Chapter 4 Moving and Copying Objects
From ShadeCamp
Moving, copying, and even transforming objects can be done primarily using two very important tools: Move and Copy. Both Move and Copy contain similar subsets of tools; Move will modify the selected object, while Copy will first duplicate the selected object and then create a new, modified object.
Contents |
The Move and Copy Tools
The Move and Copy tools each contain a similar subset of tools. In fact, the names of the Move tools are identical to those found in the Copy tool. If you wish to modify the original object, use the Move tools. If you wish to first duplicate the original object and then create a new, modified object, use the Copy tool.
In the Shade 9 User Guide we will normally use the
Copy tools to provide greater distinction between the original and modified object.
Translate
1.From ShadeExplorer, open “S.shd” from the “Chapter04” folder inside the “User Guide” folder.
2. Make sure that the Browser is displayed so that you can easily verify the objects that are duplicated.Then, in the Browser, select the part entitled S.
3. Choose Translate from the Copy tool in the Toolbox. (Figure 3)
4. Within the Front view (bottom left of the Figure window), drag the mouse as shown from Point A to translate the object.
5. Choose Undo from the Edit menu before proceeding.
Note: You can also undo operations using }{ + Z key (Mac) / Ctrl + Z key (Win).
Rotate
Objects can be physically rotated in 3D space by using the Rotate tool.
1. Choose Rotate from the Copy tool in the Toolbox. When you choose Rotate, a point appears near the center of the selected object and a line connecting the point and mouse pointer is displayed. If you drag the mouse at this stage, the rotated copy is created with respect to the point near the center of the object.
To change the center of rotation, do not drag immediately.
2. Within the Front view, click Point A to set the center axis of rotation. Then rotate the object by dragging the mouse as shown from right above A to Point B in the figure below.
The object, rotated around Point A, is duplicated.
3. Choose Undo from the Edit menu before the next step.
Scale/Mirror
1. Choose Scale/Mirror from the Copy tool in the Toolbox.
As before, when you choose Scale/Mirror, a point appears near the center of the selected object and a line connecting the point and mouse pointer is displayed. If you drag the mouse at this stage, the
scaled copy is created with respect to the point near the center of the object.
To set a new center point for scaling, do not drag immediately.
2. In the Front view, click Point A to set the center of scaling. Then scale the object up by dragging the mouse up as shown from Point B.
The object, scaled up vertically using Point A as the center point, is duplicated. Since this dragging was done in the Front view, the thickness of the object remains unchanged.
3. Choose Undo from the Edit menu before the next step.
Mirror Copy
The Scale/Mirror function in the Copy tool also allows you to make a mirror-image copy. (You cannot make such a copy using Uni-Scale.)
1. Turn on the Grid and Snap checkboxes in the Control Bar, if they are not already checked.
A grid is now displayed in the Figure window. Displaying the grid facilitates the mirror copy operation using the Scale/Mirror tool. When the Snap checkbox is on, the cursor will snap to the grid lines, and also to the halfway point between grid lines.
2. Choose Scale/Mirror from the Copy tool in the Toolbox.
3. In the Front view, click point A, which will become the center point for our mirror copy.
By dragging across the center point from B to C, we create a mirror-image copy. If the distance between A and B equals the distance between A and C, the mirror copy will be equal in size to the original. (Point A is the center of the mirror copy.)
5. Choose Undo from the Edit menu before the next step. You can switch the grid on or off for your convenience at anytime.
Uni-Scale
1. Select Uni-Scale from the Copy tool in the Toolbox. If you select Uni-Scale, a point appears near the center of the selected object and a line connecting the point and the mouse pointer is displayed. If you drag the mouse at this stage, the Uni-Scale copy is created with respect to the point near the center of the object.
To set a new center point for scaling, do not drag immediately. 2. Within the Front view, click Point A to set the new center point for Uni-Scale. Then scale the object larger or smaller by dragging the mouse from Point B, as shown in the figure below.
A new object is created with the scale you specified, centered around Point A.
You can Uni-Scale similarly in any view. Although this work was done in the Front view in the same way as for the “Scale,” you will notice that the thickness of the object is also changed.
3. Choose Undo from the Edit menu before the next step.
Skew
1. Choose Skew from the Copy tool in the Toolbox.
As before, when you select Skew, a point appears near the center of the selected object and a line connecting the point and mouse pointer is displayed. If you drag the mouse at this stage, the skewed copy is made with respect to the point near the center of the object.
To set a new center point for skewing, do not drag immediately.
2. Within the Front view, click Point A to set the center for skewing. Then skew the object by dragging the mouse from Point B, as shown in the figure below.
3. Choose Edit > Undo before the next step.
Entering Numerical Values
When using both the Move and Copy tools, you can enter numerical values to specify a precise transformation. Numerical values can be entered for Scale, Rotate and Translate operations on the X, Y and Z axes.
1. Open “S.shd” from the Documentation/User Guide folder.
2. Choose Copy>Numerical from the Toolbox.
3. To specify the center for the Scale, Rotate, or Translate operations, click the center of the S in the Front view (point A, or the origin). The Transformation dialog will appear, allowing you to enter values for Scale, Rotate, and Translate operations on any of the three axes.
