 2–942 to 2–948shapes 1–234, 1–242, 1–244 to 1–250, 1–252 to 1–253,

1–255 to 1–257, 1–259standard lights 2–927 to 2–928, 2–930 to 2–931, 2–933

to 2–934standard primitives 1–141

create new layer 3–374create out of range keys 2–845create out-of-range keys utility (Track View) 2–872create panel 1–126, 3–479

cameras 2–995helpers 2–618lights 2–911, 2–941systems 1–334

create position lock key 2–699create rotation lock key 2–699create shape (editable patch) 2–333creating

1-rail sweep surface 2–5662-rail sweep surface 2–571an object 1–128animated material previews 2–1079arrays 2–1blend surface 2–545cap surface 2–557chamfer curve 2–523circular and spiral arrays 2–19copies 2–1curve sub-objects 2–514custom sample object 2–1056CV curve on surface 2–534CV curve sub-object 2–515CV surface 2–468CV surface sub-object 2–541dependent curve point 2–582dependent curve-curve point 2–585dependent curves 2–514dependent offset point 2–581dependent surface point 2–584dependent surface-curve point 2–586dependent surfaces 2–539editable mesh edges from shapes 2–362editable mesh vertices 2–357extrude surface 2–550

faces 2–366fillet curve 2–526fillet surface 2–578independent surfaces from NURBS curve objects 2–479iso curve 2–530lathe surface 2–552linear arrays 2–17mirror curve 2–522mirror surface 2–549models with NURBS 2–459multicurve trim surface 2–576multiple slices 2–375multisided blend surface 2–575normal projected curve 2–531NURBS curves from splines 2–479NURBS CV curve 2–475NURBS models 2–444NURBS point curve 2–471NURBS sub-objects 2–446NURBS surfaces 2–465, 2–480objects (basics) 1–125offset curve 2–521offset surface 2–548point curve on surface 2–537point curve sub-object 2–517point curve with curve fit 2–519point sub-objects 2–443, 2–581point surface 2–466point surface sub-object 2–543primitives from the keyboard 1–140ruled surface 2–555shapes 1–234sub-objects 2–539surface edge curve 2–539surface offset curve 2–529surface sub-objects 2–539surface-surface intersection curve 2–528transform curve 2–519transform surface 2–544U loft surface 2–558UV loft surface 2–562vector projected curve 2–533

creation method rollout 1–313creation parameters

glossary 3–667cross sections 1–253, 1–255 to 1–257, 1–259, 2–63, 2–212cross-hairs cursor 3–537crossing selection 1–85CrossSection modifier 2–63CUI files 3–525, 3–527current frame 3–430, 3–446current value editor 2–845, 2–874currentdefaults.ini 3–510

408 Index

currently installed driver 3–551curve editor 2–818, 2–826, 2–847

display menu 2–839modes menu 2–835

curvescurve approximation 2–600curve fit 2–519curve point 2–582curve-curve intersection point 2–585curve-curve point 2–585freeze non-selected 2–895

curves menuTrack View 2–845

curves toolbar 2–847custom grid 2–635custom splash screen 1–16custom UI and defaults switcher 3–509custom UI scheme 3–525customize

keyboard shortcut 3–355toolbar 3–355

customize menu 3–393configure system paths 3–531configure user paths 3–529customize user interface 3–511grid and snap settings 2–654load custom UI scheme 3–527lock UI layout 3–508plug-in manager 3–508preferences 3–536revert to startup UI layout 3–529save custom UI scheme 3–527show UI 3–508viewport configuration 3–585

customize user interface 3–511colors 3–519keyboard shortcuts 3–512, 3–605load UI scheme 3–527lock UI layout 3–508menus 3–517overview 3–505quad menus 3–515revert to startup layout 3–529save UI scheme 3–527shortcuts 3–512tool palettes 3–520toolbars 3–513

customizing user interfaceTrack View 2–903

cutand slice 2–362, 2–375and snaps 2–375time (Track View) 2–876

cut time (Track View) 2–876cutout mapping 2–1162, 2–1165CV 3–667CV curve

CV curve 2–475CV curve (glossary) 3–667CV curve on surface 2–534CV curve sub-object 2–515

CV sub-objects 2–450CV surface

CV surface 2–468CV surface (glossary) 3–668CV surface sub-object 2–541

CWS file 2–1431CWS file (combustion workspace) 3–254cycling

animation 2–861cylinder

chamfer 1–163CylGizmo 3–85standard primitive 1–148

cylindrical area omni light 2–938

Ddamping joint action 2–792data management

asset tracking dialog 3–102open from vault 3–93

datumdefine 3–570manager 3–569modify 3–576properties 3–569select 3–579

datum manager dialog 3–569datum properties dialog 3–569daylight

IES sky 2–951IES sun 2–949

DDS files (glossary) 3–254deactivate all maps 1–48decay 2–975default

controller settings 2–686, 3–546controllers 2–686heights 2–617keyboard shortcuts 3–601 to 3–605, 3–608, 3–610 to

3–611, 3–617lighting 2–911, 2–914material settings 2–1072

defaultssetting 3–510setting and changing 1–16switching 3–509

Index 409

defaultui.cui file 1–10define datum dialog 3–570define ellipsoid dialog 3–571define global coordinate system dialog 3–571defining

search terms (HTML help viewer) 3–622time tags 3–439

deformdeform bevel 1–326deform fit 1–327deform scale 1–323deform teeter 1–325deform twist 1–324

deformations (and loft objects) 1–322, 1–328degradation override 1–32degree 2–456, 3–668delete 1–91

controller 2–859keys 2–864, 3–432maps 2–1044material 2–1044mesh modifier 2–66patch modifier 2–67Schematic View 3–314selected keys (track bar) 3–432spline modifier 2–67time (Track View) 2–876Track View 2–901 to 2–902

delete keys 2–819, 2–864delete selected animation 3–402delete time (Track View) 2–876delete Track View 2–901deleting

blocks of time 2–876editable mesh edges 2–362editable mesh vertices 2–357isolated editable mesh vertices 2–357patch surfaces 2–316splines 1–280vertices 1–268

dent map 2–1240dependencies (views menu) 1–45dependent sub-objects 2–452, 3–668depth of field 2–1012, 2–1389, 2–1400, 3–50description dialog 3–425 to 3–426deselect all 1–82Design Web Format 3–139designing materials 2–1025detach

detach (assembly) 1–104detach (group menu) 1–100detach dialog (edit poly) 2–126detach dialog (NURBS curve/surface) 2–590

editable mesh vertices 2–357editable patches 2–337patch surface 2–316

detach editable mesh vertices 2–357DGS material (mental ray) 2–1170dgs material shader (mental ray) 2–1288diagnostics

mental ray renderer 2–1420dialog

asset tracking 3–102bevel polygons 2–431bitmap pager statistics 3–129chamfer 2–435connect edges 2–435extrude polygons 2–437flatten mapping 2–264MAXScript debugger 3–503normal mapping 2–265prompts 3–109relax tool 2–266unfold mapping 2–270unwrap options 2–271XRef objects 3–284

dialogstoggling 3–382

dielectric material shader (mental ray) 2–1291different ambient and different diffuse materials

dialog 3–128diffuse

diffuse color (glossary) 3–668diffuse distribution 2–954diffuse level 2–1114diffuse level mapping 2–1124diffuse mapping 2–1123roughness mapping 2–1124

diffuse map (baking) 2–1441diffuse parameters rollout 2–1437diffuse texture element rollout 2–1437direct manipulation mode 2–378Direct3D driver 3–558, 3–564 to 3–565Direct3D driver setup dialog 3–564directional parameters 2–978directories

for network rendering 2–1477mounting 2–1479sharing 2–1479

disassemble 1–104disc (circular) area light 2–939displace

disp approx modifier (OSM) 2–68displace mesh (world space) 2–42displace modifier (OSM) 2–69displace NURBS (world space) 2–43

410 Index

displacement mapping 2–68, 2–1135, 2–1161displacement shading

mental ray renderer 2–1395display

backface cull 3–496coordinate display 3–437display controls for NURBS models 2–482display driver (specifying at startup) 3–383display floater 3–496display floater (Schematic View) 3–313display image 3–114display performance 1–26display plane 2–622display properties rollout 1–52grid settings 3–438hide/unhide (glossary) 3–684hide/unhide objects 3–496key bracket display 3–546layer properties 3–363line parameters for NURBS surfaces 2–483nth frame 3–551NU scale warning 3–537properties 3–496reflectance 2–1060selection floaters 1–76stack collapse warning 3–537topology-dependence warning 3–537track bar 3–435transmittance 2–1060world axis 3–551

display color rollout 1–49display driver setup dialog 3–558display menu

curve editor 2–839display panel 3–496

display color rollout 1–49display properties rollout 1–52freeze rollout 1–51hide by category rollout 1–50hide rollout 1–51link display rollout 1–55object display 1–49

displayinglinks 2–767selected key statistics (Track View) 2–899selected keys 2–898

distancedistance from origin (accuracy setting) 3–537measuring 2–629, 2–631

distributed bucket rendering rollout 2–1421distributed maps 2–1421distributed rendering 2–1421, 3–720

distributionmaterials 3–355

dithering (glossary) 3–669divide

edges 2–375editable mesh edges 2–362faces 2–366segments 1–275

docking 3–669documentation for Autodesk VIZ 1–xiiDOF 2–1012, 3–50dolly

camera 3–467light 3–472target 3–467, 3–472

don’t affect children 2–807donut 1–247doors 1–180, 1–217

bifold 1–223pivot 1–222sliding 1–223

doors / windows palette 3–405dope sheet 2–818, 2–826

modes menu 2–835toolbars 2–850

DOScommand-line rendering 2–1496

double-sided 3–649double-sided material 2–1181download options (asset browser) 3–130download updates 3–628drag and drop

and copied/instanced maps 2–1080and instanced objects 3–355content from web pages 3–134maps and materials 2–1054modifier 2–28sub-object material assignment 2–1055with i-drop indicator 3–134

draw links as lines 3–551drawing aids 2–617, 2–664DRF files 3–136 to 3–137driver setup/configuration 3–558, 3–561, 3–565dummies

dummy helper object 2–631dummy object (glossary) 3–669

dummy objectsusing 2–775

duplicate name dialog (material library) 2–1082DWF

exporting 3–139DWG files 3–670

exporting 3–157

Index 411

importing 3–147DWG/DXF import options dialog 3–147DXF files 3–670

exporting 3–165importing 3–147, 3–159

Eease curve

applying 2–891deleting 2–892enable toggle 2–892glossary 3–670

ease out-of-range types (Track View) 2–893edge visibility threshold 2–362edges

aligning 2–362and rendering 3–540attaching 2–362chamfer 2–362creating shapes from 2–362cut and slice 2–362deleting 2–362divide 2–375dividing 2–362extruding 2–362make planar 2–362rotating 2–362welding 2–362

edges, deleting 2–362edit

button appearance 3–524preset settings 3–336ranges (Track View) 2–882tag 3–440time 2–874time tag dialog 3–440

edit category dialog 3–572edit commands 1–89edit curve on surface dialog 2–591edit keys (Track View) 2–833, 2–864, 2–869edit keys mode 2–827edit macro button dialog 3–524edit menu 3–385

clone 2–6delete 1–91edit named selections 1–85fetch 1–91hold 1–91object properties 1–107redo 1–90region 1–83Schematic View 3–304select all 1–82select by 1–83

select by color 1–83select by name 1–83select invert 1–82select none 1–82select region crossing 1–84selection method 1–84undo/redo 1–89

edit modifiersand editable objects 2–34edit mesh modifier 2–74edit patch modifier 2–74edit poly modifier 2–76edit spline modifier 2–126

edit named selections 1–85edit poly

align geometry dialog 2–125border 2–107bridge edges dialog 2–433chamfer dialog 2–435connect edges dialog 2–435detach dialog 2–126edge 2–97keyboard shortcuts 3–603object 2–86paint deformation rollout 2–429polygon/element 2–114preserve map channels dialog 2–440relax dialog 2–441vertex 2–89

edit poly modifier 2–76edit ranges 2–882edit ranges mode (Track View) 2–827, 2–833edit texture surface dialog 2–592edit time mode (Track View) 2–833, 2–874edit time tag 3–440edit UVWs dialog 2–252

menu bar 2–260edit wire 2–759edit/editable object shortcuts 3–603 to 3–604editable mesh 2–350, 3–671

aligning 2–354edge 2–362element 2–366exploding 2–354face 2–366object 2–354polygon 2–366vertex 2–357

editable objects and edit modifiers 2–34editable patch 2–316

attach 2–337changing vertex type 2–325deleting vertices 2–325

412 Index

detach 2–337edge 2–333element 2–343handle 2–331keyboard shortcuts 3–604object 2–321patch 2–337vector 2–331vertex 2–325visibility of 2–321

editable poly 2–377border 2–411bridge edges dialog 2–433chamfer dialog 2–435connect edges dialog 2–435edge 2–399glossary 3–671keyboard shortcuts 3–604object 2–387paint deformation rollout 2–429polygon/element 2–418preserve map channels dialog 2–440relax dialog 2–441vertex 2–390

editable spline 1–261, 2–212and overlapping vertices 1–261attaching to 1–275general rollout (for object and sub-objects) 1–261identification numbers and 1–261object 1–266rendering options 1–261segment 1–275setting vertex type 1–268spline 1–280vertex 1–268vertex area selection 1–261

editinganimation 2–694curve cv sub-objects 2–491curve sub-objects 2–498modifier stack 2–32named selection sets 1–63point sub-objects 2–487, 2–581strokes 3–597surface cv sub-objects 2–494surface sub-objects 2–504time (Track View) 2–874time tags 3–440wall objects 1–198

effects 3–1auto secondary lens effects 3–19blur lens effects 3–41brightness and contrast lens effects 3–46

color balance lens effects 3–46depth of field lens effects 3–50effects (rendering menu) 3–2effects panel 3–3environment and effects dialog 3–1file output lens effects 3–47film grain lens effects 3–49glow lens effects 3–7lens effects 3–4manual secondary lens effects 3–23merging from other files 3–4ray lens effects 3–15rings lens effects 3–11star lens effects 3–27streak lens effects 3–31

elements 3–671of rendered textures 2–1440rendering 2–1426

ellipse 1–245ellipsoid

define 3–571manager 3–573modify 3–577properties 3–574select 3–580

ellipsoid manager dialog 3–573ellipsoid properties dialog 3–574email notification

network rendering 2–1487rendering 2–1339

enable ease or multiplier curve toggle 2–892encapsulated PostScript files 3–254end effectors 2–782, 2–784, 2–788, 2–796, 3–671

animating 2–786linking to parent 2–786

entering frames 2–897entities

AutoCAD 3–340environment 3–52

and raytrace materials 2–1138environment map (glossary) 3–672environment panel 3–53exposure controls 3–73

environment and effects dialog 3–1effects panel 3–3environment panel 3–53

environment effectfire 3–57fog 3–62volume fog 3–64volume light 3–68

environment shader (mental ray) 2–1292

Index 413

environments 3–1environment and effects dialog 3–1

EPS files 3–254ERCO luminaires palette 3–415, 3–419error dialog (Lightscape import) 3–224errors 1–18Euler XYZ rotation controller 2–707exclude

exclude left end point (Track View) 2–879exclude right end point (Track View) 2–880exclude/include lights 2–923, 2–965

exclude left end point (Track View) 2–879exclude right end point (Track View) 2–880excluding layers 3–337execute network rendering 2–1471exit command (file menu) 3–116expert mode 1–48explicit axis keys 2–689, 2–723explode

assemblies 1–104editable mesh objects/sub-objects 2–354explode angle threshold 2–366groups 1–100splines 1–280

explode angle threshold 2–354export Lightscape Block (BLK) file dialog 3–203

general panel 3–204lights panel 3–206

export Lightscape Layer (LAY) file dialog 3–208export Lightscape Material (ATR) file dialog 3–208export Lightscape Parameter (DF) file dialog 3–209export lightscape preparation (LP) file dialog

daylight panel 3–198export Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog 3–192,

