[Plugin][$] Vertex Tools
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Hi Thom
Is it possible to get the gizmo to auto-orient according to the last selected vertice? a kind of smart gizmo... that way, the scale function would always work as you expect...
I know that the gizmo is already "smart" and can follow the orientation of the last operation done (move, rotate), but it would be very handy if the gizmo was able to automatically adapt to the last selected vertice.
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How would you expect it to orient to a vertex? A single point doesn't have any direction by itself.
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@thomthom said:
How would you expect it to orient to a vertex? A single point doesn't have any direction by itself.
sorry, I meant edge...
It's because of my 3dsmax habits... to move edges, I select vertex sub-objects
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Any chance you can show me a gif or video of how you do this in max?
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@thomthom said:
Any chance you can show me a gif or video of how you do this in max?
I was meaning that I misunderstand vertice/vertex for edge because I'm a french speaker, and that in french vertice is more interpreted as an edge than a point.
For what I was asking you initially, it annoys me that each time I select an edge (=2 adjacent vertices), I have to right-click, go to gizmo, aligh to custom, then draw the red and green axis and then I finally am able to stretch or move the edge in a predictable direction.
I could use gizmo->Align to View but I'd use this mode more often if there was a way to keep the gizmo in a horizontal plane (X/Y plane or blue axis always vertical).
Previously I was using Julia's Relative Top View script for the view to remain horizontal but it doensn't work with 2017-2018 anymore (so it seems).Thanks for reading.
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I see, so if there was an easy way to align the gizmo to an edge that would work?
(Possibly other methods to align to other things, like face normals etc...) -
@thomthom said:
I see, so if there was an easy way to align the gizmo to an edge that would work?
(Possibly other methods to align to other things, like face normals etc...)Thanks for your reply.
I think that the easiest behaviour for me would be a mode in which the gizmo inherits at least the red axis from the last selected two vertex. (And probably inherit the green axis from a tangent plane from the 2 vertex. Anyway once the red axis is correctly in place, it's easy to rotate the gizmo to fit the green axis in the plane we want).
But yes, If you can find an easy way to align the gizmo to an edge without proceeding to the right button/gizmo/align to custom affair (even if I already have shortcuts for everything - my head is full of shortcuts for every soft I use so the less shortcuts the better), I'd be very happy! 
Unless I buy a 3d navigator and always use the top view, then rotate it with the navigator's yaw to be able to use the gizmo in align to view ...?
PS There still is TIG's rotate plan script but you have to type numeric angle values and each time it zooms out the model so it's not handy.
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an "edge constraint" function like in Max would be nice
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Yea, it would be doable to create a mode where two vertices define the gizmo orientation. Could infer orientation from the surface normal as well.
But what would you do with only two vertices selected?
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TT could you add 'lock perimeter' feature please?
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@rv1974 said:
TT could you add 'lock perimeter' feature please?
I have a feature request logged named "Lock Vertices". Would this be the same thing?
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In general yes. Extra V for 'lock perimeter'would add a lot.
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Almost forgot THE most important. Are you familiar with Tak2hata's Stretch by Area? It has really power feature:
Ability to manipulate vertices regardless the context.
Could you add this mode please? -
@thomthom said:
Yea, it would be doable to create a mode where two vertices define the gizmo orientation. Could infer orientation from the surface normal as well.
But what would you do with only two vertices selected?
move the vertices along the axis, scale their relative position, etc.
I've been doing a lot of terrains recently, and I needed this feature OFTEN, mainly to adjust vertices after creating them. -
Lock would be similar to Artisan crease (I often wonder why "crease both vertices and edges" is not the default choice) because the perimeter of the shape is often defined and doesn't want to be moved while you adjust the rest. Only VT would have to remember the locked vertices as you work. I often have difficulty closing two terrain shapes smoothly. I might use the edges of one to begin a new one, however it is often good to prevent change along that shared edge.
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@optimaforever said:
@thomthom said:
Yea, it would be doable to create a mode where two vertices define the gizmo orientation. Could infer orientation from the surface normal as well.
But what would you do with only two vertices selected?
move the vertices along the axis, scale their relative position, etc.
I've been doing a lot of terrains recently, and I needed this feature OFTEN, mainly to adjust vertices after creating them.But you modify more than two vertices, right?
I'm just wondering how you determine what two vertices (edge) to orient to when there's more selected. -
that’why I said to use the last two selected vertices when selecting more than two.
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So you are picking vertices one by one? Not by selection drags?
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@thomthom said:
So you are picking vertices one by one? Not by selection drags?
it depends in my needs of course.
when I draw a turning road, I usually start with 2 vertices matching the road’s width, ctrl-move them with vertextools (or extrude them along a vector), and then rotate/scale the copied vertices with vertextool’s gizmo, ctrl-move them again, etc. until I end up sketching the whole curb, and them come back to some segments to adjust them more precisely. I usually work in top view, no perspective (cad way) to make the vertices match the dwg blueprint underneath.so, yes, sometimes I select vertices with a marquee, sometimes I use QFT’s loop and parallel edges selections, it depends on what I need. but it’s mainly when I need to make small adjustments that the gizmo orientation issue is tricky.
By the way, is it possible to move the vertice freely in a xy plane instead of just along x or y axis (of the gizmo)?
In 3dsmax UI, if you click on the small square formed by the gizmo xy axis, you can freely move the vertice in the xy plane. (ditto for the xz and yz planes btw). I guess this could be a solution to simplify the workflow with vertextools.
Of course I know that you can move the vertices freely with the move mode but it annoys me to always have to switch between select and move mode to be able to move the vertice freely. I think eventually move and rotate mode should disappear if the gizmo of the select mode was more practical, because I feel they’re redundant.
I like the move mode when no vertices are preselected (with the small white circle when you hover over a vertice). Yet I dunno why, but after several moves, I can’t get rid of a selection (after the move, the vertices remain selected), and need to switch back to select mode to deselect everything before switching to move mode again to continue fast select and move of vertices. is there a workaround to avoid this? perhaps a shortcut to deselect all vertices...?
thanks for you reply
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Thank you for the detailed explanation. Btw, any change you can provide a couple of screenshot of what type of mesh you work with? And some example of what desired result would be? (Helps me when filing features - as weeks down the line visual reminders helps a lot.)
As got 2D scale - yes! Absolutely. I have that working in the dev build of V2 already.
Regarding your last question. You experience that vertices get selected with you do a quick-move?
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