4. Enter the following values in the Transformation dialog:
Scale: X = 1, Y = 2, Z = 1
Rotate: X = 0, Y = 0, Z = 45
Translate: X =.500, Y = 0, Z = 0
A copy of the “S” with the specified numerical transformations centered about point A appears in the Figure window.
Duplicating Objects Using Copy and Paste
You can copy an object and paste it anywhere using the cursor.
1. Click Point A while holding down the Ctrl key (Win) / option key (Mac).
2. Choose Edit > Copy.
Note: Clicking the mouse within the Figure window while holding down the Ctrl key (Win) or option key (Mac) allows you to change the cursor position without affecting any active objects.
3. Click any position (Point B in the figure below) within the Figure window to set the 3D cursor coordinates.
4. Select Paste from the Edit menu.
The copied object is pasted.
The object is moved and duplicated according to the direction and distance from the 3D cursor position at copying to the 3D cursor position at pasting. In other words, the relative position between the object to be copied and the cursor keep always the same distance as the relative position between the object to be pasted and the cursor.
5. Choose Edit > Undo before the next step.
Moving Objects Using Cut and Paste
You can cut an object and paste it anywhere using the cursor.
1. Click Point A while holding down the Ctrl key (Win) or option key (Mac).
2. Choose Edit > Cut.
Clicking the mouse within the Figure window while holding down the Ctrl key (Win) / option key (Mac) allows you to change the cursor position without affecting any active object.
3. Click any position (Point B in the figure below) within the Figure window to set the 3D cursor position.
4. Choose Edit > Paste.
The cut object is pasted.
The object is moved according to the direction and distance from the 3D cursor position at cutting to the 3D cursor position at pasting.
5. Choose Undo twice from the Edit menu to restore the view before cutting.
Note: The Undo function can go back up to 100 operations to restore the object data. Using Redo in the Edit menu you can re-perform an operation that was Undone.
Duplicating at the Same Position
The copy-Translate tool can be used to duplicate an object at the same position.
1. Select Translate from the Copy tool in the Toolbox.
2. Click anywhere in the Figure window.
The object is duplicated at the same position. However, you will not be able to see the new object in the Figure window, because it is at exactly the same position as the original object. Look at the Browser to verify that the object was duplicated.
Note: You can also duplicate any selected object at the same position by clicking the mouse within the Figure window while holding down the Ctrl + Shift key (Win) / option + Shift key (Mac).
3. Choose Undo from the Edit menu before the next step.
Deleting Objects
1. With the object selected, choose Edit > Delete, or press the Delete key or Back Space key (Win) / Delete key (Mac).
The object is deleted.
2. Choose Undo from the Edit menu.
The deleted object is restored.
Links
With Shade you can create linked objects while preserving the original object characteristics and information. Linked objects are automatically modified to match changes made to the original object. The Link feature enables you to manage objects more efficiently; and because the objects are not independent they take up less disk space. This is especially convenient when there are large numbers of parts to arrange. The creation of linked objects is available in Shade 9 professional and Shade 9 standard.
Creating Linked Objects
Select the object from which you want to create a linked object, and choose Link from the Copy menu. By using the Move Straight Line operation you can create the linked object.
When a linked object is created, it appears in the Browser under the name ‘link’. If you create multiple linked objects, they will all be called ‘link’, so be sure to change the name as necessary in order to avoid confusion.
All linked objects will have the name ‘link’ when first created.
It is also possible to create multiple linked objects at the same time. In this case, the number of objects selected will determine the number of linked objects created. If you create a linked object after selecting a part that contains multiple objects, one linked object will be created, pointing to all the objects in that original part.
(Creating a link after selecting multiple objects)
(Creating a link that points to a part containing multiple objects)
Furthermore, you can create a linked object that points to another linked object. By doing this, you can line up a linked object with the original object, and then after putting them together in one part, you can position them together to face a different direction.
Here we will line up a desk and chair set using a sample object.
1. Open ‘classroom.shd’ from Documentation / Supplemental Manual / Link.
2. Let’s set up a desk and chair set in this classroom scene using the Link feature. First, place the desk set facing forwards.
3. Choose Copy > Link and drag the desk upwards in the Top view.
You have created a linked object.
4. Now we’ll arrange five desk sets in a column. Choose 3 from the Repeat tool pop-up, to create three additional linked desk objects, and place all five desk sets so that they are in a vertical column.
5. Now, turn the desk sets so that they face sideways. It is possible to create linked objects with multiple selections like this, but because doing so will increase the number of individual objects, we will create the linked object after putting all of the desk sets into one part.
Create a new part, and add all of the desk sets in the column to this part. Give your new part an appropriate name.
6. With this new part selected, choose Copy > Link and drag the part sideways. This creates a new linked object, duplicating your 5-desk column.
7. Arrange the desks into four rows by choosing 2 from the Repeat tool pop-up and placing the new columns appropriately.
Our desk set arrangement is finished. From one original model, we have generated a total of 20 objects. Links allow you to create multiple identical objects, making it easy to populate scenes with large numbers of objects.
Modifying Linked Objects
Linked objects will automatically change to match any editing done to the original object from which the link was created. This applies to changes done with the Move tool, the Control Point in Object Edit mode, or the Tangent Handle.
Editing with the Move Tool
Editing in Object Edit mode |