3–220animation panel 3–197general panel 3–193lights panel 3–195views panel 3–200windows panel 3–199

export Lightscape View (VW) file dialog 3–201views panel 3–202windows panel 3–202

export selected (file menu) 3–101exporting

3D DWF 3–1393DS files 3–143Adobe Illustrator files 3–145ASCII files 3–145DWG files 3–157DXF files 3–165export (file menu) 3–101FBX 3–171

IGES files 3–176objects 3–101selected objects 3–101Shockwave 3D files 3–225 to 3–226stereolithography 3–233STL files 3–233to IGES 3–177VRML97 files 3–234W3D files 3–225 to 3–226

exporting materials 2–1037expose transform

helper object 2–632exposetm 2–632

helper object 2–632exposure control 3–73

automatic 3–74linear 3–76logarithmic 3–77pseudo color 3–79

expression evaluator 1–10expression techniques 1–119extended parameters rollout (materials) 2–1097extended primitives 1–157

C-Ext 1–171capsule 1–166chamfer box 1–162chamfer cylinder 1–163gengon 1–170hedra 1–158hose 1–176L-Ext 1–169L-Extrusion 1–169oil tank 1–165prism 1–175ringwave 1–173spindle 1–167torus knot 1–160

extended shapesangle 1–257channel 1–256tee 1–259wide flange 1–259wrectangle 1–255

extended splines 1–237extents

scene extents 3–726extents (glossary) 3–673external reference 3–749external reference, AutoCAD (glossary) 3–749extras dope sheet toolbar

Track View 2–852extras toolbar 3–397

414 Index

extrudeeditable mesh edges 2–362extrude modifier 2–127extrude surface (NURBS) 2–550faces 2–128faces and polygons 2–366patches 2–337

extrude edges dialog 2–438extrude polygons along spline dialog 2–436extrude polygons dialog 2–437extrude vertices dialog 2–438extruded shapes 1–169, 1–171eyedropper tool 2–1078

Ff-stop 2–1389, 2–1400fabrics palette 3–405face extrude modifier 2–128face/edge thresholds (optimize modifier) 2–170faces

assigning to smoothing groups 2–366beveling and extruding 2–366creating 2–366dividing 2–366tessellating 2–366

faces sub-objectLightscape mesh objects 3–215

faces, assigning to smoothing groups 2–366faceted (glossary) 3–674fade in/out (lights) 2–975falloff 2–969

falloff map 2–1244glossary 3–686light falloff 3–475

family elementsfrom Revit 3–356rendering properties 3–356

fast adaptive antialiaser 2–1155fast view display mode 3–586favorite location dialog 3–131favorites

asset browser 3–131HTML help viewer 3–624

FBXexporting 3–171import advanced parameters dialog (animation) 3–170importing 3–168

feedback about the documentation 1–xii, 3–620fence selection region 1–78fetch 1–91FFDs 3–674

FFD 2x2x2 2–129FFD 3x3x3 2–129FFD 4x4x4 2–129

FFD modifier 2–129FFD(box) modifier 2–132FFD(cyl) modifier 2–132

FGM files 3–674field of view

flyout 3–463glossary 3–674

field-of-viewfield-of-view button 3–463

fields (glossary) 3–675file corruption 3–630file i/o path configuration 3–533file link 3–651

advanced settings 3–330basic settings 3–327basics 3–318excluding layers 3–337file link settings dialog 3–327, 3–333including layers 3–337manager utility 3–323presets 3–327, 3–330tips for using 3–319working with drawing files 3–316xref resolution 3–337

file menu 3–90, 3–385archive 3–110 to 3–111exit 3–116export 3–101export selected 3–101file link manager 3–323file properties 3–112import 3–100merge 3–97new 3–90open 3–91open recent 3–94print setup 3–113print viewport 3–114replace 3–99reset 3–91save 3–94save as 3–95save copy as 3–96save selected 3–96summary info 3–111view image file 3–114XRef objects 3–281XRef scene 3–292

file output 3–47file properties 3–112file types

CWS 2–1431file-handling commands 3–90

Index 415

filesbackup and saving 3–548compressed 3–548finding 3–126incremental saves 3–548managing 1–13mismatched units 3–584preferences settings 3–548recent in file menu 3–548

filletand editable splines 1–268fillet curve 2–526fillet surface 2–578fillet/chamfer modifier 2–134glossary 3–676

film grain effect 3–49filter color mapping 2–1128filter color/filter opacity (glossary) 3–676filtering bitmaps 3–676filters 2–1397

caustics 2–1404environment backgrounds (viewports) 3–551filter (track bar) 3–432filter combinations dialog 1–80filtering selections 1–80filters button (Track View) 2–853filters dialog (Track View) 2–853key 3–442sampling 3–724

final gather map (FGM file) 3–674final gather rollout 2–1409final gathering 2–1392, 2–1409, 3–677finishes palette 3–405fire environment effect 3–57first vertex 1–268, 3–678fit (deformation) 1–327fix ambient utility 3–128fixed window 1–230fixing problems 3–629flag properties dialog (Material Editor) 2–1229flag with black 3–540flat mirror map 2–1267, 2–1382, 3–678flatten mapping 2–263 to 2–264flatten sides 2–366FLC files 3–255flip normals 1–137, 2–366float controllers 2–689float limit controller 2–709floaters 1–352, 3–496

display floaters 3–496Schematic View display floater 3–313selection floaters 1–76transform type-in 1–352

floating 3–669flooring palette 3–405fluorescence (glossary) 3–679fluorescent light tools

customize heights dialog 3–413fluorescent palette 3–412flyouts 1–10

align 1–388arc rotate 3–466array 1–374dolly camera/target 3–467dolly light/target 3–472field of view 3–463flyout (glossary) 3–679material ID channel 2–1074orbit/pan light 3–477restrict to plane 1–370selection region 1–76timing preferences 3–537use center 1–366zoom extents 3–462zoom extents all 3–459

focus plane 2–1389fog

VRML97 helper 3–243fog environment effect 3–62foliage 1–180, 1–184follow object

binding to 2–786glossary 3–679

follow/bank utility 2–907footcandle 3–687forward kinematics 3–679

and IK 2–781manipulating hierarchies with 2–772

FOVfield-of-view button 3–463

frame rate 2–680, 3–447, 3–680frames (snapping) 2–865free area light 2–948free camera 2–999free lights

direct 2–933linear 2–946spot 2–930

free-form deformation (FFD)box/cyl modifier 2–132modifier 2–129shortcuts 3–605

freezefreeze rollout (display panel) 1–51freeze/unfreeze (glossary) 3–680freezing/unfreezing objects 1–66, 3–496

416 Index

freeze non-selected curves (Track View) 2–895freeze selection’s layer 3–375full screen 3–459function curve editor 2–826, 2–847function curves

add keys mode 2–889glossary 3–680show tangents 2–890Track View 2–886

fuse vertices 1–268, 1–275, 1–280fusing (glossary) 3–681FX files

path configuration 3–532

GG-buffer 3–681

layers (rendering preferences) 3–540gamma correction (glossary) 3–682gamma preferences 3–550general parameters (lights) 2–961general preferences settings 3–537general settings rollout

render to texture 2–1444gengon 1–170geographic location dialog 1–338geometric primitives 3–682geometry

AutoCAD 3–340AutoCADArchitectural Desktop 3–341compound objects 1–285doors 1–217extended primitives 1–157file formats 3–135geometric primitives 1–139importing 3–135loft object 1–312standard primitives 1–141types of 1–127windows 1–224

GeoSphere 1–147get material 2–1069getting started 1–1ghosts

ghost before/after current frame 3–551ghost in wireframe 3–551

GI (global illumination) 2–1350GIF files 3–255gizmo

box atmospheric apparatus 3–84cylinder atmospheric apparatus 3–85gizmo/center (glossary) 3–683preferences 3–554sphere atmospheric apparatus 3–87types of 3–83

using transform gizmos 1–348global and local exclude/include dialog (for raytraced maps

and materials) 2–1154global coordinate system 3–544

category manager 3–568define 3–571edit category 3–572manager 3–574modify 3–577new category 3–579properties 3–575select 3–580

global coordinate system manager 3–574global coordinate system properties 3–575global illumination 2–1350, 2–1360, 2–1392, 2–1404,

3–677global illumination (mental ray) 2–1380global lighting (rendered environment) 3–53global raytracer settings dialog 2–1151global shadow parameters (Track View) 2–828gloss palette 3–405glossary 3–649glossiness mapping 2–1126, 3–683glow

render effect 3–7go to settings

Material Editor 2–1076time 3–436, 3–445 to 3–446

goniometric diagrams 2–957grab viewport 1–33gradients

gradient map 2–1224gradient ramp map 2–1226

graph editors menu 3–392delete schematic view 3–314delete Track View 2–901new schematic view 3–300, 3–314new Track View 2–901saved schematic views 3–300saved Track View 2–902Track View 2–901Track View - curve editor 2–818Track View - dope sheet 2–818

graphics driver setup dialog 3–558grid

autogrid 2–623grid and snap settings 2–654

grid nudge distance 3–551grid setting display 3–438home grid settings 2–662options 2–660snap override 2–658snaps 2–654

Index 417

user grids settings 2–664grid method 2–1425grid method, raytrace acceleration 3–719grids 2–649, 3–683

activating 2–650align to view 2–650aligning to 2–354, 2–357, 2–362and resolution of patch model surface 2–321, 2–325,

2–333, 2–337, 2–343grid and snap settings 2–654grid helper object 2–635show home grid 2–649using 2–619, 2–621viewing 2–622

group menu 1–98, 1–103, 3–386attach 1–100close 1–99detach 1–100explode 1–100group 1–98open 1–99ungroup 1–99

groups 1–92and assemblies 1–93and selection sets 1–92, 3–386closing nested groups 1–99detach from 1–104explode 1–100smoothing 1–138using 3–386usingworking with 1–92

Hhandle display size 3–552HD IK solver 2–784, 2–786, 2–792, 2–808 to 2–809, 2–811

to 2–813HD solver 2–813HD Solver 2–786, 2–788, 2–793, 2–796, 2–808 to 2–809,

2–811 to 2–812HDR file format 3–256HDRI files 3–256head object 1–105head object (glossary) 3–684hedra 1–158helix 1–252help 1–ix, 3–619

about HTML help 3–620contents 3–620favorites tab 3–624index 3–620search 3–620searching for help topics 3–622

help menu 3–394about Autodesk VIZ 3–628

activate Autodesk VIZ 3–628additional help 3–628hotkey map 3–627MAXScript reference 3–627Autodesk VIZ on the web 3–628tutorials 3–627user reference 3–627

helper object 3–684helpers 2–618, 2–629

atmospheric apparatus 3–83camera match 2–1018compass 2–642cone angle 2–643dummy 2–631expose transform 2–632exposetm 2–632grid 2–635luminaire 1–105manipulators 2–642plane angle 2–645point 2–638protractor 2–641slider 2–646standard 2–631tape 2–639VRML97 3–240

hide 1–51, 3–684hide by category 1–50hide selection’s layer 3–375hiding and unhiding 1–51

by category 1–50, 1–68by selection 1–67edges 2–333editable spline vertices 1–268hide rollout 1–51

hierarchical linkage 3–684hierarchical subdivision surfaces 2–136hierarchies

hierarchical linkage (glossary) 3–684joint limits 2–767navigating 2–771terminology 2–763using multiple 2–764viewing 2–771

hierarchy panel 3–494commands 2–804IK 2–808link info rollouts 2–816pivot 2–805

hierarchy right-click menu (Track View) 2–831hierarchy window (Track View)

placing selected objects 2–896selecting by name 2–896

418 Index

high dynamic range images 3–256, 3–264high intensity discharge 3–412high intensity discharge light tools

customize heights dialog 3–413high-resolution rendering 2–1487highlights

anisotropic 2–1116Blinn 2–1118metal 2–1119multi-layer 2–1120Oren-Nayar-Blinn 2–1118Phong 2–1118specular color 3–733

hinge polygons from edge dialog 2–438history list 3–94, 3–114, 3–303history-dependent IK solver 2–784hold (edit menu) 1–91home grid 1–21

glossary 3–685settings 2–662using 2–620views based on the world coordinate axes 1–21

horizon (glossary) 3–685horizontal (move key) 2–887horizontal bezier handle control 2–890hose 1–176hosts file 2–1421hot (glossary) 3–686hot keys 3–601 to 3–605, 3–608, 3–610 to 3–611, 3–617,

3–627hotkey map 3–627hotspot 2–969, 3–473, 3–686how to (NURBS)

fix objects 2–463improve performance 2–464make things 2–459

HSDS modifier 2–136, 2–141HSV (glossary) 3–722HTML help viewer

favorites tab 3–624keyboard shortcuts 3–625right-click menus 3–625searching in 3–622toolbar 3–624using 3–620

hue/saturation/value (glossary) 3–722

Ii-drop Indicator 3–134IAM files

importing 3–165ICB targa files 3–276icons

color scheme 3–527

IDmaterial ID channel 2–1073

IES 2–958IES sky 2–951IES sun 2–949

IFL files 3–259and view file command 2–1318, 3–114IFL manager utility 3–261image file list control dialog 3–261

