9

ShapeMerge Compound Object 337
Parameters rollout
Operands group
Operands list—Lists all operands in the compound
object. The first operand is the mesh object, and
any number of shape-based operands can follow.
Delete S hape—Remove selected shapes from the
compound object.
Extract Operand—Extractsacopyoraninstanceof
theselectedoperand.Chooseanoperandinthe
list window to enable th is button.
Instance/Copy—Lets you specify how the operand
is extracted. It can be extracted either as an
instance (page 3–957) or a copy.
Operation group
Theseoptionsdeterminehowtheshapeisapplied
to the mesh.
Cookie Cutter—Cuts the shape out of the mesh
object’s surface.
Merge—Merges the shape with the surface of the
mesh objec t.
Inver t—Reverses the effect of Cookie Cutter or
Merge.WiththeCookieCutteroption,theeffect
is obvious. When Invert is off, the shape is a hole
in the m esh object. When Invert is on, the shape
is solid and the mesh is missing. When you’re
using Merge, Invert reverses the sub-object mesh
selection. As an example, if you merge a circle
shapeandapplyaFaceExtrude,thecircularareais
extruded when Invert is off, and all but t he circular
area is extruded when Invert is on.
Output Sub-Mesh Selec tion group
Provides options that let you specify w hat selection
level is passed up the Stack. The ShapeMerge
object stores a ll select ion levels; that is, it stores the
vertices, faces, and edges of the merged shape with
the object. (If you apply a Mesh Selec t modifier
and go to the various sub-object levels, you’ll see
that the merged shape is selected.) Thus, if you
followtheShapeMergewithamodifierthatactson
aspecificlevel,suchasFaceExtrude,thatmodifier
will work properly.
If you apply a modifier that can work on any
selection level, such as Volume Select or XForm,
the options will specify which selection level is
passed to that modifier. Although you can u se
a Mesh Select modifier (page 1–719) to specify a
selection level, the Mesh Select modifier considers
the selection only at frame 0. If you’ve animated
the shape operand, that animation will b e passed
up the Stack for all f rames only by using the
Output Sub-Mesh Select ion options.
•
None—Outputs the f ull object.
•
Face—Outputsthefaceswithinthemerged
shape.
•
Edge—Outputs the edge of the merged shape.