8

Snap Options 45
Marker group
Provides sett ings that affect the visu a l display of
the s nap points.
Display —Toggles the display of the snap guides.
When off, the snaps still function, but there’s no
display.
Size—Sets the size, in pixels, of the snap "hit"
point. This is the small icon that indicates either
thesourceortargetsnappoint.
Co lor—Click the color swatch to display the Color
Selector, where you can set the color of the snap
display.
General group
Snap functionality includes severa l features that
enhance ease of use. When using Snap, if the
cursor comes within distance of a potential snap
point that’s less than the
Snap Preview Radius
distance but greater than the Snap Radius distance,
the snap cursor jumps to that point a s a preview of
where the snap will occur, but no actual snapping
occurs.
Tousethepreviewpointasthesnappoint,click
orreleasethemousebutton,dependingonthe
context. If, instead, you then continue to move the
cursor toward the potential snap point so that it
comes within a distance equal to or less than the
Snap Radius value, the snap takes place.
Tip: For best results, keep the Snap Preview Radius
value 10 pixels or more higher than the Snap
Radius value. This lets you preview any snap
before it actually occurs.
Snap Preview R adius—When the cursor is a
distance from a potential snap-to point between
the Snap Preview Radius value and the Snap
Radius value, the snap marker jumps to the closest
potential snap-to point, but no snap occurs.
Default=30.
When a snap-to preview point is hig hli ghted,
release or click the mouse button (depending on
the context) to snap the cur rent selection to that
location. Alternatively, before using the displayed
snap point, you can cycle though any other
available preview and snap points by pressing
ALT+SHIFT+S repeatedly.
Note: TheSnapPreviewRadiusvalueshould
generally be set higher than the Snap Radius value,
so that previewing occurs before snapping. If you
attempttosettheSnapPreviewRadiusvaluelower
than the Snap Radius value, the software lowers
the l atter so that the two are equal. This effectively
turns off previewing, so that only snapping is in
effect.
Snap R adius—Sets the size of the area around the
cursor, in pixels, within which snapping occurs
automatically. Default=20.
Note: TheSnapRadiusvalueshouldgenerallybe
set lower than the Snap Preview Radius value, so
that previewing occurs before snapping. If you
attempt to set the Snap Radius value higher than
the Snap Preview Radius va lue, the software raises
the l atter so that the two are equal. This effectively
turns off previewing, so that only snapping is in
effect.
Note: This parameter was labeled Snap Strength in
previous versions of 3ds Max.
Angle—Sets the increment at w hich objects are
rotated about a g iven axis (degrees).
Percent—Sets the percentage increment for scale
transforms.
Snap to Frozen Objects—When on, snapping
to frozen objects is enabled. Default=off. This
option is also available from the Snaps shortcut
menu, accessed when you hold SHIFT and
right-click in any viewport, as well as from
the
Snaps toolbar (page 2–39) .Keyboard
shortcut=ALT+F2.