IGES 3–687and NURBS surfaces 3–172export/import log file 3–174, 3–176exporting to 3–177file translation 3–172history 3–172IGES import dialog 3–174import table to Autodesk VIZ 3–175log files 3–174overview 3–172temporary files 3–174

ignore animation range 2–859ignore backfacing 2–350, 2–366, 2–375IK

and control objects 2–781and set key 2–674animating with interactive IK 2–798IK joints 2–782IK solution (glossary) 3–687preferences 3–542

IK rollouts 2–808auto termination 2–816inverse kinematics 2–815object parameters 2–808

IK solvers 2–784, 2–786illegal video colors 2–1064illuminance 3–687illumination maps

Lightscape import 3–215image file formats 3–251image file list

IFL control dialog 3–261IFL manager utility 3–261

image motion blur (glossary) 3–688image sequence 2–1318images (2D) 3–251import

file menu 3–100IGES files 3–174 to 3–175import options 3–231

import Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog 3–221importing

3DS files 3–141Adobe Illustrator 88 files 3–145

Index 419

and attaching Autodesk VIZ objects 2–484DDF 3–190DEM Models 3–190DWG and DXF files 3–147DXF files 3–159FBX 3–168IAM files 3–165IGES files 3–174IPT files 3–165landXML 3–190PRJ files 3–142scenes 1–14SHP files 3–144STL files 3–231VRML files 3–233

importing geometry 3–135merge or replace scene 3–135

IMSQ files 3–262incandescent light tools

customize heights dialog 3–413incandescent palette 3–412include/exclude lights 2–923including layers 3–337incremental saves 1–17, 3–548independent 3–172, 3–688index of refraction 2–1097, 2–1133, 2–1138, 2–1160,

2–1244, 2–1274indirect illumination 2–1404, 3–714inherit rollout 2–817inheritance 2–779initial graphics exchange specification (IGES) 3–172,

3–687inline (VRML VRML97 helpers) 3–251insert

time (Track View) 2–878vertices 1–266, 1–280

insert keys 2–868inset polygons dialog 2–439installing

Autodesk VIZ (for network rendering) 2–1476instance duplicate maps utility 2–1311instanced modifiers 2–39instanced objects

AutoCAD 3–355rendering properties 3–356 to 3–357

instances 2–2glossary 3–689make unique 2–883, 2–885of maps 2–1080overview 2–2propagating materials 3–355propagation 3–355

intensity (light) 2–916, 2–918

intensity mapping 2–1162intensity/color/attenuation parameters 2–975intensity/color/distribution rollout 2–981interactive IK 2–798interactive manipulation mode 2–378interactive rendering 3–745internet

access 3–133connection 3–117internet download dialog 3–130

interpolation 3–689intersection 3–551introduction

inverse kinematics 2–781NURBS modeling 2–443object selection 1–57rendering effects 3–2sub-object selection 1–70to this reference 3–619

inventor filesimporting 3–165

inverse kinematicscontrolling precision 2–788glossary 3–689introduction 2–781methods 2–783preferences settings 3–542rollout 2–815terminology 2–782

invert selection 1–82IOR 2–1097, 2–1133, 2–1138, 2–1160, 2–1244, 2–1274IPT files

importing 3–165iso curves 2–530iso line (glossary) 3–690isolate selection tool 1–69isolate selection’s layer 3–375isometric views 1–22isotropic light distribution 2–953iteration setting (HD IK solver) 2–788

Jjambs 1–180jitter (antialiasing control) 2–1397, 3–724, 3–726job archives

network job assignment 2–1489network rendering 2–1465

job dialogs (network rendering) 2–1481job settings (network rendering) 2–1491join dialogs (NURBS) 2–594 to 2–595joints

activating joint axes 2–802joint limits (hierarchies) 2–767joint parameters 2–800, 2–812

420 Index

joint precedence 2–792 to 2–793, 2–811joint resistance and spring back 2–792limiting joint action 2–804path 2–800rotational 2–800setting joint precedence 2–792setting joint resistance 2–792setting parameters 2–800sliding 2–800sliding and rotational 2–813surface 2–800using default joint precedence 2–793

JPEG files 3–263

KKaydara FiLMBOX 3–168, 3–171KBD files 3–512, 3–525key filters 3–442key info

Bezier controllers 2–699key info rollouts 2–694, 2–696master track key info dialog 2–738

key mode 3–447key modes (links) 2–776key tangents toolbar 2–847key tools toolbar 2–847keyable icons 2–839keyboard

additional commands 3–381creating primitives from 1–140keyboard entry rollout 1–140keyboard panel (customize UI) 3–512

keyboard shortcuts 3–512, 3–601 to 3–605, 3–608, 3–610to 3–611, 3–617

HTML help viewer 3–625map 3–627override toggle 3–602

keyframe interpolation 2–695keyframe mode 3–441

glossary 3–690keys

adding 2–869aligning 2–866create out of range 2–845create out-of-range 2–872delete 2–819, 2–864editing 2–864glossary 3–690interpolating 2–695key mode 3–447key properties (track bar) 3–432key statistics (Track View) 2–899key time display (Track View) 2–897moving 2–867, 2–887

moving a group of 2–868moving horizontal and vertical (Track View) 2–887randomize 2–845randomize utility 2–871reducing 2–881select 2–819select by time 2–845, 2–873soft selection manager 2–845

keys menutrack view 2–843

keys windows (Track View) 2–822kinematic chains 2–782, 3–690knot (glossary) 3–691knowledgebase 3–628Kodak Cineon 3–253

LL-Ext 1–169L-Extrusion 1–169l-type stair 1–203landXML importer 3–190landXML/DEM model import dialog 3–191Large BSP method 2–1425lasso selection region 1–78lathe

lathe modifier 2–142lathe surface (NURBS) 2–552

lattice modifier 2–144launch script (glossary) 3–691layer defaults 3–537layer list 3–373layer manager 3–364layer properties dialog 3–369layers 1–108, 3–362

AutoCAD and Autodesk VIZ 3–336excluding in file linking 3–337freeze 3–375from AutoCAD 3–322from Revit 3–322glossary 3–691hide 3–375including in file linking 3–337isolate 3–375layer list button 3–373layer manager 3–364layer properties dialog 3–369select dialog 3–337

layers toolbar 3–397add selection to current layer 3–374create new layer 3–374select objects in current layer 3–374set current layer to selection’s layer 3–374

layout (viewports) 1–24, 3–588layout menu (Schematic View) 3–305

Index 421

layout modeglossary 3–691

legacy DWG import 3–155lens effects 3–4

auto secondary 3–19blur 3–41brightness and contrast 3–46color balance 3–46depth of field 3–50file output 3–47film grain effect 3–49glow 3–7manual secondary 3–23ray 3–15ring 3–11star 3–27streak 3–31

lens size (cameras) 2–1003level of detail

VRML97 helpers (LOD) 3–245light distribution

diffuse 2–954isotropic 2–953spotlight 2–954web 2–955

light include/exclude tool 2–923light lister 2–924light map 3–691light painting rollout (radiosity) 2–1370light parameters

mental ray indirect illumination rollout 2–973mental ray light shader rollout 2–974

light shader rollout 2–974light shaders

mental ray 2–974light tracer 2–1350light viewports 1–22, 1–31, 3–471lighting

exclude/include dialog 2–965general parameters 2–961guidelines 2–919in Autodesk VIZ 2–918

lighting analysis 2–1375, 3–79, 3–270lighting analysis dialog 2–1376lighting data exporter utility 3–82lighting map (baking) 2–1441lights 2–911, 2–941

add default lights to scene 1–46 to 1–47advanced effects rollout 2–970and atmospheres 2–980and effects 2–980and materials 2–1029and shading 2–1029

and shadows 2–918animating 2–922atmospheres and effects for 2–979dolly 3–472free area 2–948free direct 2–933free linear 2–946free point 2–944free spotlight 2–930light falloff 3–475light include/exclude tool 2–923light lister 2–924mental ray shadow maps 2–989name and color rollout 2–913omni 2–934orbit/pan 3–477photometric lights 2–941placing 1–6positioning 2–921properties of 2–916roll 3–475standard 2–927target area 2–947target direct 2–931target linear 2–945target point 2–943target spotlight 2–928truck 3–476types of 2–911, 2–941using 2–913viewport controls 3–473, 3–475working with 2–914

lights name and color rollout 2–913lights palette 3–412Lightscape 3–184

creating geometry for export 3–179creating materials for export 3–179export 3–178export Lightscape Block (BLK) file dialog 3–203export Lightscape Block (BLK) file dialog, general

panel 3–204export Lightscape Block (BLK) file dialog, lights

panel 3–206export Lightscape Layer (LAY) file dialog 3–208export Lightscape Material (ATR) file dialog 3–208export Lightscape Parameter (DF) file dialog 3–209export Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog 3–192,

3–220export Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog,

animation panel 3–197export Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog, daylight

panel 3–198

422 Index

export Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog, generalpanel 3–193

export Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog, lightspanel 3–195

export Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog, viewspanel 3–200

export Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog, windowspanel 3–199

export Lightscape View (VW) file dialog 3–201export Lightscape View (VW) file dialog, general

panel 3–202export Lightscape View (VW) file dialog, views

panel 3–202exporting animations to Lightscape 3–185exporting daylight 3–183exporting standard lights 3–180grouping geometry for export 3–180how objects are converted to Lightscape on

export 3–189import 3–210, 3–214import Lightscape Preparation (LP) file dialog 3–221importing Lightscape Preparation (LP) files 3–211importing Lightscape Solution (LS) files 3–211importing Lightscape View (VW) files 3–211keeping original materials when exporting 3–184mesh objects 3–214saving camera views for export 3–184setting units and scale on export 3–182using relative paths when exporting block (BLK) and

material (ATR) files 3–185Lightscape import

error dialog 3–224illumination maps 3–215Lightscape Materials utility 3–219troubleshooting 3–218

lightscape material 2–1191Lightscape Materials utility 3–219Lightscape Preparation (LP) files

importing 3–211Lightscape Solution (LS) files 3–218

importing 3–211Lightscape View (VW) files

importing 3–211limit controller 2–709limiting animation ranges 2–709limiting joint action 2–804line 1–242linear arrays (creating) 2–17linear controller 2–715linear exposure control 3–76linear light rollout 2–983link

linking drawing files 3–723

link constraint 2–750link rollouts 1–55, 2–816

link info inherit 2–817link info locks 2–817

linkage, hierarchical 3–684linked file states 3–323linked objects

assigning materials to 3–344, 3–353conversion settings 3–327, 3–333selecting when file linking 3–338

linkingand unlinking objects 2–767animatable parameters 2–758 to 2–759bones to follow objects 2–786end effectors to parent 2–786strategy 2–764

linking files 3–323links

adding and deleting 2–776and pivots 2–772animating links 2–776changing link inheritance 2–779displaying 2–767link inheritance (selected) utility 2–780main toolbar 2–768

listlayers 3–373list controller 2–716named selection sets 1–81selection filter 1–80transformation axis coordinate system 1–364

list views (Schematic View) 3–306listener

listener window (glossary) 3–692MAXScript listener 3–502

load custom UI scheme 3–527local center during animate 3–546local coordinate system (glossary) 3–692local euler XYZ rotation controller 2–718local illumination 2–1350lock

lock selection 2–865lock time tag 3–439lock UI layout 3–508locking object transforms 2–778selection lock 3–436

lock selectionstatus bar 3–436Track View 2–865

locks rollout 2–817LOD

VRML97 helpers 3–245

Index 423

loft object 1–312creation method rollout 1–313deform bevel 1–326deform fit 1–327deform scale 1–323deform teeter 1–325deform twist 1–324deformation dialog 1–328deformations 1–322path commands 1–332path parameters rollout 1–316shape commands 1–332skin parameters rollout 1–317surface parameters rollout 1–314

lofting 3–693shapes 1–234

log file 2–1421, 3–693log files

IGES 3–174logarithmic exposure control 3–77LogLUV format (TIFF files) 3–82look at controller 2–718look-at constraint 2–753looping

animation 2–861animation (Track View) 2–879 to 2–880

low pressure sodium light toolscustomize heights dialog 3–413

low res environment background 3–551low-polygon modeling 2–614low-pressure sodium palette 3–412LS (Lightscape Solution) files 3–218LS colors 2–45LS colors modifier 2–45LS mesh modifier 2–146LTLI files 3–693lume shaders 2–1284lumen 3–694LumeTools shaders 2–1284luminaire helper object 1–105luminaires palette 3–415, 3–419luminance 3–694luminous flux (glossary) 3–694luminous intensity (glossary) 3–694lux 3–687LZF files 3–694LZG files 3–694LZH files 3–694LZO files 3–694LZV files 3–694

Mmacro recorder (MAXScript) 3–503main toolbar 3–395

main user interface shortcuts 3–605main window 1–9make controller/object unique (Track View) 2–861make curve on surface dialog 2–588make loft dialog 2–596make material copy 2–1072make point curve dialog 2–597make point dialog 2–596make preview 2–1065, 2–1451make unique 2–32, 2–39, 2–885, 3–491

Material Editor 2–1072manage scene states 3–375manage scene states dialog 3–377manager (network rendering) 2–1471managers (transform) 1–354managing

files 1–13scenes and projects 3–89

manipulator 2–642manipulator helper objects

cone angle 2–643plane angle 2–645slider 2–646

manipulatorsbuilt-in 2–643select and manipulate 2–643

manual secondary flares 3–23mapped material

glossary 3–696mapping

ambient color 2–1122anisotropy 2–1128bump 2–1131coordinates (glossary) 3–696cutout 2–1165diffuse color 2–1123diffuse level 2–1124diffuse roughness 2–1124displacement 2–1135filter color 2–1128flatten 2–264glossiness 2–1126map network drive dialog 2–1479mapping coordinates 2–1036metalness 2–1130normal 2–265opacity 2–1127orientation 2–1129reflection 2–1132refraction 2–1133self-illumination 2–1127shininess 2–1126shininess strength 2–1125

424 Index

specular color 2–1125specular level 2–1125unfold 2–270

maps 2–1236, 2–1421, 3–1162D 2–11993D 2–1236activate all 1–48camera map per pixel 2–1302cellular 2–1238checker 2–1212color modifier 2–1264combustion 2–1213composite 2–1260compositor maps 2–1259custom Autodesk VIZ mental ray shaders 2–1283,

