4.13. Bodies
4.13.1. Adding New bodies
- Shortcuts:
Menu → Insert → Bodies
Icon
Right-mouse-click to open popup menu
[Ctrl] + Right-mouse-click to open the insert dialog
[Spacebar] or [Ins] or [Ctrl*Enter] to open the insert dialog
[b] to open directly the bodies insert dialog
[B] to repeat the last body added
Mouse actions:
Select the type of body you want to insert
Move to the appropriate viewport, body will be perpendicular to the selected viewport
<Left-mouse> click on the wished location of the new body
either release the left-button and drag the cursor or keep the left-button pressed drag to the location of the first extend of the body .. note:
- Releasing is lets you create more precise objects - You can type-in the coordinate the coordinate during the action e.g. while adding a SPH type 40 and it will set the radius to 40click and continue with the next one…
Mouse Steps:
XYP
,XZP
,YZP
: Viewport should not be parallel to body
Location
PLA
: perpendicular to viewport
Location
2nd point belonging on the plane
RPP
: symmetric around the w-axis
Location
Outer corner on the viewing plane
BOX
: XY plane // viewport, Z vector = -w
Location
X-vector end
Move outer plane
WED
: as inBOX
Location
X-vector
Y-vector (forced perpendicular to X)
RCC
: Height will be lying on viewport
Location
Height
Radius
REC
: Height will be lying on viewport
Location
Height
Radius-X
Optionally: Radius-Y if viewport permits it
XCC
,YCC
,ZCC
Location
Radius
XEC
,YEC
,ZEC
: be careful on the chosen viewport
Location
Radius-X
Optionally: Radius-Y if viewport permits it
TRC
: Height will be lying on viewport
Location
Height
Apex radius
Base Radius
ARB
: not possible for the moment
QUA
: will generate a sphere at desired locationLocation
Note
The default dimension/radius of all new bodies is one grid unit
Renaming a body will automatically rename any reference to it without asking the user
All new bodies will use the same name prefix from the last body renamed
Shortcut: [n]ame allows to fast edit the name of the object without the need to move the mouse to the properties listbox
4.13.2. Body Visibility
The default behaviour is that body SEGMENTS ARE ONLY VISIBLE when they represent borders of REGIONs. In order to make them visible (to be able to visually select them):
Select the body (from the list box, or from its visible segment)
Menu → Select → Visibility → Set
Go to the Attributes and click on Visible [X] check box
or Right-click → Visibility → Set
or Shortcut [v]
or Icon
on the ribbon
Experimentally you can display the 3D wireframe of a body in order to see it even if it doesn’t intersect the current viewport.
Go to the Attributes and click on Wireframe [X] check box
Menu → Select → Wireframe → Set
or Right-click → Wireframe → Set
or Shortcut [#]
or Icon
on the ribbon
4.13.3. Body Editing
Bodies can be edited either
- Text:
directly in the properties listbox, typing the correct coordinates or in flair input editor
- Graphically:
Select the body and the action handler(s) will be displayed
Click on the action handler (cursor) and start moving the object
Control + click on the action handler duplicates the body
Click for a second time and drag with the mouse the appropriate handler or body surface:
on the small circle to freely move (Shortcut: [g]rab)
on the large circle to rotate around w (Shortcut: [r]otate)
on the red/green/blue line representing the x/y/z axis to move but locked on the corresponding axis.
While moving with [g]rab or locked you can always turn on/off the axis locking by clicking on [x], [y] or [z]
on any surface to freely resize the body dimensions radius, etc..
on any small square handler (to be visible it has to lie on the viewing plane)
Shift-MouseWheel resizes the action handler
Example a truncated cone TRC
will look like below
Click and drag:
On the base plane, to move it perpendicular to height vector
On the small square handler on the apex plane, to freely move the height, axis or normal of body This handler appears only if it lies on the viewing plane
On the apex plane, to move it perpendicular to the height vector
On the conic surface close to the apex to resize the apex radius
On the conic surface close to the base to resize the base radius
- Shortcuts:
- [Shift]:
pressing [Shift] while dragging cancels the alignment. (Free move)
- [Ctrl]:
holding [Ctrl] while dragging makes more relaxed by a factor of 5 the snapping