Editing vertices in mesh
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How do I edit the vertices in a mesh? Is there a tool to select and move the vertices?
All I really need to do is delete parts of a component. But also it would be great to know how to edit the mesh and change the shape of components.
I know all the basics and have created complicated sketchup models. I know push/pull and scale and offset and creating shapes, but I just don't know how to edit the beasic shapes using the vertices that I see when I click on the mesh.
thanks -
In Sketchup, you cannot select a bunch of vertices and move them simultaneously, as apparently they are not treated as separate entities like faces and edges. (I, for one, wish they were.)
You CAN move each vertex one at a time, because you are moving the end of an edge. You can then move along an xyz inference axis.
If it does not want to move the way you want you must hit the ALT button on a windows keyboard to free it from constraints.
If you want the vertex to move to a specific location you may have to draw a temporary line to the destination point before moving the vertex.
If you select a bunch of edges, you CAN move them simultaneously either by the xyz axis inferences or by setting up a temporary pre-measured line in the direction you wish to move. The line can be placed nearby, and after selecting all of the edges you wish to move, activate the move tool, and click on the end of the temp line and slide the cursor along it to the desired distance. The selected geometry will move along that vector.
This may be way more info than you needed, but, what the hey?
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Thanks, but I need to know how to select the vertex. Selecting just one vertex would be fine.
What tool will allow me to select a vertex?
I have a component full of mesh with vertices but when I click on it I cannot select anything and edit it. I have ungrouped it.
Is there a way to cut the mesh? -
ok, I figured I didn't fully understand.
Activate the select or arrow tool. Hover over the component, right click, edit component.
Select the Move tool, hover over the vertex to be edited. when the green dot appears left click and hold. Move the vertex where you wish. The affected edges will go with it. If the vertex is stubborn, use the Alt button to free it.
Is this what you mean? -
There are a couple of simple ways to cut the mesh.
- Draw a line from edge to edge, or vertex to vertex where you want to cut the mesh. Do this as much as you need, even going all the way around the mesh volume if it is a "closed volume".
- Even simpler,erase edges you don't want. Not as precise as you may like.
- A little bit tougher- create a circle in the orientation of the cut plane. Make it large enough to extend beyond the mesh volume. Select the mesh and the circle face, right click, intersect, intersect selected. Erase the circle and lines will be created where the circle plane was.
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Thank you. I tried it and the vertice turned green and I held it and moved it, but the whole model moved, not just the vertex.
Below is a screen capture of what I am trying to do. All I want to do is cut through this and delete part of it. I thought maybe I could select the vertices and delete or just push them all together and hide parts of it. I am just stymied, though. All I want to do is cut off part of the end to these tubes pictured below.
Thank you for your help.
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oh right! I forgot about intersecting with model. that would do it. let me try.
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Yay! I used intersect with model. Thank you for reminding me.
I still wish I had more freedom to edit the mesh and vertices. I have exported it into max for heavy-duty editing, but I just want a simple 3d model to trace over for different architectural views, so I was hoping I could edit it all in sketchup.I appreciate your help, thank you.
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Ok I see you posted before I finished this:
Here it is anyway for posterity.
if everything is highlighted, you then need either to right click, edit group--or edit component in the right click context menu.
If you have already opened the group/component and everything is highlighted, you could have a subgroup. Either right click explode the sub or right click edit the sub. Then do the editing/moving.
If unwanted stuff is highlighted then either click out in empty space to unselect, or press Control T to unselect. Then do your selecting and moving. -
For what it is worth, you can navigate/orbit and box select one of the transverse loops of the tube, and simply press the delete key to interrupt the mesh for cutting purposes.
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I will try that. Once again, thank you.
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Thought
Although you can pick a Vertex and Move etc it is often fiddly and difficult to do well...
So would a Ruby that helps be useful - here's the outline...
You Select a mesh surface [or any 3D Surfaces with Vertices for that matter].
You run the new Tool 'Add Markers to Selected Vertices' [Menu or Context-Menu].
Hidden Lines are switched on to help see hidden/smoothed Edges.
Then small but easily see/picked 'Markers' are added to the Vertices in the Selection.
You can then Select these 'Markers' individually or in multiples and Move/Scale them etc as needed.
They are each linked to a Vertex by Attributes and the 'Markers' and Vertices modify together.
You can use other Tools and the 'Markers' remain in place, on their own Layer [VERTEX-MARKERS].
You can go back to them and modify them at any time...
When you are done with them you Select any 'Marker' and right-click context-menu and pick 'Delete All Vertex Markers': all of the 'Markers' are Erased and the Vertices loose the linking Attribute.
Same as deleting the Layer VERTEX-MARKERS and its contents.
Alternatively picking the context-menu item 'Switch VERTEX-MARKERS Layer OFF' could simply put their Layer to 'OFF'. You'd just switch it ON again to see them later...
Erasing any Marker wouldn't affect its Vertex [but the Vertex would have its linking Attribute removed]
Erasing a Vertex [by say Edge Erasing or Vertex combining etc] would also automatically remove its Marker.Any thoughts, ideas etc
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In other softwares, you can edit the mesh in just vertex mode. So no edges or faces can be selected, only vertices. Then there is no need for markers which could be deleted or manipulated per-se. You would just activate the vertex tool, and all vertices would be hihlighted yellow (for example). Then you click and drag a selection windows and all vertices within the window change color to red, meaning they are selected and ready to be scaled, moved, rotated, etc.
That requires making your own set of 3d manipulation tools, which I know you can do (since you whipped out an entire 2d toolset in a weekend I think). Then once you have a vertex selector tool, things like soft selection start coming into the picture. You set a strength that surrounding vertices are considered "selected". So the ones that are selected are 100% selected. ones that are say 100cm away are 1% selected. And the gradient runs all the way between, so 50cm away from the selected vertices are at 50% selected. So them when you move the selected vertices, the other ones that are only partially selected move according to their percent of selection.
This is largely what the BTM sculpt tools were getting into. But a plain ol', true vertex selection/editing tool would be welcome I'm sure
Then throw in these ideas of soft selection and you've got a winner!Chris
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+1!
this would finally make SU into a full fledged modeling app. -
Yes, TIG:
I like how you guys are thinking.
And while you're at it, go ahead and whip up a floating transform gizmo that can move scale and rotate from wherever it is placed.
Yippee! -
@mitcorb said:
And while you're at it, go ahead and whip up a floating transform gizmo that can move scale and rotate from wherever it is placed.
Yippee!in progress......
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Chris:
I really didn't know if the Transform gizmo was do-able.
But the other concepts that you and TIG were discussing would be great.
A "skin deep" selection method with gradient influence would open up the possibilities of real time mesh deformation. But this would need to be independent, or unlockable from the x,y,z constraints. Perhaps lockable to each of the 3 planes xy,xz,yz, so any vector on the plane. But then, maybe the whole model is so organic that the local axes transform device needs to set its own planes.
Go for it. That is, if you like. -
Chris perhaps you and I need some PMs to agree who's doing what...
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