8
Editable Mesh Surface 985
features described in the Editable Mesh topics also
apply to objects with Edit Mesh applied, except
as noted.
Tip:
Editable Poly (page 1–1012)
is similar to
Editable Mesh, but lets you work with polygons of
four or more sides, and provides a greater range of
functionality.
Tip: You can exit most Editable Mesh command
modes, such as Extrude, by right-clicking in the
active viewport.
See also
Edit Modifiers and Editable O bjects (page 1–491)
Modif ying at the Sub-Object Level (page 1–492)
Modifier Stack Controls (page 3–802)
Procedure
Toproduceaneditablemeshobject:
Firstselecttheobject,andthendooneofthe
following:
• Right-click the object and choose Editable
Mesh from the Convert To submenu in the
transform quadrant.
•
Use the
Collapse utilit y (page 1–948)
.
• Apply a modifier to a parametr ic object that
turns the object into a mesh object in the stack,
and then collapse the stack. (For example, you
canapplyaMeshSelectmodifier.)
•Importanon-parametricobject,suchasthat
found in a 3DS file.
Converting an object to an editable mesh removes
all parametric controls, including the creation
parameters. For example, you can no longer
increase the number of seg ments in a box, slice a
circular primitive, or change the number of sides
on a cylinder. Any modifiers you apply to an
object are collapsed as well. After conversion, the
only entry left on the stack is "Editable Mesh."
Maintaining an object’s creation parameters:
As described in the above procedure, you can
convertanexistingobjecttoaneditablemesh,
which replaces the creation parameters in the stack
w ith "Editable Mesh." The creation parameters are
no longer accessible or animatable. If you want to
maintain the creation parameters, you can use the
following modifiers:
•
Edit Mesh Modifier (page 1–613)
•
Mesh Select Modifier (page 1–710)
•
Delete Mesh Modifier (page 1–605)
•
Tessellate Modifier (page 1–854)
•
Face Extrude Modifier (page 1–673)
•
Affect Region Modifier (page 1–538)
Interf ace
Modifier Stack display
Show End R esult—Normally , if you apply a
modifier such as Twist to an editable-mesh object
andthenreturntotheEditableMeshstackentry,
you cannot see the effect of the modifier on the
object’s geometry. But if you turn on Show End
Result while in sub-object level, you can see the
original sub-object selection as a yellow mesh,
the fin al object as a white mesh, and the original
editable mesh as an orange mesh.