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984 Chapter 9: Surface Modelin g
default, and must be specified separately from any
mater ial names.
Clear S electi on—When on, choosing a new ID or
material name deselects any previously selected
patches or elements. When off, selections are
cumulat ive, so new ID or sub-material name
selections add to the existing selection set of
patches or elements. Default=on.
Smoothing Groups group
Use these controls to assign selected patches to
different smoothing groups (page 3–1013),andto
select patches by smoothing group.
To assign patches to one or more smoothing
groups, select the patches, and then click the
number(s) of the smoothing group(s) to assi gn
them to.
Select by SG (S moothing Group)—Displays a dia log
that shows the current smoothing groups. Select
a group by clicking the corresponding numbered
button and clicking OK.
Cle ar Al l—Removesanysmoothinggroup
assignments from selected patches.
Edit Vertex Colors group
Use these controls to assign the color, illumination
color (shading), and alpha (transparency) va lues
of vertices on t he selected patch(es).
Co lor—Click the color swatch to change the color
of vertices on t he selected patch(es).
Illumination—Click the color swatch to change
the illumination color of vertices on the selected
patch(es). This lets you change the color of
shadows without changing the vertex colors.
Alpha—Lets you assign an a lpha (transparency)
value to vertices on the selected patch(es).
The spinner value is a percentage; zero is
completely transparent and 100 is completely
opaque.
Editable Patch (E lement)
Selec t an editable patch > Modify panel > Expand the
editable patch in the stack display > Element sub-object
level
Selec t an editable patch > Modify panel > Se lection
rollout > Element button
Selec t an editable patch > Right-click the patch > Tools 1
(upper-left) quadrant of the quad m enu > Sub-objects >
Element
Use the Element sub-object level when you
want to select and work on all contiguous faces
in an element. The Element sub-object level
is essential when you are
Shi f t +cloning and
Shi f t +extruding patches, because doing so
creates separate elements. For exam ple, if you
select a patch, hold down t he
Shif t key , and
move the p atch to a new location, a new element
is created separate from the original. This also
applies to extrusion. If you hold the
Shif t key
down while you extrude, a new element is created.
Note: In s ome cases, you m ight find that moving
a patch element causes parts of it to move by
differing amounts. This typically occurs because
the object is set to Manual Interior. It happens, for
instance, when you conv ert a sphere primitive to
an editable patch object. To remedy this, select
the element, and then right-click it to display the
quad menu, and in the Tools1 quadrant, choose
Auto Interior.
Interfa ce
Selec tion rollo ut
For information on the controls in this rollout, see
Selection Rollout (Editable Patch) (page 1–971).