Using Tools

is the Component Selection tool. Clicking and dragging on a component within the scene results in the component being moved.

The Edit Control is also displayed when a shape is selected, which provides additional editing functions.

Selecting a shape with this tool makes available any Operations, Boolean Operations or other operations that apply to the shape.

Alt-Selecting with this tool not only selects the shape, but also any sibling shapes and child shapes. This is primarily used for scaling, deleting, copying compound-shapes. It can also be used to add compound-shapes to the shape library.

Double-Clicking on a shape opens the shape's source, which can then be updated. If a shape's source is updated, any Operations or Boolean Operations will be reapplied to the updated shape.

is the Point/Edge/Face Selection tool. With this tool, the points, edges and faces that make up a shape can be manipulated. Clicking and dragging a face or point results in the selection being moved.

As you move your mouse of the shape points, edges and faces will be highlighted. Clicking will select the highlighted item. To restrict selection to only points, hold down the "1" key. To restrict selection to only edges, hold down the "2" key. To restrict selection to only faces, hold down the "3" key.

Shift-selecting is used to select multiple items. Ctrl-selecting results in the selected item being toggled. Alt-selecting with this tool will select all faces that point in the same direction. Ctrl-Alt-selecting with this tool will select all faces that use the same material.

The Edit Control is also displayed when a point, edge or face is selected, which provides additional editing functions.

Selecting a point, edge or face with this tool makes available any Operations that apply to the selection.

Note that manipulating points, edges or faces can result in shapes which do not render as expected. Non-planar polygons cannot be guaranteed to be rendered as intended. To correct this problem use the Triangulate Operation.

is the Rectangle Selection Tool. Draw a rectangle with this tool, and it will select all shapes within the selection rectangle. Alternatively if you want to select points, edges or faces, hold down the "1", "2", or "3" key respectively.

Alt-Selecting with this tool will only select the visible points/edges/faces, excluding the points/edges/faces on the other side of the shape.

The Edit Control is also displayed when a point, edge or face is selected, which provides additional editing functions.

Selecting with this tool makes available any Operations that apply to the selection.

is the Operation Adjustment Tool. Many Operations can be adjusted after they have been applied. For instance, a shape that has has been warped using the Warp operation can have the amount of the warp scaled using this tool.

Selecting a shape with this tool will display the standard Edit Control. Note that not all operations support the Move/Scale/Rotate functions of the Edit Control. Only those Edit Control functions that apply to the currently active Operation of the shape will be displayed.

Alt-Selecting with this tool enables not only the current Operation for adjustment, but also any other like-Operations that immediately precede the current Operation in the Layers List.

This tool is often used for animation purposes. For example, the effect of a Warp operation can easily be adjusted over time to provide a varying amount of warp depending on the time within the animation.

is the Deform tool. Clicking and dragging a shape results in the shape being deformed. The range of effect can be set using the Deform Tool options, which can be displayed by right-clicking.

is the Shift tool. Clicking and dragging a shape within the scene results in it being moved within its group. This is particularly useful when there are multiple items in the same group. This permits a shape to be shifted, without affecting its siblings.

Ctrl-clicking and dragging results in the group's axis point being moved without affecting the position of the shapes in the group. This is typically used to set the point of rotation for a shape.

is the Face Painting tool. Clicking on a face results in the face being painted with the current material. Clicking and dragging results in multiple faces being painted with the current material.

is the Fill tool. Clicking on a shape results in the shape being filled with the current material. Textures may be applied perpendicular to the x-z plane or applied oriented based on the face clicked. This behavior is set with the Material Palette's Apply Relative options.

is the Material Sample Tool. Clicking on a shape will copy the current material for that selected point to the Material Palette.

is the Rotation Axis Tool. It is used to adjust the orientation of the rotation axis. This should be used in Orthographic views since it can be quite difficult to judge the orientation in perspective mode. The Rotational Velocity for a shape is set with the shape Properties which can be viewed by right-clicking on a shape and selecting Properties.