[Plugin][$] Vertex Tools

Bob James

would of been sweet if i could've made the plane then chose (either via a single vertex or some other kind of input) which height the plane would be leveled at..

other uses might be for cutting a level tract in the side of a hill for instance..

i dunno, not that important but just an idea.

+1
I spent a lot of time on my current project using Vertex Tools doing just as Jeff described: make planar, create a reference plane for rotation of the sloped plane, rotate the plane. Jeff's idea would have been really useful

I also had considerable difficulty making the move tool move in the direction I wanted to go. Operator error?? I tried the up arrow key, but that doesn't seem to have any effect. Guess I need some guidance TT.

thomthom

@bob james said:

+1
I spent a lot of time on my current project using Vertex Tools doing just as Jeff described: make planar, create a reference plane for rotation of the sloped plane, rotate the plane. Jeff's idea would have been really useful

So instead of best fit plane - you want to project the selected vertices to a user defined plane?

@bob james said:

I also had considerable difficulty making the move tool move in the direction I wanted to go. Operator error?? I tried the up arrow key, but that doesn't seem to have any effect. Guess I need some guidance TT.

The arrow keys didn't lock the movement to the axis?

Bob James

@thomthom said:

So instead of best fit plane - you want to project the selected vertices to a user defined plane?

Yes, that would be great: perhaps by selecting one of the vertices as "this height".

@thomthom said:

The arrow keys didn't lock the movement to the axis?

Not that I could tell. I'll check it out more today to be sure.
It would also be very useful if I could "say" move this vertex to "this spot".

thomthom

@bob james said:

It would also be very useful if I could "say" move this vertex to "this spot".

? what do you mean by "spot"?

Bob James

Spot: one of the vertices in the plane

thomthom

@bob james said:

It would also be very useful if I could "say" move this vertex to "this spot".

I'm confused to what you describe, this just sounds like a normal Move operation to me... ?

Bob James

TT,

I was unable, with any repeatability, to "grab" a vertex and move it to coincide with another vertex: the purpose being to close up an opening in the mesh.
Basically, I was unable to control the arbitrary direction I needed to move in order to connect with the other vertex.

thomthom

hmm...
so axis lock doesn't work for you?
and move doesn't work? (select a vertex, activate Move, click on the vertex when the inference snaps to it and click on another vertex?)

thomthom

Would you be able to record a video?

Bob James

@thomthom said:

hmm...
so axis lock doesn't work for you?

Not always

@thomthom said:

hmm...
and move doesn't work? (select a vertex, activate Move, click on the vertex when the inference snaps to it and click on another vertex?)

Sometimes

Bob James

@thomthom said:

Would you be able to record a video?

Yes, as soon as I can after word today (or tomorrow )

thomthom

That would be great. Since it's intermittent, as you report, the trigger could be under some circumstances which I'd not use it - so being able to see in-action use would help immensely.

Bob James

One thing: If I have a whole row or pattern of vertices already selected and want to move them (let's say "up") what does it mean when it says, "Pick two points to move......."? I've already several points "picked"????

thomthom

@bob james said:

One thing: If I have a whole row or pattern of vertices already selected and want to move them (let's say "up") what does it mean when it says, "Pick two points to move......."? I've already several points "picked"????

I matched the same text for Vertex Tools with the text SketchUp display for it's tools. Works just like the native Move tool.

A "point" is a point in 3d space.
What you select (with Vertex Tools) is a "vertex".
(I had trouble with this when translating to Norwegian, as the words one would pick for both translated to the same word.)

Bob James

It turns out that the problem (in addition to the standard numbness of my brain) appears to be the computers I am using.

At work (where I really need your tool) I have a three-year-old Mac Pro running Win7 under Boot Camp with two 30" monitors.
At home I have an i7 860 and an nVidea GTX480 running two 24" monitors.

At work is where I was/am having all the difficulty. At home it works fine. So I chalk it up to the "antiquity" of the setup at work.

In the simple test case attached, I've put a horizontal "road" around the "mountain" (it really is flat even though in perspective it doesn't look like it) and a flat plain to put the "house" on. I also attached two meshes by lifting and joining vertices to make the final mesh. I had to rotate the flat surfaces in two directions to get them horizontal, hence the request that I be able to select one of the chosen vertices (or maybe even another vertex not in the original group) as the final level for all chosen vertices.

I'm still not really clear on the "two points": is one a vertex and the other a point in 3D space in the direction I want to move?

I'm anxious to see what direction you're going to take this tool: it has great potential.

Simple test terrain

thomthom

@bob james said:

I had to rotate the flat surfaces in two directions to get them horizontal, hence the request that I be able to select one of the chosen vertices (or maybe even another vertex not in the original group) as the final level for all chosen vertices.

I'm thinking that an extra tool is needed. One where, while you move the mouse about it picks up the normal of the face you point on, like the protractor (which you can use the shift to lock), then when you click you make the selected vertices project to that plane.

@bob james said:

I'm still not really clear on the "two points": is one a vertex and the other a point in 3D space in the direction I want to move?

A point refer to any 3d point in the model, a vertex is always refereed to as a vertex.
Like the native tool, you click one time for the start of the move and a second time for the end. None has to be anywhere on any geometry.

thomthom

I wonder what could cause one of your computers to have problems... do you have problems with other plugins? Or SU tools?

Bob James

@thomthom said:

I wonder what could cause one of your computers to have problems...

Beats me Most probably user error

@thomthom said:

do you have problems with other plugins? Or SU tools?

No, and I have a lot of them

thomthom

hmm.... let me know if the same issues should manifest them selves on any other computers.

EarthMover

Hi Thomas!

Been working on a project all morning and using a lot of vertex tools to stitch two contour meshes together.

Not sure if this is on your list or has been mentioned previously, but have you considered adding a Vert Drop feature to your plugin? Perhaps pulling some of your testing from your Raytest tools or TIG's drape Cpoints plugin? I've been individually moving verts down on the Z axis to intersect with an adjacent mesh below and just thought what a time saver it would be if I could select a row of verts and just hit Drop. Figured I'd mention it.