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Editing Vertex subobjects

When working with the Editable Poly objects, after you select a Vertex subobject mode (keyboard shortcut, 1) and select vertices, you can transform them using the transform buttons on the main toolbar. All vertex-specific commands are found within the Vertices panel, shown in Figure 14.15, but some new tools also appear in the Geometry (All) panel including Collapse, Detach, and Cap Poly.

FIGURE 14.15

When the Vertex subobject mode is selected, these vertex commands become available.

Collapse

The Collapse button is used to collapse all the selected subobjects to a single subobject located at the averaged center of the selection. This button is similar to the Weld button, except that the selected vertices don't need to be within a Threshold value to be combined. This button works in all subobject modes.

Detach

Use the Detach button to separate the selected subobjects from the rest of the object. To use this button, select the subobject and click the Detach button. The Detach dialog box opens, enabling you to name the new detached subobject. You also have the options to Detach to Element or to Detach as Clone. All subobject modes except Edge have a Detach option.

Extrude

The Extrude button copies and moves the selected subobject perpendicular a given distance and connects the new copy with the original one. For example, four edges forming a square extruded would form a box with no lid. To use this feature, select an edge or edges, click the Extrude button, and then drag in a viewport. The edges interactively show the extrude depth. Release the button when you've reached the desired distance.

Alternatively, you can set an extrude depth in the Extrusion spinner in the caddy. The Group option extrudes all selected edges in the direction of the average of all the normals for the group (the normal runs perpendicular to the face), and the Normal Local option moves each individual edge along its local normal. For polygons, you can extrude By Polygons, which extrudes each individual polygon along its normal as a separate extrusion. To exit Extrude mode, click the Extrude button again or right-click in the viewport.

The Extrude button is enabled for Face, Polygon, and Element subobject modes for the Editable Poly object. The Local Normal option extrudes each edge along its own normal.

The Extrude settings caddy includes options for setting the Extrusion Height and the Extrusion Base Width.

Remove

The Remove button lets you delete the selected vertices. The Remove button automatically adjusts the surrounding subobjects to maintain the mesh integrity.

Note

You can also delete Editable Poly subobjects using the Delete key. •

The Remove button also is available in Edge subobject mode. If you hold down the Ctrl key when clicking the Remove button when an edge is selected, vertices at either end of the deleted edge are also removed.

Break

You use the Break button to create a separate vertex for adjoining faces that are connected by a single vertex.

In a normal mesh, faces are all connected by vertices: Moving one vertex changes the position of all adjoining faces. The Break button enables you to move the vertex associated with each face independent of the others. The button is available only in Vertex subobject mode.

Chamfer and Weld

The Chamfer button—which is enabled in Vertex, Edge, and Border subobject modes—lets you cut the edge off a corner and replace it with a face. Using the Chamfer caddy, you can interactively specify a Chamfer Amount and the number of segments. The caddy also includes an Open option, which cuts a hole in the polygon face instead of replacing it with a new polygon.

Vertices and edges that are close or on top of one another can be combined together into one using the Weld command. The Weld and Chamfer buttons include caddies that let you interactively see the results of different settings. The Weld caddy includes a weld Threshold value and displays the number of vertices before and after the