Datasheet

WORKING WITH OBJECTS
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6. Click and drag the blue Z coordinate arrow up. Now, movement is constrained in the Z axis,
away from and toward the grid. As you may guess, clicking and dragging the green Y coor-
dinate arrow constrains movement in the Y axis.
If you click an object in a location other than the coordinate arrows, but still on the object, you
can freely move the object in the current axis or plane restriction. Notice that the coordinate location
of the object is displayed in the status line just below the drafting tools.
The Last Axis Transformed Is Highlighted in Yellow
The axis that is highlighted in yellow is the last axis constraint that was used. For example, if you transform
an object in the Y direction, the next time you start to transform an object, the Y axis will be highlighted.
Constraining Motion
The tools in the Axis Constraints toolbar constrain the motion of an object in the X, Y, or Z axis. For
example, to constrain motion in the X axis, click the Select and Move tool, and then click the X tool in
the Constraints toolbar. The selected object’s motion is constrained to the X axis. In early versions of
VIZ, this was the only method available to constrain motion.
Another important function that the Axis Constraints toolbar offers is the selection of the default free
motion plane. In step 5 of the preceding exercise, you were able to move the box freely in the XY plane, but
you were constrained to that plane. The Constraints toolbar lets you select the default plane to which you
are constrained. The Restrict to XY Plane tool is a flyout offering three options: XY, YZ, and ZX. You can
select the plane in which you want to constrain motion by selecting one of these three options. The XY
option is fine for nearly all of your work; every now and then, though, you’ll want to use one of the other
options, so it’s good to be aware of this tool. You can also access these constraint planes simply by dragging
the appropriate parts of the Transform gizmo—it’s very intuitive.
If you prefer to use shortcut keys instead of a toolbar, the F5, F6, and F7 keys toggle the X, Y, and Z
axis constraints, respectively. Pressing the F8 key repeatedly cycles through the XY, YZ, and XZ
plane constraints.
Finally, a tool that is related to the transform tools is the Selection Lock Toggle tool.
This tool helps prevent the accidental loss of a selection due to a mouse click. It also allows you to use the
transform tools without actually placing the cursor on the selected objects. You can also toggle this tool
on and off by clicking it or by pressing the spacebar while in a selection mode.
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