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36 Chapter 10: Precision and Drawing Aids
Transforming Around Snap Points
When snapping is on and Auto Key (page 3–717)
is off, rotat ions and scales occur about the snap
point. For example, if you’re using Vertex snapping
and you’re rotating a box, you can rotate it about
any of its corner vert ices. See To u se s n aps to m ove
an absolute distance: (page 2–36) below.
When Auto Key is on and either Select And Rotate
or Select And Scale is active, the Snaps Toggle
button is disabled, and rota tion and scaling take
place about the pivot point of the object.
Relative and Absolute Snaps
The mouse snaps absolutely to t he ac tive snap
types. Relative snapping is also available. By
default,whenyouturnonsnaps,onlytheGrid
P oints snap type is activ e. If you perform a Mov e
operation, the cursor will snap to the grid, but you
can select and pick up an object that’s not aligned
tothegrid.Whenyoumovetheobjectandsnap
it to gr id points, the object’s original posit ion
relative to the grid is maintained as an offset to
each grid point, providing relative snapping.
Tomovethesameobjectinanabsolutefashion,
add the Vertex snap type. Then, when you select
the object to move, you select one of its vertices,
and snap that vertex to any grid point, resulting in
an absolute snap.
You can also achieve variations on relative snaps
byturningontheSelectionLockTogglebuttonin
the s tatus line.
A wide variety of snap types are available from the
Snaps dialog (page 2–41),thatyouusetoactivate
different snap types as you work.
Pr ocedur es
To turn snap off dur ing a tr ansform:
•PressS to toggle snapping off when it gets in
the way. Press
S again to turn it back on.
Tousesnapstomovearelativedistance:
1.
Turn on Snaps with the S key , or by clicking
theSnapsTogglebutton.
2. Lock your selection set with the
SPACEBAR, or by clicking Lock Selection on
the status bar.
3. Wherever you click in the viewport, the snap
willstayrelativetothedistanceofyourcursor
to the object.
To use snaps to move an absolute distance:
1.
Turn on Sn ap s Tog g le.
2. Click t he selection. Snap uses the point you
click for the snap source.
3. Move to whatever target snap you desire. The
object will snap to an absolute distance.
To rotate a box a round a v er tex us ing snaps:
1.
Make sure the Auto Key button is off.
2. Select the box.
3. On the Main toolbar, click Select And
Rotate.
4. Tu r n Snap s on by press ing S on the keyboard.
5. On the Customize menu, choose Grid And
Snap Settings. Turn on Vertex and turn off Grid
Points.
6. Lo ck your selection set by clicking Lock
Selection on the status bar.
7. Onthetoolbar,chooseUseTransform
Coordinate Center (hold the mouse dow n on
Use Pivot Point Center to expose the flyout).
8. Move your cursor over any vertex in the box.
The blue snap cursor will appear, and then you
can rotate the box around t hat vertex.
Interfa ce
There are three snap modes: