Moving Polygons

The steps for Translate polygon are identical to Xform > Move except that location adjustments occur at a polygon level.

For example, if you pick all of a polygon's vertices, select Xform > Move, then type a0, 0, 0 (absolute addressing mode) from the keyboard, each of the vertices will be moved to the world space origin.

For the other Xform polygon tools, see:

Rotating Polygons on page 86

Scaling Polygons on page 87

If, however, you type a0, 0, 0 while using the Translate polygon tool, the centroid of the polygon is moved to the world space origin and the size, shape and orientation of the polygon are maintained.

How to Use

1

Select Polygon Edit > Xform polygon > Translate - from the palette menu, or double click its icon.

2

In the Poly Transform Options box, choose Polygon axis or XYZ axis.

3

Click Go.

The system prompts:

Select polygon to transform (Translate).

4

Click the polygon you want to move. A locator is displayed and the system prompts:

Translate edge using mouse or enter transform values (ABS) (N,S,T):

or

Translate edge using mouse or enter transform values (ABS) (x,y,z):

5

Drag the edge with the mouse, or enter the move amounts using the keyboard (see "Moving the polygon with the mouse" and "Moving the polygon with the keyboard" below).

Moving the polygon with the mouse

If you are using XYZ axes, use the following mouse buttons to move the polygon in an orthographic window:

• Drag with the left mouse button to move the polygon along the axes in the current view window.

• Drag with the middle mouse button to constrain the movement to the horizontal axis.

• Drag with the right mouse button to constrain the movement to the vertical axis.

If you are using polygon axes, or XYZ axes in a perspective window, use the following buttons:

Hold down Shift and click the right mouse button to repeat the last transformation of the active polygon.

• Drag with the left mouse button to move the polygon along the X or N axis.

• Drag with the middle mouse button to move the polygon along the Y or S axis.

Hold down the Shift key and click the left mouse button to deselect the polygon.

• Drag with the right mouse button to move the polygon along the Z or T axis.

You can use object and grid snap with Xform Polygon. The polygon's centroid will snap to other objects or grid points.

Moving the polygon with the keyboard

Type coordinates and press Enter to move the polygon. The values you type are interpreted as XYZ or NST depending whether you have chosen XYZ axes or Polygon axes in the options box.

For details on typing absolute and relative coordinates, see Basic Tools in Alias.

Poly Transform Options

Select Polygon Edit > Xform polygon > Translate - to open the Poly Transform Options box.

Transform Axis

XYZ axes

Moves the edge along the world axes.

Polygon axes

Moves the edge along the polygon's local axes.

Rotating Polygons

How to Use

1

Select Polygon Edit > Xform polygon > Rotate or click the side icon.

The system prompts:

Hold down Shift and click the right mouse button to repeat the last transformation of the active polygon.

Select polygon to transform (Rotate):

2

Click on the polygon you want to rotate. A locator is displayed and the system prompts:

Rotate polygon using mouse or enter transform values (N, S, T):

Hold down Shift and click the left mouse button to deselect the polygon.

• Drag with the left mouse button to rotate the polygon around the N axis.

• Drag with the middle mouse button to rotate the polygon around the S axis.

• Drag with the right mouse button to rotate the polygon around the T axis.

Rotating the polygon with the keyboard

Type rotation values for N, S and T in degrees, separated by a space or a comma. The rotation is always relative.

Scaling Polygons

How to Use

1

Select Polygon Edit > Xform polygon > Scale or click the side icon.

The system prompts:

Select polygon to transform (Scale):

Hold down Shift and click the right mouse button to repeat the last transformation of the active polygon.

2

Click on the polygon you want to scale. A locator is displayed at the center of the polygon and the system prompts:

Scale polygon using mouse or enter transform values (S, T):

Hold down Shift and click the left mouse button to deselect the polygon.

• Drag with the left mouse button to proportionally scale the polygon from the local origin.

• Drag with the middle mouse button to scale the polygon in the S direction.

• Drag with the right mouse button to scale the polygon in the T direction.

Scaling the polygon with the keyboard

Type scale factors for S and T, separated by a space or a comma. The scaling is always relative.