2–1286 to 2–1288, 2–1291 to 2–1295, 2–1299,2–1301

cutout mapping 2–1165deactivate all 1–48deleting 2–1044dent 2–1240dragging and dropping 2–1054falloff 2–1244flat mirror 2–1267glossary 3–697gradient 2–1224gradient ramp 2–1226hierarchy (glossary) 3–699light map 3–691lume shaders 2–1284map bias (glossary) 3–695map channel (glossary) 3–695map types 2–1193mapped materials 2–1074maps rollout 2–1100marble 2–1246mask 2–1261mental ray shaders 2–1283mix 2–1261noise 2–1247”other” (in the material/map browser) 2–1267, 2–1270

to 2–1271, 2–1274, 2–1283 to 2–1284, 2–1286 to2–1288, 2–1291 to 2–1295, 2–1299, 2–1301 to2–1302

output 2–1264Perlin marble 2–1249planet 2–1250procedural 3–717projected 2–970raytrace 2–1270reflect/refract 2–1271reflection and refraction 2–1267RGB multiply 2–1263

RGB tint 2–1265show in viewport 2–1074smoke 2–1251speckle 2–1252splat 2–1252stucco 2–1253swirl 2–1230thin wall refraction 2–1274tiles 2–1232to enhance material 2–1033transparency 2–1165type button (Material Editor) 2–1078vertex color 2–1265waves 2–1254wood 2–1255

MapScaler object-space modifier 2–147MapScaler world-space modifier 2–46marble map 2–1246market-specific defaults 3–510mask map 2–1261mask viewport to safe region 3–551masonry palette 3–405master block parameters dialog (block controller) 2–738master object 2–24master point controller 2–738material

xref material 2–1192material assignment

blocks 3–358material attach options dialog (Boolean objects) 1–305Material Editor 2–1039

bitmap 2–1205maps rollout 2–1100material ID channel 2–1073menu bar 2–1059options dialog 2–1066shortcuts 3–608tools 2–1057type button 2–1078

material IDand attaching objects 2–374and Booleans 1–298and editable meshes 2–366and editable patches 2–337and editable splines 1–280glossary 3–698

material ID channelflyout 2–1074Material Editor 2–1073

material IDs rolloutLightscape import 3–215

material propagation 3–355

Index 425

material shaders rolloutmental ray material 2–1166

material studios 3–415 to 3–416material to shader 2–1293material xml exporter utility 2–1037material/map browser 2–1042material/map navigator 2–1076materialbyelement modifier 2–149materials 2–1025, 2–1030, 2–1382

adding to library 2–1037advanced lighting override 2–1188and attaching objects 2–374and blocks 3–357and styles 3–360animating 2–1079applying to an object 2–1035applying to objects 2–1039architectural 2–1157Architectural Desktop 3–344 to 3–345assign to selection 2–1071assigning 3–344, 3–353blend 2–1178blocks 3–358changing 3–345, 3–353combined when attaching objects/splines 1–266, 2–354components 2–1029composite 2–1179compound materials 2–1177copying 2–1039default material settings 2–1072deleting 2–1044designing 2–1025DGS material (mental ray) 2–1170double-sided 2–1181dragging and dropping 2–1054editable 2–1157exporting 2–1037get 2–1069getting from library 2–1039glass (mental ray) 2–1172glossary 3–699hierarchy (glossary) 3–699ID channel 2–1073lightscape 2–1191loading from scene 2–1039make copy 2–1072material modifier 2–148material name field 2–1078material properties rollout (NURBS) 2–511matte/shadow 2–1174mental ray 2–1166multi/sub-object 2–1182name 2–1026, 2–1039

pick from object 2–1078propagation 3–355put to library 2–1073put to scene 2–1070raytrace 2–1137Revit 3–352 to 3–353saving 2–1037, 2–1039scene 2–1070select by 2–1069shell 2–1187shellac 2–1185show end result 2–1076SSS materials (mental ray) 2–1173standard 2–1093subsurface scattering (SSS) materials (mental

ray) 2–1173top-bottom 2–1186type 2–1027, 2–1086type button (Material Editor) 2–1078types of 2–1086updating 2–1070using 1–6using maps to enhance 2–1033

matte object (glossary) 3–700matte/shadow material 2–1174MAX file finder utility 3–126MAXScript

about MAXScript 1–xivcommand-line 3–504glossary 3–700listener 3–502MAXScript listener 3–502MAXScript reference 3–627menu 3–394mini listener 3–428open MAXScript 3–502preferences settings 3–556run script 3–502running scripts from asset browser 3–117

MAXScript debugger dialog 3–503MAXScript menu 3–394

macro recorder 3–503MAXScript listener 3–502new script 3–501open script 3–502run script 3–502

measure distance 2–631measuring 2–629, 2–639, 2–665memory management 3–129memory use 2–1425mental ray

add/edit DBR host dialog 2–1424DGS material 2–1170

426 Index

distributed bucket rendering 2–1424distributed bucket rendering rollout 2–1421glass material 2–1172material 2–1166object properties 1–116satellite processors 2–1424satellites 2–1421subsurface scattering materials 2–1173

mental ray Connection rollout 2–1090mental ray indirect illumination rollout 2–973mental ray light shader rollout 2–974mental ray material

advanced shaders rollout 2–1169material shaders rollout 2–1166

mental ray materials 2–1165mental ray messages 2–1421mental ray renderer 2–1377, 3–677

contour shading 2–1396diagnostic tools 2–1420displacement shading 2–1395feature enhancements 2–1384FGM file 3–674final gather map 3–674materials 2–1165messages window 2–1386MI files 3–700object properties 1–116PASS file 3–712photon map 3–714preferences 3–545processing panel 2–1386shadow map rollout 2–989volume shading 2–1393

mental ray shaders 2–1090, 2–1281, 2–12833D displacement 2–1286bump shader 2–1287connect parameter to shader dialog 2–1285custom Autodesk VIZ shaders 2–1283dgs material shader 2–1288dielectric material shader 2–1291environment shader 2–1292material to shader 2–1293shader list 2–1294third-party shaders 2–1282uv coordinate 2–1299uv generator 2–1295uv generator parameters rollout 2–1295uv generator shaders rollout 2–1298XYZ coordinate 2–1301XYZ generator 2–1299XYZ generator parameters rollout 2–1300XYZ generator shaders rollout 2–1301

menu barcurve editor 2–835dope sheet 2–835Material Editor 2–1059Track View 2–835

menusanimation 3–391controller 2–841create 3–387customize 3–393edit 3–385file 3–385graph editors 3–392group 3–386help 3–394material editor copy and paste 2–1048MAXScript 3–394menu bar 3–384menus panel (customize UI) 3–517modifiers 3–389rendering 3–393Schematic View 3–304tools 3–385views 3–386

merge 3–97custom sections 2–229effects 3–4merge dialogs 2–1083, 3–97, 3–291 to 3–292scenes 1–14shapes 2–229

merge from filesweep modifier 2–229

mesheditable mesh 2–350mesh select modifier 2–151meshsmooth modifier 2–153turbosmooth modifier 2–237working with mesh sub-objects 2–353

mesh objectsfaces sub-object 3–215Lightscape 3–214

meshing parameters rollout (radiosity) 2–1367meshsmooth modifier 2–153meshsmooth selection dialog 2–439messages 2–1421metal highlights 2–1119metal palette 3–405metal shader 2–1105metalness mapping 2–1130methods (IK) 2–783MI file 2–1415, 2–1421MI files 3–700middle button pan/zoom (viewports preferences) 3–551

Index 427

MIDI time slider control (animation preferences) 3–546,3–567

mini listener (MAXScript) 3–428mini Track View (track bar) 3–432mirror 1–375

main toolbar 1–375mirror curve (NURBS) 2–522mirror dialog 1–375mirror modifier 2–159mirror surface (NURBS) 2–549mirroring joint parameters 2–812mirroring objects 2–21splines 1–280

mirror dialog 1–375missing external files dialog 3–116missing map coordinates dialog 2–1198missing XRef paths dialog 3–300mix map 2–1261MNU files 3–515, 3–517, 3–525modal (glossary) 3–701modeless (glossary) 3–701modeling

objects 1–5, 2–212modes

Track View 2–835modes menu

curve editor and dope sheet 2–835modifier list 3–480modifier sets menu 3–492modifier stack 3–481

collapsing 2–32editing 2–32glossary 3–701modifier stack rollout 2–30right-click menu 3–487using 2–30using at sub-object level 2–36

modifiers 2–23, 2–27, 2–50 to 2–51affect region 2–52and AutoCAD object transforms 3–341and transforms 2–28bend 2–53bevel 2–55bevel profile 2–58camera correction 2–1019camera map 2–41, 2–60cap holes 2–62conversion 2–240 to 2–241, 2–243CrossSection 2–63delete mesh 2–66delete patch 2–67delete spline 2–67displace 2–69

displace mesh (world space) 2–42displace NURBS (world space) 2–43edit mesh 2–74edit patch 2–74edit poly modifier 2–76edit spline 2–126extrude 2–127face extrude 2–128FFD 2–129, 2–132fillet/chamfer 2–134free-form deformation 2–129, 2–132glossary 3–701HSDS 2–136, 2–141instanced 2–38 to 2–39lathe 2–142lattice 2–144list of 2–27LS colors (world space) 2–45LS mesh 2–146make controller unique 2–861MapScaler (object space) 2–147MapScaler (world space) 2–46material 2–148materialbyelement 2–149mesh select 2–151meshsmooth 2–153mirror 2–159multires 2–160noise 2–164normal 2–167normalize spline 2–168NSurf sel 2–169object space 2–51patch select 2–172PatchDeform 2–47, 2–175PathDeform 2–47, 2–176poly select 2–179preserve 2–182push 2–185relax 2–186renderable spline 2–188ripple 2–189shell 2–191skew 2–195slice 2–196smooth 2–199spherify 2–200spline select 2–201squeeze 2–202STL check 2–204stretch 2–206substitute 2–210surface 2–212

428 Index

surface mapper (world space) 2–50SurfDeform 2–51, 2–218sweep 2–218, 2–227 to 2–228symmetry 2–231taper 2–232tessellate 2–234topology dependent 3–739trim/extend 2–235turbosmooth 2–237turn to mesh 2–240turn to patch 2–241turn to poly 2–243turn-to modifiers 2–240 to 2–241, 2–243twist 2–245unwrap UVW 2–247UVW map 2–274, 3–345, 3–354UVW Xform 3–345, 3–354UVW XForm 2–285vertexpaint 2–286volume select 2–303wave 2–307world space 2–41WSM 2–41XForm 2–309

modifiers menu 2–46, 3–389animation modifiers 2–51, 2–175 to 2–176, 2–218free-form deformers 2–129, 2–132mesh editing 2–62, 2–66, 2–74, 2–127 to 2–128, 2–167,

2–170, 2–199, 2–204, 2–231, 2–234, 2–286nurbs editing 2–51, 2–68, 2–218, 2–465parametric deformers 2–52 to 2–53, 2–69, 2–144,

2–159, 2–164, 2–182, 2–185 to 2–186, 2–189,2–195 to 2–196, 2–200, 2–202, 2–232, 2–245,2–307, 2–309

patch/spline editing 2–63, 2–67, 2–74, 2–126, 2–134,2–142, 2–168, 2–212, 2–218, 2–227 to 2–228,2–235

radiosity modifiers 2–50, 2–209selection modifiers 2–151, 2–172, 2–201, 2–303subdivision surfaces 2–153, 2–209surface 2–68, 2–148 to 2–149UV coordinates 2–41, 2–50, 2–60, 2–274, 2–285

modify child keys 2–838modify child keys (Track View) 2–828modify datum dialog 3–576modify ellipsoid dialog 3–577modify global coordinate system dialog 3–577modify panel 2–28, 3–480modify subtree (Track View) 2–828, 2–833modifying

at sub-object level 2–35multiple objects 2–38NURBS models 2–446

objects (basics) 1–125more palette info dialog 3–425more tool info dialog 3–426motion blur 2–1388, 2–1400, 2–1411, 3–50, 3–688, 3–706,

3–726motion panel 2–691, 2–694, 2–696, 2–788, 3–495mounting a directory (network rendering) 2–1479mouse sensitivity 3–551MOV files 3–263move button (select and move) 1–360move keys (Track View)

curve editor 2–887dope sheet 2–867edit keys 2–867function curves 2–887

move mode 1–360moving

cameras 1–6keys 2–867 to 2–868lights 1–6, 2–922objects 1–345through time 2–680to first frame 3–445to last frame 3–446to next frame 3–446to previous frame 3–445to transform keyframes 3–447

MPEG files 3–264MSP files 3–702multi-layer basic parameters 2–1106multi-layer highlights 2–1120multi-level shader 2–1128multi-pass parameters (cameras)

depth of field 2–1012multi-pass rendering effects 2–1377multi-pass rendering effects (cameras) 2–1011multi/sub-object material 2–204, 2–1182multi-threading 3–540multi-view

blocks 3–358multicurve trim surface 2–576multiplicity (glossary) 3–702multiplier (glossary) 3–702multiplier curve

applying 2–891deleting 2–892enable toggle 2–892glossary 3–703

multiplier out-of-range types (Track View) 2–894MultiRes modifier 2–160multiresolution adaptive antialiaser 2–1156multisided blend surface 2–575multithreading and rendering 3–542

Index 429

MVBlocks 3–358

NN blend surface 2–575name

object name 3–479name and color rollout 3–479

for lights 2–913named selection sets 1–63, 1–81, 1–85, 2–36names

material 2–1026selecting by (Track View) 2–896

naming layers 3–362naming materials 2–1039natural light 2–919navigating

3D space 1–19blocks 3–359camera and light views 1–31hierarchies 2–763, 2–771rendered panorama 2–1456

navigator (material/map) 2–1076NavInfo (VRML97 helpers) 3–242nested expressions (HTML help viewer) 3–622net render control (common parameters rollout) 2–1379network plug-in configuration 3–536network rendering 2–1465, 2–1467, 3–720

advanced settings 2–1489backburner 2–1465configuration 2–1467email notification 2–1487error messages 2–1473glossary 3–704how it works 2–1470installing Autodesk VIZ for 2–1476job dependencies 2–1486job dialogs 2–1481job handling 2–1489job settings 2–1491manager 3–703per-job timeouts 2–1489pre-render MAXScript 2–1489pre-render scripts 2–1465server (glossary) 3–704set up 2–1467setting up 2–1476single computer 2–1463starting 2–1471TCP post number 2–1489troubleshooting 2–1473

newnew command (file menu) 3–90new Schematic View 3–314new script 3–501

new Track View 2–901new category dialog 3–579new feature in 2007 2–82, 2–84 to 2–85, 2–100, 2–379,

