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Chapter 8: Cloning Objects and Creating Object Arrays

FIGURE 8.8
The Snapshot tool helps to build a set of footprints through a maze.

Spacing Cloned Objects

The Snapshot tool offers a convenient way to clone objects along an animation path, but what if you want
to clone objects along a path that isn’t animated? The answer is the Spacing tool. The Spacing tool can posi-
tion clones at regular intervals along a path by either selecting a path and the number of cloned objects or
by picking two points in the viewport.

Using the Spacing tool
You access the Spacing tool by clicking on a button in the flyout under the Array button on the Extras tool-
bar (the Extras toolbar can be made visible by right-clicking on the main toolbar away from the buttons).
You can also access it using the Tools ➪ Align ➪ Spacing Tool (Shift+I) menu command. When accessed, it
opens the Spacing Tool dialog box, shown in Figure 8.9. At the top of this dialog box are two buttons: Pick
Path and Pick Points. If a path is selected, its name appears on the Pick Path button.
You can also specify Count, Spacing, Start Offset, and End Offset values. The drop-down list offers several
preset options, including Divide Evenly, Free Center, End Offset, and more. These values and preset
options are used to define the number and spacing of the objects. The spacing and position of the objects
depend on the values that are included. For example, if you include only a Count value, then the objects
are evenly spaced along the path including an object at each end. If an offset value is included, then the first
or last item is moved away from the end by the offset value. If a Spacing value is included, then the number
of objects required to meet this value is included automatically.

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