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Part III: Modeling Basics

FIGURE 12.17
Several spline shapes displayed with vertex numbering turned on
Spline end point

Vertex marker

At the bottom of the Selection rollout, the Selection Information is displayed. This information tells you the
number of the spline (or segment) and vertex selected, or the number of selected items and whether a
spline is closed.

Note
The Soft Selection rollout allows you to alter adjacent nonselected subobjects (to a lesser extent) when selected
subobjects are moved, creating a smooth transition. See Chapter 10, “Accessing Subobjects and Using Modeling
Helpers,” for the details on this rollout. n

Controlling spline geometry
Much of the power of editing splines is contained within the Geometry rollout, shown in Figure 12.18, includ-
ing the ability to add new splines, attach objects to the spline, weld vertices, use Boolean operations such as
Trim and Extend, and many more. Some Geometry buttons may be disabled, depending on the subobject type
that you’ve selected. Many of the features in the Geometry rollout can be used in all subobject modes. Some of
these features do not even require that you be in a subobject mode. These features are covered first.

Tip
The quadmenu provides quick access to the main features for each subobject mode. After you are familiar with the
various features, you can quickly access them through the quadmenu by simply right-clicking in the viewport. n

Create line
While editing splines, you can add new lines to a spline by clicking the Create Line button and then click-
ing in one of the viewports. You can add several lines at the same time and all these new splines are part of
the same object. Right-click in the viewport to exit this mode. Any new lines are their own spline, but you
can weld them to the existing splines.
Break
Selecting a vertex and clicking the Break button in Vertex subobject mode breaks the segment at the
selected vertex by creating two separate end points. You also can use the Break button in Segment subobject
mode by clicking anywhere along the segment to add two separated vertices on the segment, thereby break-
ing the segment into two. You can also use the Break button in Vertex and Segment subobject modes.

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