2–382, 2–404, 2–433, 2–435, 2–709, 2–859, 2–868,2–887, 2–990, 2–1060, 2–1192, 2–1338, 2–1340,2–1400, 2–1402, 2–1424, 2–1427, 2–1433, 2–1442,2–1445, 2–1496, 3–93, 3–102, 3–109, 3–129, 3–148,3–150, 3–262, 3–264 to 3–265, 3–268, 3–283 to 3–284,3–286, 3–289 to 3–290, 3–293, 3–297, 3–392, 3–503,3–548, 3–554

new preset 3–335new settings preset dialog 3–335new Track View 2–901next frame 3–446next key 3–446NGon 1–248node (glossary) 3–704node track (glossary) 3–704noise

and terrain effects 2–165noise controller 2–720noise map 2–1247noise modifier 2–164noise rollout (2D) 2–1204noise threshold 2–1224, 2–1226, 2–1247, 3–62, 3–68

non-vertical jambs 1–180nonrelational NURBS surfaces 2–481nonscaling object size 3–551normal mapping 2–263, 2–265normal projected curve 2–531normalize spline modifier 2–168normals 1–136 to 1–137

adjusting 1–136aligning 1–392, 2–626, 2–805flipping 1–137normal modifier 2–167scaling vertex and face 2–350unifying 1–137viewing and changing 1–137

note keys 2–863note track 2–863 to 2–864NSurf sel modifier 2–169nth serial numbering 3–540NTSC 3–540, 3–705numeric calculator 1–10numerical expression evaluator 1–10NURBS

and animation 2–455and modifiers 2–454blend curve 2–520blend surface 2–545cap surface 2–557chamfer curve 2–523

430 Index

concepts 2–456creating models 2–459curve approximation 2–600curve fit 2–519curve point 2–582CV curve 2–475CV surface 2–468definition 2–456extrude surface 2–550fixing problems with models 2–463glossary 3–705improving performance 2–464introduction 2–443lathe surface 2–552mirror curve 2–522mirror surface 2–549offset curve 2–521offset surface 2–548point 2–581point curve 2–471point point 2–581point surface 2–466ruled surface 2–555shortcuts 3–608sub-object clone options dialog 2–599surf point 2–584surface approximation 2–601tips 2–459, 2–464transform curve 2–519transform surface 2–544U and V iso curves 2–530U loft surface 2–558using toolbox to create sub-objects 2–448working with models 2–445

NURBS curves 2–470creating from splines 2–479fillet 2–526glossary 3–705

NURBS models 2–443creating 2–444creating sub-objects 2–446dependent sub-objects 2–452display controls for 2–482glossary 3–705modifying 2–446objects and sub-objects 2–443overview 2–445sub-object selection 2–449working with 2–445

NURBS surfaces 2–465and IGES 3–172creating from geometric primitives 2–480display line parameters 2–483

glossary 3–705making rigid imported surfaces independent 3–172surface approximation 2–601

NURMS 2–153, 2–357

Oobject color dialog 1–130object data flow 2–24object display 1–49object display culling 1–56

keyboard shortcuts 3–610object instance 3–706object motion blur (glossary) 3–706object parameters rollout 2–808

copying/pasting/mirroring joint parameters 2–812position/orientation/bind to follow 2–809precedence 2–811sliding and rotational joints 2–813

object properties 1–107, 2–1380advanced lighting panel 1–114edit menu 1–107general panel 1–108mental ray panel 1–116user defined panel 1–117

object selection (introduction) 1–57object space 3–707object space modifiers 3–707object transforms 2–777 to 2–778object-layer relationships 3–362object-space modifier 2–51

MapScaler 2–147objects 1–125, 2–921

aligning 2–624arraying 2–14binding 2–786color 1–130combining 1–298copies/instances/references 2–2creating 1–128exporting 3–101freezing and unfreezing 1–66glossary 3–706make controller unique (Track View) 2–861modeling 1–5modifying multiple objects 2–38moving and rotating 1–345object properties 1–108properties 1–107scaling 1–346select and manipulate 2–643select and move 1–360select and rotate 1–360selecting 1–57, 1–73selecting by material 2–1069

Index 431

techniques for cloning 2–3objects to bake rollout 2–1445obsolete file alert 3–94, 3–548odd/even 3–540offset

offset curve 2–521offset point 2–581offset surface 2–548

offset/absolute coordinate display 3–437oiltank (extended primitive object) 1–165omni light 2–934, 3–708omnidirectional light 3–708on/off controller 2–721online reference

introduction 3–619searching in 3–622using HTML help viewer 3–620

online support 3–628opacity 2–1113

falloff (glossary) 3–708mapping 2–1127

openassembly 1–103file (file menu) 3–91from vault 3–93group (group menu) 1–99new bitmap file 2–1209script (MAXScript menu) 3–502

open from vault 3–93open recent 3–94OpenEXR files

format 3–264opening 3–268saving 3–265

OpenGL driver 3–558, 3–561opening screen 1–16operands 1–298, 3–709optimizations rollout 2–990optimize modifier 2–170options 3–546

grid and snap 2–660Material Editor 2–1066rendering 3–540viewports 3–551

options menus (Schematic View) 3–306 to 3–307orbit/pan

camera 2–1010, 3–470light 3–477

Oren-Nayar-Blinn basic parameters rollout 2–1107Oren-Nayar-Blinn highlights 2–1118organic surfaces 2–212orientation

changing 1–341

constraint 2–756mapping 2–1129

origin (glossary) 3–709origin point helper 3–330origin slider 3–537ortho snapping mode 1–372orthographic view 3–710orthographic views 1–22out-of-range

keys (Track View) 2–872types 2–861, 2–893 to 2–894, 3–710

outline 1–280output map 2–1195, 2–1264output rollout 2–1195, 2–1446overlapping vertices and editable rollout (for object and

sub-objects) 1–261overlays

xref scenes 3–293, 3–297overriding (degradation) 1–32overshoot (glossary) 3–711overview of Autodesk VIZ 1–1

Ppack UVs dialog 2–266paint (vertexpaint modifier) 2–286paint deformation rollout 2–429

brush options 2–302paint palette 3–405paint selection region 1–79paint weights 2–302paintbox

vertexpaint modfier 2–291painter options 2–302PAL 3–540, 3–711palette

vertexpaint modifier 2–299palette properties dialog 3–425paletted 3–540pan

panning views 1–27Track View 2–899viewport controls 3–465

pan view 3–465panels

create 3–479customize UI 3–512 to 3–513, 3–515, 3–517, 3–519

to 3–520display 3–496hierarchy 3–494modify (command panel) 2–28, 3–480motion 3–495render scene 2–1360, 3–3scripted utility 3–727utilities (command panel) 3–499

432 Index

panorama exporter 2–1453render setup dialog 2–1454viewer 2–1456

parallel projection 1–22parameter (glossary) 3–711parameter curve out-of-range types (Track View) 2–861parameter space (glossary) 3–711parameter wiring 2–758 to 2–759parameters

HD Solver 2–808parametric (glossary) 3–711PASS file

mental ray renderer 3–712paste

a material, map, bitmap, or color 2–1048paste controller (Track View) 2–856paste tangent handles 1–268paste time/track (Track View) 2–877pasting joint parameters 2–812patch (glossary) 3–712patch grids 2–346

quad patch 2–347tri patch 2–349

patch select modifier 2–172patch surfaces 2–212, 2–346

copying 2–316deleting 2–316

PatchDeformobject-space modifier 2–175world-space modifier 2–47

path constraint 2–745path joints 2–802, 2–804PathDeform

object-space modifier 2–176world-space modifier 2–47

pathsand AutoCAD xrefs 3–330and XRefs 3–296, 3–300configuring paths 1–13configuring system paths 3–531configuring user paths 3–529, 3–532 to 3–535glossary 3–712moving a camera along 2–1010, 2–1020path commands (loft objects) 1–332path parameters rollout 1–316

pattern background 2–1063per-pixel camera map 2–1302per-pixel camera projection 2–1302percent snap 2–653performance 2–1404, 2–1425, 3–719

and weight painting 2–303controlling display performance 1–26improving in NURBS 2–464

while running Autodesk VIZ 3–636Perlin marble map 2–1249perspective

and orthographic viewport controls 3–460glossary 3–713matching 2–1009viewport control 3–468

perspective view 1–22Phong highlights 2–1118Phong shader 2–1105, 2–1107photometric lights 1–6, 2–911, 2–941

area light sampling rollout 2–983common lamp values 2–960data file 2–958 to 2–959, 2–984example of photometric data file 2–959free area light 2–948free linear light 2–946free point light 2–944IES standard file format 2–958linear light rollout 2–983photometric webs 2–957preset lights 2–942target area light 2–947target linear light 2–945target point light 2–943web 2–957web parameters 2–984

photometry 3–714photon map 3–714photon maps 2–1392, 2–1404photorealistic renderer 2–1343physical scale 3–74, 3–76 to 3–77, 3–79PIC file format 3–256PIC files 3–82, 3–270pick material from object 2–1078ping-pong (playback direction setting) 3–446pivot door 1–222pivot points 2–805

glossary 3–715use pivot point center 1–367using 2–38

pivoted window 1–231pivots

adjust pivot rollout 2–805adjust transform rollout 2–807adjusting 2–769and links 2–772resetting 2–769

pixel 3–715pixel data (rendered frame window) 2–1320place highlight 1–394, 2–921planar

constraints 1–370 to 1–371

Index 433

make edges 2–362make vertices 2–357threshold 2–151, 2–350

plane 1–156plane angle manipulator 2–645planet map 2–1250plastic palette 3–405plate match 2–1343play selected 3–445playback speed 2–680playing

animated material previews 2–1079animation 3–445preview 2–1065

plug-inscolor selector (general preferences) 3–537glossary 3–716help 3–628plug-in manager 3–508sharing over a network 3–536third-party 3–628user path configuration 3–535

plugin.ini file 1–16, 3–628PMAP file 3–716PNG file 3–271point 2–581

glossary 3–716helper object 2–638sub-object 2–450, 2–581

point curve 2–471glossary 3–716on surface 2–537sub-object 2–517

point point 2–581point surface 2–466

glossary 3–716sub-object 2–543

point3 XYZ controller 2–706polar snapping mode 1–373poly select modifier 2–179polygon counter 2–614, 3–239polyhedra 1–158position

changing 1–341controlling 2–690ranges (Track View) 2–882

position constraint 2–748position ranges (Track View) 2–882position XYZ controller 2–722position/orientation/bind to follow object 2–809position/rotation threshold (IK) 2–788position/rotation/scale (PRS)

controller (Track View) 2–723

parameters (motion panel) 2–694pre-render scripts

advanced settings 2–1465command-line rendering 2–1496network rendering 2–1481

precedence 2–811child-to-parent 2–794glossary 3–717parent-to-child 2–795setting manually 2–796

precedence, and keyboard shortcuts 3–602precision and drawing aids 2–617preferences 3–536

animation 3–546asset browser 3–130files 3–548gamma 3–550general settings 3–537gizmos 3–554inverse kinematics 3–542MAXScript preferences 3–556mental ray renderer 3–545MIDI time slider control 3–567preference settings dialog 3–537Autodesk VIZ preferences 3–544radiosity settings 3–543rendering 3–540Schematic View 3–307strokes 3–593, 3–598texture coordinates 3–537viewports 3–551

premultiplied alpha 3–276premultiplied alpha (glossary) 3–717preserve map channels dialog 2–440preserve modifier 2–182preset height 3–413preset lights 2–942preset rendering options 2–1330preset views 1–22presets 2–1330, 3–335

rendering 2–1330preview

animated material previews 2–1079make 2–1065play 2–1065renderings 2–1451save 2–1065

previewingShockwave 3D files 3–230W3D files 3–230

previous frame 3–445previous key 3–445

434 Index

primitivescreating with keyboard 1–140extended 1–157standard 1–141

print setup (file menu) 3–113print size wizard 2–1331print viewport (file menu) 3–114prism 1–175PRJ files 3–142, 3–650problems 3–629problems caused by unit settings 3–639procedural maps

dent 2–1240glossary 3–717wood 2–1255

process options rollout 2–1421processing panel

mental ray 2–1386processing parameters rollout (radiosity) 2–1363product support 3–628program window 1–9project file format 3–142project workflow in Autodesk VIZ 1–1projected window 1–232projection - preferences 3–551projector light 2–970, 3–718projects - managing 3–89prompt line 3–428propagate materials to instances 3–355propagation

blocks 3–355instances 3–355materials 3–355styles 3–355

propertiesanimation controllers 2–832changing layer properties 3–374controller (Track View) 2–870dialog (Track View) 2–832file menu 3–112of light 2–916viewports 3–453waveform controllers 2–832

protractor helper object 2–641ProxSensor (VRML97 helpers) 3–241proxy object

XRef object 3–299proxy object rollout

XRef object 3–299PRS

PRS controller (Track View) 2–723PRS parameters 2–694

PS files 3–254

PSD file 3–271pseudo color exposure control 3–79publish Shockwave 3–225publishing to

3D DWF 3–139push

modifier 2–185put material to scene 2–1070put to library 2–1073, 2–1084pyramid 1–153

QQOP files 3–522, 3–525quad menu

Schematic View 3–314quad menus 2–447, 2–846, 3–399, 3–401, 3–515, 3–522

animation 3–402quad patch 2–347quads panel (customize UI) 3–515quadtree 3–718quaternions 2–707queue manager 3–719queue monitor

client (glossary) 3–719quick align 1–392quick render 2–1330quick start (batch rendering) 2–1463quickslice 2–88, 2–96, 2–105, 2–112, 2–121, 2–388, 2–396,

2–409, 2–416, 2–425QuickTime movies 3–263

Rradial dialogs

density 3–37falloff 3–38size 3–40

radiance file format 3–256radiance map 3–256radiance picture files 3–270radiosity 2–918, 2–1350

and animation 2–1360and architectural materials 2–1162choosing radiosity 2–1350controls 2–1360how it works 2–1355light painting rollout 2–1370lighting analysis 2–1375lighting analysis dialog 2–1376meshing parameters rollout 2–1367preferences settings 3–543processing parameters rollout 2–1363rendering parameters rollout 2–1371skylight 2–935statistics rollout 2–1375

