9

Polar Snapping Mode 39
Note:
If you hold down the Alt key in Ortho
mode, the next point b ecomes doubly constrained
by both the previous point and the first poin t
ofthecurrentobject. Thisallowsyoutoclose
splinesprecisely.Inthismode,twocompassesare
displayed; one each at the first and previous points.
Pr ocedur es
To add Or tho Sna pping M ode to the Sna ps toolba r :
1.
OpentheSnapstoolbar,ifnecessary.Todoso,
right-click an empty part of the main toolbar,
such as the area directly below one of the
drop-down lists, and choose Snaps.
2. Drag the right end of the toolbar to the right to
make room for a new button.
3. Choose Customize menu > Customize User
Interface.
This opens the Customize User Interface dialog.
4. On the dialog, click the To olbars tab.
5. Scroll down the Action list on the dialog to the
Ortho Snapping Mode item. You can jump to
the O section by clicking any item in the list and
then pressing
O on the keyboard.
6. Drag the Ortho Snapping Mode item fro m the
list to the empty sect ion of the Snaps toolbar.
This adds the button to the toolbar.
7. ClosetheCustomizeUserInterfacedialog.
3ds Max automatically saves the toolbar in
its revised state and makes the new button a
permanent par t of the user interface.
To use Ortho:
1.
Turn on the Ortho Snapping Mode button.
The button appears depressed.
2. Be gin to draw a Line s pline.
An orange compass appears where you place
the first point, along with a red number
indicating the ang le of the current line seg ment
with the positive direction of the local X axis.
3. Move the mouse cursor around in the viewport.
Thelinejumpsto90-degreeangleincrements
on the local X axis, while the compass reading
updates to show the current angle.
4. Click to place the next vertex.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’re ready to
complete the shape.
6. Do either of the following:
• To finish the shape at the most recent vertex
without closing it, right-click anywhere.
• To finish the shape by closing it, position the
mouse cursor close to the first point and
then click. A small dialog opens asking if
you want to close the spline; click Yes.
Polar Snapping M ode
When drawing a Line spline (page 1–270) or
Wall object (page 1–223), Polar Snapping Mode
constrains line creation to angle increments
determined by the Angle Snap setting relative to
theactivegrid.TochangetheAngleSnapsetting,
right-click the Angle Snap Toggle button on the
main toolbar and in the Options panel > General
group, edit the Angle sett ing.
Impor tant: By default, Polar Snapping mode is not
directly accessible in the 3ds Max user inter face. To add
itasabuttonontheSnapstoolbar,followthis procedure
(page 2–40).
Polar is particularly useful for drawing plans where
angles b etween all lines must conform to specific
angle increments, such as 45 degrees. If all lines
must be at 90-degree angles to each other, use the
Ortho Snapping Mode toggle (page 2–38) instead.
The following provisions apply to using Polar:
• Use of Polar is mutually exclusive of use of the
Ortho toggle; only one can be active at a time.