Moving & Resizing Objects
After using Bryce for several years, I've come to realize that it has spoiled
me when it comes to translating & resizing objects. Bryce has
trackballs and graphical arrows you can use to transform/move objects and to
move the camera around and now I'm having difficulty doing the same stuff in trueSpace.
Object Tool: |
Left-clicking on the Object Tool allows you to select objects and use the object tools. You also need to click on the button again in order to change between the object tools and the other tools (sweep, paint, deform, etc.). |
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Right-clicking on the Object Tool brings up the Object Info panel. You can modify the Location, Rotation, Size, & Name of the object. You cannot change the number of vertices or faces here. Dynaunits refers to the unit system of the object or world space. When Dynaunits is disabled, the numerical displays are based on the World unit system, when it is enabled, the numerical displays are based on the Object unit system. The unit systems for World & Object do not have to be the same. To change the unit system for World or Object, left-click-hold on the button and choose what units the measurements are based on (inches, millimeters, centimeters, feet, etc.). |
| Before describing how to move, rotate, or scale an object, we need to know about the coordinate system. There are three coordinate systems in tS: object, world, & screen. | |
| One of the ways to choose the coordinate system is from this panel on your title bar. Left-click hold to bring up the options and select the coordinate system you want to use. |
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| Object Coordinates: |
Selecting Object Coordinates constrains movement, rotation, & scaling to the object axes orientation. The object axes rotate along with the object and this can change how movement, rotation, & scaling work when using the object coordinate system. The object axes can also be moved around the object and even off of the object. This, of course, affects how the object moves, rotates, & scales around the new axes location (acts like a hinge). |
| World Coordinates: |
Selecting World Coordinates constrains movement, rotation, & scaling to the world axes orientation. The X-axis runs from top-right to bottom-left of the scene grid. The Z-axis runs from top-left to bottom-right of the scene grid. The Y-axis runs at a ninety degree angle from the X- & Z-axes. |
| Screen Coordinates: |
Selecting Screen Coordinates constrains movement, rotation, & scaling to the screen of your monitor. The X-axis runs horizontally across the screen. The Y-axis runs vertically and the Z-axis runs perpendicular to the screen (straight back/forward). |
| Selecting Axes: |
No matter what coordinate system you choose, movement, rotation, & scaling can be further constrained along any single or multiple axes. |
| No constraints, movement allowed in any direction. Left mouse button moves along X- & Z-axes; right button moves along Y-axis. |
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| Constrain to X-axis Constrain to Y-axis Constrain to Z-axis Constrain to XY-axes Constrain to XZ-axes Constrain to YZ-axes |
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| Note: Translation along the X- & Y-axes is controlled by the left mouse button, while along the Z-axis it is controlled by the right mouse button. Holding down the left & right buttons together allows translation along all axes selected. | |
Object Move: |
Left-clicking on the Object Move button allows you to move the selected object depending on what coordinate system and axes are selected. Left-clicking and dragging with the mouse moves the object along the x- and z-axes. Right-clicking and dragging with the mouse moves the object along the y-axes. Holding down the left and right buttons and dragging the mouse moves the object along all axes. Remember that the coordinate system and axes chosen will determine which axes the object can or cannot move along. |
Object Rotate: |
Left-clicking on the Object Rotate button allows you to rotate the selected object depending on what coordinate system and axes are selected. Left-clicking and dragging with the mouse rotates the object along the x- and z-axes. Right-clicking and dragging with the mouse rotates the object along the y-axes. Holding down the left and right buttons and dragging the mouse rotates the object along all axes. Remember that the coordinate system and axes chosen will determine which axes the object can or cannot rotate on. |
Object Scale: |
Left-clicking on the Object Scale button allows you to scale the selected object depending on what coordinate system and axes are selected. Left-clicking and dragging with the mouse scales the object along the x- and z-axes. Right-clicking and dragging with the mouse scales the object along the y-axes. Holding down the left and right buttons and dragging the mouse rotates the object along all axes. Remember that the coordinate system and axes chosen will determine which axes the object can or cannot be scaled on. |
| Right-clicking on the Object Move, Rotate, or Scale buttons brings up the object coordinates panel. The top three buttons select the object, world, & screen coordinate systems. The bottom three buttons choose what axes to move, rotate, or scale on. You can choose the coordinate system & axes here or from the title bar coordinate selection panel. |
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 Show
Axes: |
Left-clicking on the Show Axes button makes the axes of the current selected object visible. The object is deselected and the axes become the current selection. You can move the axes using the mouse to change how the object moves, rotates, & scales. To work with the object again, left-click on the object to select it. |
| Normalize: |
Left-click-hold on the current Normalize button to bring up the pop-up panel. |
Center Axes: |
Selecting Center Axes moves the axes of the current selected object to its center. If you moved the axes of the object, either accidentally or on purpose, this will move it back to the object's center. |
Normalize Scale: |
Selecting Normalize Scale resizes the selected object equally along all dimensions so that if fits into the screen. This is an advantage when you want to set a primitive back to it's original size. |
Normalize Location: |
Selecting Normalize Location moves the selected object or axes to World Center. |
Normalize Rotation: |
Selecting Normalize Rotation orients the selected object or axes to the World axes orientation. |
| Let's move on to Editing or Viewing & Rendering, unless you haven't looked a creating Polygons yet. | |