Index 435

workflows 2–1357radiosity solution 2–1350, 2–1355railing 1–180, 1–188RAM player 3–278, 3–280randomize keys 2–845randomize keys utility (Track View) 2–871ranges

editing 2–882positioning 2–882realigning with keys 2–883recoupling 2–883

ranges toolbarTrack View - dope sheet 2–852

rayrender effect 3–15

ray tracing 2–1380, 2–1413ray-traced

reflections and refractions 2–1387shadows 2–1388, 2–1411, 3–730

ray-traced shadowsglossary 3–720parameters 2–992ray-trace bias (glossary) 3–720

RAYHOSTS file 2–1421, 3–720specifying name and path 2–1421

raytraceacceleration parameters 2–1154adaptive antialiaser dialogs 2–1155attenuation rollout 2–1278basic material extensions rollout 2–1279basic parameters rollout 2–1138extended parameters rollout 2–1143global settings 2–1151map 2–1270map and material 2–1154maps rollout 2–1147material 2–1137messages 2–1151raytracer controls rollout 2–1146refractive material extensions rollout 2–1280

raytrace acceleration 2–1413, 3–719parameters for BSP method 2–1425parameters for Grid method 2–1425parameters for Large BSP method 2–1425

raytrace map 2–1382raytrace material 2–1380, 2–1382raytracer parameters rollout 2–1276raytracing acceleration parameters dialog 2–1154real time (glossary) 3–721real-world mapping (glossary) 3–721rebuild dialogs

CV curve 2–597CV surface 2–598

texture surface 2–598recorder (MacroRecorder) 3–503recouple ranges (Track View) 2–883_recover.max files 1–18recovered file 1–18rectangle 1–244rectangular area light 2–939rectangular region 3–464rectangular selection region 1–77recursion depth 2–1152recycled materials 3–407red/green/blue (glossary) 3–722redo 1–34, 1–89 to 1–90redraw all views 1–48reduce keys (Track View) 2–881reference 1–ixreference coordinate system 1–356, 1–364, 3–537reference documentation 3–627references 2–2, 2–885

glossary 3–722overview 2–2using XRefs 3–280

refineeditable spline segments 1–275editable spline vertices 1–268glossary 3–723refining curves and surfaces (concept) 2–456

reflect/refract map 2–1271, 2–1382reflectance display 2–1060reflection maps 2–1132, 2–1267reflections 2–1387refraction maps 2–1133, 2–1267refractions 2–1387refresh viewport display 1–48regathering 2–1360region 1–62

selection 1–62, 1–76 to 1–79selection method (edit menu) 1–83selection preferences 3–592zoom region (viewport control) 3–464

region net render 2–1487register today 3–628relative snap 2–651, 2–654relax dialog 2–441relax mesh 2–321relax modifier 2–186relax tool dialog 2–266relaxing texture coordinates 2–266remove

ease or multiplier curve (Track View) 2–892note track (Track View) 2–864

remove note track 2–864rename objects tool 1–118

436 Index

rename preview 2–1453rename settings preset dialog 3–336render

blowup 2–1326common parameters rollout 2–1334dialogs 2–1084, 2–1316, 2–1322, 3–276presets 2–1330render scene 2–1316, 2–1325render type list (main toolbar) 2–1326rendered output 3–53rendering elements separately 2–1426scripts rollout 2–1340selected objects 2–1326to texture 2–1437vertex coloring 2–1265VUE files 2–1426

render bounding box/selected dialog 2–1329render effects 2–828, 3–2 to 3–4, 3–7, 3–11, 3–15, 3–19,

3–23, 3–27, 3–31, 3–41, 3–46 to 3–47, 3–49 to 3–50render elements 2–1426, 2–1433render scene dialog

advanced lighting panel 2–1350common panel 2–1333render panel 2–1316renderer panel 2–1342

render shortcuts toolbar 3–397render to texture 2–1437, 2–1440, 2–1443, 2–1445 to

2–1446, 2–1448 to 2–1450render to texture dialog 2–1443

add texture elements dialog 2–1450automatic mapping rollout 2–1449baked material rollout 2–1448general settings rollout 2–1444objects to bake rollout 2–1445output rollout 2–1446

renderable spline modifier 2–188rendered frame window 2–1318rendered output 2–1456renderer

configure preset dialog 2–1339renderer panel

render scene dialog 2–1342renderers 2–1341, 2–1343, 2–1426

interactive 3–745panorama exporter 2–1453photorealistic 3–726scanline 3–726viewport 3–745

rendering 2–1315, 2–1379and multithreading 3–542batch 2–1456, 2–1462 to 2–1463command line 2–1493, 2–1496, 2–1499commands 2–1324

don’t alias against background 3–540elements separately 2–1433email notification 2–1339large images 3–542on multiprocessor systems 3–542portions of scene 2–1009preferences settings 3–540presets 2–1330render farms 2–1470rendering method 3–586scene 1–8shapes 1–234to texture 2–1437, 2–1440, 2–1443watermark parameters 2–1349with caustics (mental ray) 2–1380with global illumination (mental ray) 2–1380with motion blur 2–1388with shadow maps 2–1388

rendering algorithms rollout 2–1413rendering commands

render last 2–1331rendering effects

multi-pass (cameras) 2–1011rendering for print 2–1487rendering menu 3–393

advanced lighting 2–1350effects 3–2environment 3–52 to 3–53lighting analysis 2–1376Material Editor 2–1039material/map browser 2–1042print size wizard 2–1331radiosity 2–1360RAM player 3–278raytrace global exclude 2–1154raytrace settings 2–1151render 2–1325render scene 2–1325render to texture 2–1443show last rendering 2–1331

rendering parameters rollout (radiosity) 2–1371rendering properties

family elements 3–356instanced objects 3–356 to 3–357

renderingmenupanoramic exporter 2–1453

reparameterize dialog 2–598repathing 3–102replace (file menu) 3–99replace dialogs 2–1085, 3–99replace keys 2–887replacing scenes 1–14

Index 437

requirementssystem (see Installation Guide) 1–xii

rescale world units utility 2–666reset 3–91

reset background transform (viewport image) 1–43reset material settings to default 2–1072reset XForm (transform) utility 1–359, 2–777

reset position 3–341reset tangents 1–268resolution

glossary 3–723resolve externally referenced file dialog 3–337resource collector utility 3–127resource information dialog 3–133respect animation range 2–860restore

active view (views menu) 1–35to default settings (animation controllers) 3–546

restrict to axis buttons 1–368 to 1–369restrict to plane buttons 1–370restrict to plane flyout 1–370restrict to x 1–368restrict to xy plane 1–370restrict to y 1–369restrict to yz plane 1–371restrict to z 1–369restrict to zx plane 1–371reverse time (Track View) 2–878revert to startup UI layout 3–529reviewing and editing strokes 3–597Revit

files 3–346materials 3–352objects 3–346settings 3–349workflow 3–351

Revit materialAutodesk VIZobjects 3–355

RGB (glossary) 3–722RGB files 3–276RGB maps

multiply 2–1263tint 2–1265

right-click menus 3–399additional quad menus 3–401animation 3–402customize display 3–507display option 3–551display preference setting 3–551HTML help viewer 3–625material editor copy and paste 2–1048modifier stack 3–487named selection sets 1–87

NURBS 2–447sample slot 2–1052Schematic View selection 3–314snaps 2–654spinner 2–675Track View 2–831, 2–846Track View toolbar 2–907viewports 3–453XRef entities list (XRef object dialog) 3–290XRef files list (XRef object dialog) 3–289

rigid surfaces (NURBS) 2–454ring

render effect 3–11ringwave 1–173ripple

modifier 2–189RLA files 3–273RMAT materials

in Autodesk VIZ 3–345roll angle manipulator 2–965roll viewport controls

camera 3–469light 3–475

rolloutdistributed bucket rendering 2–1421

rollouts 1–10, 2–805, 2–808inverse kinematics 2–815maps 2–1100materials 2–1096paint deformation 2–429

rotate 1–360rotating

editable mesh edges 2–362lights 2–922objects 1–345views 1–27

rotationcontrolling 2–690increment (viewport preference) 3–551rotational joints 2–804, 2–813

rotoscoping (glossary) 3–723roughness 2–1115roughness mapping 2–1124RPF files 3–274RPS files 2–1330rubber palette 3–405ruled surface sub-object 2–555run script 3–502RVT link 3–723

Ssafe frames 3–454, 3–589, 3–744safe video threshold 2–1064

438 Index

sample object 2–1062preview 2–1065UV tiling 2–1063video color check 2–1064

sample range (glossary) 3–724sample rate 2–1397sample slot 2–1050, 2–1052

active 2–1071adding bitmap 2–1205and material name 2–1026background 2–1063backlight 2–1062cool 2–1072default 2–1072display adjustment 2–1066hot 2–1072right-click menu 2–1052

sample typecube 2–1062cylinder 2–1062sphere 2–1062

sample UV tiling 2–1063sampling 3–724

filters 2–1397sampling quality rollout 2–1397thresholds 2–1397

satellites 2–1421save commands

hold 1–91save (file menu) 3–94save active view (views menu) 1–35save as (file menu) 3–95save copy as (file menu) 3–96save custom UI scheme 3–527save preview (Material Editor) 2–1065save selected (file menu) 3–96scene/settings in buffer 1–91

save copy as 3–96save custom UI scheme 3–527saving

backup on save 3–548compressed file 3–548files from previous versions 3–94material 2–1037materials 2–1039thumbnail image 3–548UI configuration on exit 3–537

scale synchronization between AutoCAD andAutodesk VIZ 3–323

scale values (Track View) 2–888scaling 1–346, 1–361 to 1–362

changing 1–341deformation 1–323

face and vertex normals 2–350function curves 2–888keys (Track View) 2–869, 2–888objects 1–346rendering preferences 3–540scale XYZ controller 2–724time (Track View) 2–879values (Track View Curve Editor) 2–888

scanline renderer 2–1343, 3–726scanline rendering 2–1413scatter 1–286scene extents 3–726scene motion blur (glossary) 3–726scene state

camera properties 3–375camera transforms 3–375delete 3–377environment 3–375layer assignments 3–375layer properties 3–375light properties 3–375light transforms 3–375materials 3–375object properties 3–375rename 3–377restore 3–377save 3–377selected parts 3–375

scene-in use tool right-click menu 3–423scene-unused tool right-click menu 3–423scenegraph 3–226scene–in use palette 3–407scenes 1–4

animating 1–8archiving 1–17backing up 1–17importing 1–14managing 3–89merging 1–14rendering 1–8replacing 1–14

scene–unused palette 3–407Schematic View

delete Schematic View 3–314display floater 3–313displaying in viewport 3–453glossary 3–727list views 3–306menus 3–304new Schematic View 3–314preferences dialog 3–307right-click menu (selection) 3–314Schematic View window 3–300

Index 439

selecting with 1–66shortcuts 3–610toolbars 3–311using 3–302

screen 3–459script

and scripting definitions 3–727script controller (Track View) 2–725

scriptsdebugging 3–503

scripts rollout 2–1340scrolling panels/toolbars 1–10searching

defining search terms 3–622for files 3–126for help topics 3–622using nested expressions 3–622

section 1–253seed value (glossary) 3–727segment (glossary) 3–728segments shadow mode 2–1411select 1–363

select all (edit menu) 1–82select and link button 2–768select and manipulate 2–643select background image dialog 1–40select bitmap image file dialog 2–1209select invert (edit menu) 1–82select keys by time (Track View) 2–873select layers dialog 3–337select linked objects dialog 3–338select none (edit menu) 1–82select object (main toolbar) 1–73select objects dialog 1–74select time (Track View) 2–875selection floater 1–76

select and move 1–360select and non-uniform scale 1–362select and rotate 1–360select and squash 1–363select and transform buttons

move 1–360non-uniform scale 1–362rotate 1–360scale flyout 1–361squash 1–363uniform scale 1–361

select and uniform scale 1–361select bitmap image file dialog 2–1209select by 1–83

color 1–83material 2–1069material ID 1–275, 1–280, 2–337, 2–366, 2–600

name 1–74, 2–896name (button) 1–74name (edit menu) 1–83smoothing group 2–337, 2–366time (Track View) 2–873vertex color 2–357

select by material ID dialoglightscape import 3–215

select datum dialog 3–579select ellipsoid dialog 3–580select global coordinate system dialog 3–580select keys 2–819select keys by time 2–845select menu (Schematic View) 3–304select objects dialog 1–74select objects in current layer 3–374select region

crossing 1–84lasso 1–78paint 1–79window 1–84window/crossing 1–85

select time (Track View) 2–875selecting

and blocks 3–359basics 1–60by ID 1–275, 1–280, 2–337, 2–366by material 2–1069by name 1–63by region 1–62hierarchies 2–771mesh sub-objects 2–353named selection sets 1–63objects 1–57, 1–60open editable mesh edges 2–362selection filters 1–64shadow type 2–961shape sub-objects 1–261successive vertices 1–268time 2–875with Schematic View 1–66with Track View 1–65

selecting objects to be exported 3–184selection center (use center flyout) 1–367selection commands 1–72selection filter (main toolbar) 1–80selection floater (tools menu) 1–76selection lock toggle 3–436selection region 1–76 to 1–79selection sets 1–63, 1–80 to 1–81, 2–39self-illumination 2–1104 to 2–1107, 2–1112self-illumination (glossary) 3–728self-illumination mapping 2–1127

440 Index

server setup and managing (network rendering) 2–1471set current layer to selection’s layer 3–374set key 2–673, 3–442setting up

directories 2–1477for network rendering 2–1476rendering software 2–1476your scenes 1–4

settingsRevit 3–349

settings menuTrack View 2–836

SGI image file formats 3–276shade selected (views menu) 1–45shaded viewports 1–49shader basic parameters rollout 2–1094shader list 2–1294shaders 2–1094, 2–1104 to 2–1107, 2–1109, 2–1128

custom Autodesk VIZ 2–1283for standard materials 3–729lume 2–1284LumeTools 2–1284mental ray 2–1281, 2–1283, 2–1293 to 2–1294, 3–728mental ray (third party) 2–1282

shading and lights 2–1029shading type 2–1027 to 2–1028shadow maps 2–992, 3–730

mental ray 2–989shadow parameters (lights) 2–967shadow types 2–961shadows 2–1388

shadow maps 2–1388, 2–1411, 3–730, 3–749shadow modes 2–1411shadows rollout 2–1411

shadows and rendering 2–962shadows map (baking) 2–1441shape check utility 1–237shape commands (loft objects) 1–332shape sub-objects

cloning selections 1–261selecting 1–261

shape-file format 3–144ShapeMerge object 1–296shapes 1–234, 1–253, 3–731

creating from edges 2–97, 2–399lofting 1–234rendering 1–234

sharingmaterials 3–355

sharing a directory (network rendering) 2–1479sharing plug-ins with a network 3–536shell material 2–1187shell modifier 2–191

shellac material 2–1185shift+clone 2–3, 2–8 to 2–11

animating 2–12shininess 2–1160shininess and shininess strength 2–1125 to 2–1126, 3–683Shockwave 3D files

analyzing 3–230exporting 3–225 to 3–226previewing 3–230

shortcuts 3–601edit/editable mesh 3–603edit/editable spline 3–604main user interface 3–605Material Editor 3–608

shortcuts - default keyboardcommunication center 3–602edit poly 3–603editable patch 3–604editable poly 3–604free-form deformation (FFD) 3–605NURBS 3–608object display culling 3–610Schematic View 3–610Track View 3–611unwrap UVW 3–611walkthrough navigation 3–617

showshow curves button 3–434show dependencies (views menu) 1–45show end result (Material Editor) 2–1076show end result (modifier stack) 2–32show frame numbers (viewports preference) 3–551show ghosting (views menu) 1–44show home grid (views menu) 2–649show key times (views menu) 1–44show last rendering (rendering menu) 2–1331show map in viewport (Material Editor) 2–1074show safe frame 3–744show selected key statistics (Track View) 2–899show tangents (Track View) 2–890show UI 3–508show vertices as dots (viewports preference) 3–551transform gizmo 1–43

show icon control 2–938 to 2–939show safe frame 3–589show selected key statistics (Track View) 2–899show tangents (Track View) 2–890SHP files 3–144, 3–732shutter speed 2–1400sibling

go forward 2–1076go to 2–1076

Simes luminaires palette 3–415, 3–419

Index 441

simple shadow mode 2–1411single-axis constraints 1–368 to 1–369size of grid square 3–438sketch tool dialog 2–268sketch UVWs 2–262skew modifier 2–195skin parameters rollout (loft objects) 1–317sky 2–951skylight 2–935

radiosity 2–935skylight (glossary) 3–732slave controller 2–702slave parameters dialog (block controller) 2–739slice

editable mesh edges 2–362editable mesh vertices 2–357modifier 2–196

slide keys 2–868slider manipulator 2–646slider, time/frame 3–430sliding door 1–223sliding joints 2–802, 2–804, 2–813sliding window 1–233smart scale 1–361smart select 1–73, 1–76smoke map 2–1251smooth modifier 2–199smooth rotation controller 2–728smoothing groups 3–327, 3–732

assigning faces to 2–366assigning patches to 2–337viewing and changing 1–136, 1–138

SMPTE (glossary) 3–732snap frames (Track View) 2–865snap options 2–627snaps

2D/2.5D/3D 2–651and cuts 2–375grid and snap settings 2–654options/settings 2–627, 2–660setting standard 2–626snap commands 2–650snap override 2–658

snaps toggleangle 2–653percent 2–653spinner 2–653

snaps toolbar 3–398ortho snapping mode 1–372polar snapping mode 1–373

snapshot 1–380cloning objects over time 2–13dialog 1–380

snapshot dialog 1–380soft selection 2–844soft selection manager 2–845soft selection rollout

brush options 2–302soft selection rollouts 2–312, 2–509software display driver 3–558, 3–561sort order (select objects dialog) 1–74sort shadow mode 2–1411sound

options dialog (Track View) 2–834sound plug-in (animation preference) 3–546threshold 2–735VRML97 helpers 3–243

spacing tool 1–381, 2–21special controls 1–10special-purpose controllers 2–688specification 3–239, 3–687specifying

default controller values 2–686default controllers 2–686

speckle map 2–1252specular

color 3–733color mapping 2–1125level mapping 2–1125specular highlight 2–1106

specular highlightsanisotropic 2–1116Blinn 2–1118metal 2–1119multi-layer 2–1120Oren-Nayar-Blinn 2–1118Phong 2–1118

specular map (baking) 2–1441sphere

object 1–145SphereGizmo helper 3–87

spherical area omni light 2–938spherify modifier 2–200spindle 1–167spinner right-click menu 2–675spinners 1–10

spinner snap 2–653spiral stair 1–206splash screen 1–16splash.bmp file 1–16splat map 2–1252spline select modifier 2–201splines 1–237, 2–212

adding 1–275, 1–280arc 1–246attach 1–268, 1–280

442 Index

circle 1–244cleaning up segments 1–280copying (outline) 1–280deleting 1–280donut 1–247editable splines 1–261, 1–266, 1–268, 1–275, 1–280ellipse 1–245explode 1–280glossary 3–733helix 1–252line 1–242making coincident 2–212mirror 1–280NGon 1–248rectangle 1–244star 1–249text 1–250

split mesh 2–354split scan lines 2–1487spotlights

parameters 2–969spotlight distribution (photometric lights) 2–954

spring back - setting (IK) 2–792squash 1–363squeeze modifier 2–202SSS materials (mental ray) 2–1173stack 2–30, 2–32, 2–36, 3–701stack. see modifier stack 3–481stairs 1–180, 1–202

l-type 1–203spiral 1–206straight 1–210u-type 1–214

standard helpers 2–631compass 2–642dummy 2–631expose transform 2–632exposetm 2–632grid 2–635point 2–638protractor 2–641tape 2–639

standard lights 2–911, 2–927skylight 2–935

standard material 2–1093standard materials

shaders (glossary) 3–729standard primitives 1–141

box 1–142cone 1–143cylinder 1–148GeoSphere 1–147plane 1–156

pyramid 1–153sphere 1–145teapot 1–154torus 1–151tube 1–150

standard snaps 2–626standard user grids 2–635star 1–249

lens effects 3–27starting

manager and server (network rendering) 2–1471network rendering 2–1471

startup files 1–16startup layout - return to 3–529startup screen 1–16startup script (glossary) 3–734statistics rollout (radiosity) 2–1375status bar controls 3–427

main window 3–430Track View 2–895

stepsand editable patch 2–321, 2–333, 2–337and editable spline 1–261

stereolithography (STL) 3–231stitch tool dialog 2–269stitch UVWs 2–262STL

exporting files 3–233importing files 3–231STL check modifier 2–204

stop animation playback 3–445straight stair 1–210Strauss basic parameters rollout 2–1107streak

render effect 3–31stretch modifier 2–206strokes 3–599

defining 3–595preferences 3–593, 3–598reviewing and editing strokes 3–597viewport preferences 3–551

stucco map 2–1253studio palettes 3–415studios 3–415, 3–418styles

and Architectural Desktop objects 3–360propagation 3–355

sub-materials 3–537sub-object

chamfer curve (NURBS) 2–523common controls 2–486glossary 3–735material assignment 2–1055

Index 443

selection 1–70, 2–35 to 2–36, 2–353, 2–449subdivide 2–333, 2–337, 2–354, 2–366, 2–375subdivide modifier 2–209subdivide modifier (world space) 2–50subdivision surfaces 2–136, 2–311substitute modifier 2–210subsurface scattering (SSS) materials (mental ray) 2–1173subtractive opacity (glossary) 3–735subtree - modifying (Track View) 2–833summary info 3–111sun 2–949sunlight 1–335sunlight (glossary) 3–736super black 3–540, 3–736superimposed material 2–1185supersampling 2–1088, 3–736surf point 2–584surface approximation 2–601, 2–606 to 2–607surface constraint 2–743surface joints 2–802, 2–804surface properties rollout (editable objects) 2–354, 2–366surfaces

NURBS surfaces 2–465surface approximation (NURBS) 2–601, 2–607, 2–613surface deform (SurfDeform) 2–51surface edge curve 2–539surface mapper (world space) 2–50surface modifier 2–63, 2–212surface offset curve 2–529surface parameters (loft objects) 1–314surface point 2–584surface properties rollout (editable objects) 1–280,

2–337, 2–354, 2–357, 2–362, 2–366surface sub-objects - creating 2–539surface tools 2–63, 2–212surface trimming 2–445surface-curve intersection point 2–586surface-surface intersection curve 2–528SurfDeform modifiers 2–218

SurfDeform modifiers 2–51, 2–218swap

colors 2–1081maps 2–1080

sweep modifier 2–218extract 2–228merge from file 2–229pick shape 2–227

swirl map 2–1230symmetry modifier 2–231synchronizing animated bitmap with the scene 2–1080system unit

setup dialog 3–582units mismatch dialog 3–584

systems 1–334daylight 1–335sunlight 1–335

Ttags (time) 3–438 to 3–439tangent handles 1–268tangent types 2–695tangents

glossary 3–736locking 2–891type of 2–699

tape helper object 2–639taper modifier 2–232targa files 3–276targa files (glossary) 3–717target

camera 3–467lights 2–928, 2–931, 2–943 to 2–945, 2–947

target area light 2–947target camera 2–1000target distance 2–1389target linear light 2–945target map slot 2–1443target objects - look at controller 2–718target point light 2–943TCB

controllers 2–728glossary 3–737

teapot 1–154technical support 3–628techniques

NURBS 2–459tee 1–259teeter deformation 1–325temporary

buffer 1–91IGES files 3–174

tension/continuity/bias (glossary) 3–737terminating chains 2–796terminators 2–782terminology (inverse kinematics) 2–782terrain 1–306

creating effects with noise modifier 2–165glossary 3–738

tessellatefaces 2–366tessellate modifier 2–234tessellate selection dialog 2–441

texel 3–738text 1–250texture

baked elements 2–1440baking 2–1437

444 Index

rendering to 2–1437, 2–1440, 2–1443target map slot 2–1443

texture baking - shell material 2–1187textures

and imported mask bitmaps 3–141and material properties 2–511and NURBS models 2–464baking 2–1443disable texture map display 3–586pick texture option (edit UVWs dialog) 2–252pinning 2–247

TGA files 3–276thin wall refraction map 2–1274, 2–1382third-party help files 3–628third-party plug-ins page 3–628threshold 1–138, 2–199

adaptive control 2–1156, 2–1270and HD IK solver 2–788color 2–1252 to 2–1253edge visibility 2–362explode angle 2–354, 2–366noise 2–1224, 2–1226, 2–1247, 3–62, 3–68optimize 2–170planar 2–151, 2–350position/rotation (IK) 2–788reduce keys 2–881safe video 2–1064sound 2–735super black 3–540supersampling 2–1088use secondary (IK) 3–542weld 1–268, 2–212, 2–252, 2–271, 2–357, 3–147,

3–159, 3–231thumbnails

open file 3–91viewport image 3–548

ticks (glossary) 3–738TIFF files 3–82, 3–277tile/mirror (glossary) 3–739tiles map 2–1232time

controlling 2–678copy (Track View) 2–876cutting 2–876deleting 2–876editing 2–874fitting into 2–879insert (Track View) 2–878moving through 2–680paste (Track View) 2–877removing 2–878rescaling active time segment 2–679reverse (Track View) 2–878

scale (Track View) 2–879selecting 2–875setting time segments 2–679specifying active time segment 2–679time configuration button 3–447time ruler (Track View) 2–828time slider 2–828, 2–866, 3–430time tags 3–438 to 3–440

time controls 3–440time menu, Track View 2–845time paste (Track View) 2–877time reverse (Track View) 2–878time ruler (Track View) 2–828TimeSensor (VRML97 helpers) 3–247tips

adjusting radiosity 2–1162camera correction 2–1020copying keys between frames 3–432flipping face normals 2–373magnifying camera adjustment 3–469maintaining consistent camera lens size 2–1003NURBS 2–459output size and rendering speed 2–1334playing animations in all viewports 3–445propagating layer properties 3–365radiosity and walkthroughs 2–1360selecting faces to hide 2–353testing radiosity 2–1360textures (NURBS) 2–464turning off material propagation 3–491updating information in light lister 2–924using file link manager 3–319VRML97 3–237

togglesangle snap 2–653animation mode 2–672, 3–441auto key mode 2–672, 3–441auto material propagation 3–355degradation override 1–32enable ease or multiplier curve 2–892full screen 3–459key mode 3–447maximize viewport 3–459percent snap 2–653selection lock 3–436shortcut keys 3–602spinner snap 2–653window/crossing 1–85

toggling dialogs 3–382tool palettes 3–403

cameras palette 3–412concrete palette 3–405doors / windows palette 3–405

Index 445

ERCO luminaires 3–419ERCO luminaires palette 3–415fabrics palette 3–405finishes palette 3–405flooring palette 3–405fluorescent palette 3–412gloss palette 3–405high intensity discharge 3–412incandescent palette 3–412lights palette 3–412low-pressure sodium palette 3–412luminaires 3–419luminaires palette 3–415masonry palette 3–405material studios 3–415 to 3–416metal palette 3–405new palette 3–404paint palette 3–405palette right-click menu 3–422palette tab right-click menu 3–424plastic palette 3–405properties right-click menu 3–421rubber palette 3–405scene-in use tool right-click menu 3–423scene-unused tool right-click menu 3–423scene–in use palette 3–407scene–unused palette 3–407shortcuts 3–610Simes luminaires 3–419Simes luminaires palette 3–415studio palettes 3–415studios 3–415, 3–418title bar right-click menu 3–421tool properties dialog 3–426tool right-click menu 3–423unsupported materials 3–410wood palette 3–405

tool palettes panel (customize UI) 3–520tool palettes set 3–403tool properties dialog (tool palettes) 3–426tool right-click menu 3–423toolbars 3–394, 3–524

axis constraints 3–396controller toolbar 2–852curve editor 2–847displaying toolbars 3–507dope sheet 2–850extras 3–397extras dope sheet toolbar 2–852HTML help viewer 3–624icon scheme 3–527layers 3–397main 3–395

ranges toolbar 2–852render shortcuts 3–397Schematic View 3–311snaps 3–398toolbars panel (customize UI) 3–513troubleshooting when missing 3–640

toolbox (NURBS) 2–448tools

for low-polygon modeling 2–614Material Editor 2–1057precision 2–617rename objects 1–118

tools menu 3–385align 1–389align camera 1–395align to view 1–395array 1–376asset browser 3–117camera match 2–1014clone and align tool 1–386color clipboard 1–135display floater 3–496floaters 3–496grab viewport 1–33isolate selection 1–69light include/exclude 2–923light lister 2–924measure distance 2–631mirror 1–375normal align 1–392open assembly 1–103place highlight 1–394quick align 1–392rename objects 1–118selection floater 1–76snapshot 1–380spacing tool 1–381transform type-in 1–352

tools palettesview options dialog 3–427

tooltips 3–428tooltips in viewports

preferences 3–537top/bottom material 2–1186topology (glossary) 3–739topology dependent modifier 3–739torus 1–151torus knot 1–160TouchSensor (VRML97 helpers) 3–246trace depth 2–1404, 2–1413, 3–714track

copying 2–876glossary 3–740

446 Index

note 2–863 to 2–864track bar 3–432track view

key time display 2–897keys menu 2–843value display 2–898

Track Viewassign controller 2–857concepts 2–822controller menu 2–841controller toolbar 2–852controller window 2–822, 2–828curve editor 2–818, 2–826curves menu 2–845customization 2–903delete Track View 2–901 to 2–902dope sheet 2–818extras dope sheet toolbar 2–852glossary 3–739hierarchy 2–828hierarchy icons (glossary) 3–740keys window 2–822menu bar 2–835modes menu 2–835new Track View 2–901pan 2–899pasting time 2–877pick dialog (block controller) 2–740properties 2–870ranges toolbar 2–852selecting with 1–65settings menu 2–836shortcuts 3–611sound options 2–834status bar/view controls 2–895time menu 2–845tracks menu 2–843utilities 2–871 to 2–873utilities menu 2–845working with 2–822workspace 2–822zoom 2–900zoom horizontal extents 2–899zoom region 2–901zoom selected object 2–896zoom value extents 2–900

