Datasheet
26
CHAPTER 1 GETTING TO KNOW VIZ
an exact rotation value in the coordinate readout. When the Absolute/Offset Mode Transform Type-In
button is in the Absolute mode, you can control the orientation in relation to the object’s original orien-
tation when it was created. In the Offset mode, you can control the orientation relative to the object’s cur-
rent orientation.
Now try out the Scale tool:
1. With the box selected, click the Select and Uniform Scale tool in the Main toolbar. The Scale
Transform gizmo appears, showing the X, Y, and Z orientation of the box in relation to the
viewport.
2. Click in the center of the Scale gizmo that appears or the box itself and drag up. The box
grows uniformly in size.
3. Click and hold the Select and Uniform Scale tool. Then, from the flyout select the middle
tool, which is the Select and Non-uniform Scale tool. This step is not absolutely required; it
is presented here to clarify the concept. The axis handles alone can be used to scale an object
nonuniformly.
4. Drag the XY plane handle of the Scale gizmo (highlighted in yellow) to nonuniformly scale
the box in the XY plane in this case. Similarly, the axis handles can be dragged to constrain the
scaling of an object to one axis.
Now, take a look at the coordinate readout. The values you see are percentages of scale. When the
Absolute/Offset Mode Transform Type-In button is in the Absolute (up) position, the values are per-
centages of the original size of the object. When it’s in the Offset position, the values are the scale in
relation to the current size, and are immediately reset to 100% when you release the mouse button.
1. With the Absolute/Offset Mode Transform Type-In tool in the Absolute position, click and
drag the Z spinner up. Notice that the box grows in the Z axis.
2. Right-click the Y axis spinner. The box distorts to a 0 value in the Y axis.
3. Click in the X value input box and enter 100↵. The box’s X value is restored to its original size.
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