Track View utilitiescurrent value editor 2–874

tracks menu, Track View 2–843trajectories

glossary 3–741motion panel 2–691

transform coordinates and coordinate center 1–363, 1–367

transform gizmo 3–741transform gizmos

preferences 3–554show transform gizmo 1–43using 1–348

transform script controller 2–731transform tools 1–374transform type-in 1–344, 1–352, 3–437transformation axis coordinate system list 1–364transforms

adjusting 2–777and light objects 2–921and mesh sub-objects 2–353and modifiers 2–28animating 1–354applying 1–341, 1–344commands 1–359constraints 1–368controllers (glossary) 3–656controlling 2–690curve 2–519curve sub-object 2–519glossary 3–742locking 2–778locking axes 2–817managers 1–354resetting AutoCAD objects 3–341surface 2–544surface sub-object 2–544transform tools 1–374using 1–343viewing and copying keys 2–676

translate only 2–1421translation file (specifying name and path) 2–1421translator options rollout 2–1415translucency 2–1115, 2–1160

glossary 3–743translucent highlights 2–1121translucent shader 2–1109transmittance display 2–1060transparency 2–1160tri patch 2–349trigonometric functions 1–122trim overlapping segments 1–280trim/extend modifier 2–235troubleshooting 3–629

assertion failed errors 3–630automated error reporting 3–629basic troubleshooting start point 3–643Boolean objects 3–632camera match 2–1014creases or ridges in Boolean objects 3–632Direct3D failed to initialize message 3–643

Index 447

Direct3D reports a memory warning 3–643dual monitor configuration 3–643error reporting 3–629large font problems 3–640Lightscape import 3–218lost dialogs 3–640merging corrupt files 3–630missing command panel 3–640missing gizmos 3–640multiple or missing buttons on toolbars 3–640network rendering 2–1473objects disappear when the camera gets close 3–639remember back up files 3–630slow file opening 3–636slow response to open or drag dialogs 3–636slow startup time 3–636sluggish command response 3–636spanning across monitors 3–643splines and Boolean operations 3–632tips for successful Boolean operations 3–632unit scale and movement resolution relationship 3–639viewport transparency 3–643

truck camera 3–470truck light 3–476truecolor 3–540, 3–743tube 1–150turbosmooth modifier 2–237turn to mesh modifier 2–240turn to patch modifier 2–241turn to poly modifier 2–243tutorials 3–627tweens 2–670twist

deformation 1–324modifier 2–245

two-point perspective 2–1019two-sided 3–587

UU and V iso curves 2–530U loft surface and sub-object 2–558u-type stair 1–214UI 3–393, 3–505, 3–508, 3–511, 3–527, 3–529, 3–585,

3–588customizing 3–525

UI files 3–525unbinding

objects 2–786, 2–808vertices 1–268

UNC 3–743undo 1–10, 1–34, 1–89 to 1–90undo levels 3–537unfold mapping 2–263, 2–270unfreezing objects 1–66, 3–496

ungroup 1–99unhide 1–51, 3–684uniform scale 1–361unify normals 1–137, 3–327units

and display of mouse position 3–437automatic unit conversion 3–91file load units mismatch 3–584mismatch 3–584setup 3–581synchronizing between programs 3–323system setup 3–582troubleshooting problems with 3–639unit scale preference 3–537using 2–618

universal naming convention (UNC) 3–743unlink selection 2–769unlock interior edges (of selected patches) 2–316unsupported materials 3–407unwrap UVW 2–247, 3–611

automatic mapping 2–262Edit UVWs dialog 2–252options dialog 2–271pack UVs dialog 2–266relax tool dialog 2–266

updatebackground image 1–42background while playing 3–551during spinner drag 1–48scene materials 2–1086

updates 3–628use center flyout 1–366

use pivot point center 1–367use selection center 1–367use transform coordinate center 1–367

use dual planes (viewport preference) 3–551use pivot point center 1–367use pivot points 2–38use planes (viewport preference) 3–551use secondary threshold (IK) 3–542use selection center 1–367use soft select 2–844use transform coordinate center 1–367UseEnvironAlpha setting 3–672user grids 2–635, 2–664user interface

customizing 3–505introduction 3–381menu bar 3–384problems and recovery 3–640

user reference 1–ix, 3–619, 3–627user views 1–22user-defined object properties 1–117

448 Index

usingassemblies 1–93asset browser 1–15auto key button 2–672axis constraints 1–358batch rendering 2–1463clipping planes to exclude geometry 2–1009configure paths 2–1480create panel 1–126default joint precedence 2–793dummy objects 2–775grid objects 2–621grids 2–619groups 1–92, 3–386help 3–619home grid 2–620horizon to match perspective 2–1009HTML help viewer 3–620lights 2–913maps to enhance a material 2–1033materials 1–6modifier stack 2–30modifier stack at sub-object level 2–36modify panel 2–28move and rotate to aim 2–1008multiple computers 2–1465named selection sets 1–63NURBS toolbox to create sub-objects 2–448online reference 3–619polygon counter (VRML97 Export) utility 3–239Schematic View 3–302select by name 1–63selection filters 1–64shapes 1–234shift+clone 2–8standard view navigation 1–26transform gizmos 1–348transforms 1–343transforms to aim a camera 2–1008units 2–618

utilitiesanimation 2–907asset browser 3–117assign vertex colors 2–1303camera match 2–1014clean multimaterial 2–1308collapse 2–314color clipboard 1–135create out-of-range keys (Track View) 2–872dialog 3–500Autodesk VIZ file finder 3–126fix ambient 3–128follow/bank 2–907

IFL manager 3–261instance duplicate maps 2–1311lighting data exporter 3–82link inheritance (selected) 2–780list of 3–499material xml exporter 2–1037MAXScript 3–394measure 2–665object display culling 1–56panorama exporter 2–1453polygon counter 2–614, 3–239randomize keys (Track View) 2–871rescale world units 2–666reset XForm (transform) 1–359resource collector 3–127select keys by time (Track View) 2–873shape check 1–237strokes 3–599surface approximation 2–607Track View 2–871utilities menu, Track View 2–845utilities panel 3–499UVW remove utility 2–1039visual MAXScript 3–503

utilitycontent browser 3–124

UVcoordinates 2–1036loft surface 2–562sample UV tiling 2–1063

uv coordinate shader (mental ray) 2–1299uv generator shader (mental ray) 2–1295uv generator shader parameters rollout (mental

ray) 2–1295uv generator shaders rollout (mental ray) 2–1298UVW

coordinates 2–1036coordinates (glossary) 3–743edit UVWs dialog menu bar 2–260map modifier 2–274mapping in Architectural Desktop objects 3–345mapping in Revit objects 3–354remove utility 2–1039XForm modifier 2–285

Vv command-line option 3–384-v command-line option 3–384value display 2–898VDA targa files 3–276vector

editable patch handle sub-object 2–331handles and editable patch vertex sub-objects 2–325introduction 1–123

Index 449

vector handles (glossary) 3–744vector projected curve 2–533

verbosity (messages) 2–1421versioning 3–102vertex alpha 2–288vertex color 2–286

rendering 2–1265vertex color map 2–1265vertex display size 3–552vertex illumination 2–288vertex normals (scaling) 2–350vertex type 2–325vertexpaint modifier 2–286

adjust color dialog 2–298color palette 2–299paintbox 2–291palette 2–299

vertical (move key) 2–887vertices

adding 1–268, 1–275align 2–357attach/detach 2–357breaking 2–357checking for alignment in loft objects 1–333creating 2–357deleting 1–268, 2–357inserting 1–266, 1–280make planar 2–357painting 2–286selecting by color 2–89, 2–390slice 2–357weld 2–357

video color check 2–1064video driver and display problems 3–643view

align to view button 1–395axonometric views 1–22camera views 1–22light views 1–22navigation 1–26perspective views 1–22preset 1–22view file dialog 3–114view image file (file menu) 3–114view preview (rendering menu) 2–1453

view change 1–34view image file 3–114view menu (Schematic View) 3–305view options dialog 3–427view samples 3–724view steps 2–321, 2–325, 2–333, 2–337, 2–343view-handling commands 1–33

viewing3D space 1–19and changing normals 1–137grid objects 2–622portions of scene 2–1009smoothing 1–138transform keys 2–676

viewport clipping 2–1009, 3–453, 3–586viewport configuration 3–585

adaptive degradation 3–591layout 3–588regions 3–592rendering method 3–586safe frames 3–589viewport configuration dialog 3–585

viewport controls 3–457viewport navigation

walkthrough 1–28, 3–459 to 3–460viewport properties menu 3–453viewport renderer (glossary) 3–745viewport rendering 3–586viewport shading 3–586viewports 1–20, 3–451

and display of modifier effect 3–481arc rotate snap angle preference 3–551background 1–36background image 1–36configuring 3–585controlling rendering 1–25create snapshot of 1–33general concepts 1–20grab 1–33layout 3–588preferences 3–551, 3–558, 3–560print 3–114prompt line 3–428redraw all views 1–48reset layout 3–505right-click menu 3–453setting layout 1–24status line 3–430tooltips 3–451tooltips preference 3–537viewport controls 3–457, 3–460, 3–467, 3–471viewport renderer (glossary) 3–745views menu commands and 3–386

views menu 3–386activate all maps 1–48adaptive degradation toggle 3–591add default lights to scene 1–46create camera from view 1–46deactivate all maps 1–48expert mode 1–48

450 Index

grids 2–649redraw all views 1–48reset background transform 1–43restore active view 1–35save active view 1–35shade selected 1–45show dependencies 1–45show ghosting 1–44show key times 1–44show transform gizmo 1–43undo/redo 1–34update background image 1–42update during spinner drag 1–48viewport background 1–36viewport image 1–42 to 1–43

virtual viewport 3–592visibility tracks 2–859, 2–866visible/invisible 2–362VIZ Render files 3–136 to 3–137

Linked Geometry 3–137VIZBlock 3–745VIZBlocks

selecting when file linking 3–338vizstart.cui file 1–10, 1–16vizstart.max file 1–16volo view express 1–15, 3–117volume fog environment effect 3–64volume light environment effect 3–68volume select modifier 2–303volume shading

mental ray 2–1393voxel 2–1154voxel size 2–1425VRML format 3–233VRML97 3–237

exporting to 3–234, 3–237helpers 3–240 to 3–243, 3–245 to 3–251specification 3–239

VST targa files 3–276VUE file

glossary 3–745renderer 2–1426

WW3D files

analyzing 3–230exporting 3–225 to 3–226previewing 3–230

walkthrough assistant 2–1020, 3–747walkthrough button 1–28walkthrough flyout 3–459 to 3–460walkthrough navigation 1–28, 3–459 to 3–460

keyboard shortcuts 3–617

wall 1–180, 1–193editing wall objects 1–198

warning messages 3–548watermarks and rendered images 2–1349wave

wave modifier 2–307waveform controller 2–733

waves map 2–1254web distribution 2–955, 2–957, 2–984web parameters rollout 2–984web site

getting content from 3–117welcome 1–ixweld

editable mesh edges 2–362editable mesh vertices 2–357threshold 1–268, 2–212, 2–252, 2–271, 2–357, 3–147,

3–159, 3–231vertices 1–268

weld vertices/edges dialog 2–442wide flange 1–259window/crossing toggle 1–85windows 1–180, 1–224

Autodesk VIZ 1–9awning 1–228casement 1–229fixed 1–230pivoted 1–231projected 1–232sample preview 2–1050sliding 1–233

wire editor 2–759wire parameters 2–758 to 2–759

expression techniques 1–119wireframe color 3–479wireframes 1–44, 1–49, 3–747wood map 2–1255wood palette 3–405workflow

Revit 3–351workflows

designing materials 2–1025edit poly 2–78editable poly 2–378project workflow in Autodesk VIZ 1–1radiosity 2–1357set key 3–443sub-object selection (NURBS) 2–449

working with AutoCAD, Architectural Desktop and Revitfiles 3–339

working with drawing files 3–316world axis 1–343world coordinate system (glossary) 3–748

Index 451

world space 3–748world-space modifier 2–41

camera map 2–41displace mesh 2–42displace NURBS 2–43glossary 3–748LS colors 2–45MapScaler 2–46PatchDeform 2–47PathDeform 2–47subdivide 2–50surface mapper 2–50SurfDeform 2–51

world-space tripod 3–451wrectangle 1–255WSM modifier 2–41, 2–45

camera map 2–41displace mesh 2–42displace NURBS 2–43MapScaler 2–46PatchDeform 2–47PathDeform 2–47subdivide 2–50surface mapper 2–50SurfDeform 2–51

XXForm modifier 2–309XLI files 3–174XLO files 3–174, 3–176xref material 2–1192XRef object

proxy object 3–299XRef objects dialog

entities list right-click menu 3–290files list right-click menu 3–289XRef objects dialog 3–284

xref scenesoverlays 3–293, 3–297

Xrefsglossary 3–749resolving in file linking 3–337resolving paths 3–330

XRefsand paths 3–296, 3–300glossary 3–749scenes 3–296user path configuration 3–534using XRefs 1–14XRef merge dialog 3–292XRef objects 3–280 to 3–281, 3–284, 3–298XRef scenes 3–280, 3–292

XYZ controllers 2–706 to 2–707, 2–718, 2–722, 2–724XYZ coordinate shader (mental ray) 2–1301

XYZ generator shader (mental ray) 2–1299 to 2–1301XYZ to UVW option (UVW map modifier) 2–274

YYUV file 3–278

Z-z command-line option 3–384z element parameters rollout 2–1436zoom

about mouse point (preference) 3–551zoom 3–461zoom (Track View) 2–900zoom all 3–461zoom extents all/all selected 3–459zoom extents/extents selected 3–462zoom horizontal extents/extents keys (Track

View) 2–899zoom region (Track View) 2–901zoom selected object (Track View) 2–896zoom value extents (Track View) 2–900zooming views 1–27

zoom value extents (Track View) 2–900zoom value extents range (Track View) 2–900ZT file 3–749

autodesk viz 2007 user reference vol1

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