Mostly usage explanation for the snapping features brought us here. While not directly related to the snapping itself, the usage of the tools should be part of the discussion. Granted, we drifted a bit again, as discussions about flow tend to. Problem being, as always, that users have different workflows and expectations.
And I am afraid one that is not really solveable by any default ever. That could maybe be approached by an easier solution to key-, behaviour- and menu customization. But that really is a more general discussion and absolutely not on topic for the specific tools here, any more.
Overshooting in Max with W key was relatively easy to solve in older versions of Max. The way I worked with that is if you tap a W key it switches to regular rectangular selection which people use most of the time. But if I hold W I can keep holding it and press E R or T keys on which I mapped different selection options, circular, lasso, paint etc.
Is this doable in Blender?
The solution that I think would be great is if you press W it switches to the default selection mode, but if you hold it for a bit longer you get a pie menu to choose selection mode. That way you have all of the options on just one key instead of jumping across the keyboard. It also frees up keys like B to be used for other commonly used operations.
There was several problems with max solution, like low discoverability and complexity of use with lots of simultaneous pressholdings which made this solution clunky and not fitting heavy alternation. Also, box select by default is also 3dsmax solution which it inherited from autocad, where it was originally invented (it is gorgeous in 2d, but in 3d is mostly limiting since provide tradeoffs between picking and drawing border)
Blender fixed that with presenting direct access hotkeys with tweak by default, which better fits 3d, and for people who use piemenus (like maya users) Alt+W piemenu direct selector has been added.
But it was already discussed in the other threadsâŚ
To move an object adjacent ro another without hiding the other object, to get a different snap in view, that is too far away and otherwise to small to use as target etc.
Coming from Revit it is great to see Base Point Snaps being introduced.
I canât understand why Blender doesnât have âcustomâ snaps on library objects? For example, if you have a tee pipe fitting asset you could have a âcustomâ snap on each branch. When snapping pipes/pipe fittings together these âcustomâ snap points would be used. Having to rely on âvertexâ snaps when the assets are covered in vertices is insane! You also lose the ability to snap parts together in orthographic views.
Probably because itâs not Revit. Subdivision surfaces tend to deform, thatâs why theyâre used in animation, so a vertex being someplace is not a guarantee it will stay there. Perhaps thatâs a good idea to expand on though
thx fo the info
Not every feature that works on Win has to work on OSX.
The world canât stop just because osx is archaic.
What I think @Bedson means is that it would be cool to save custom snap points for objects that you can re-use from the asset library. For a chair, you may have a snap for each of the legs, itâs centre (on Z=0) and the backrest. If you hover over these areas, the basepoint snap could auto-detect the closest one and use that for the snap. The reason is, some custom snaps (e.g. for plumbing or pipe-fittings) are more difficult to define (e.g. the midpoint between two or more vertices), so if you could re-use those, it would be very convenient. In these cases, the object origin would be insufficient, because in a T-junction, you cannot place all pipes based on single object origins.
Thatâs exactly it. Youâd wonder how you lived without it if it became a Blender feature.
I see, that sure sounds good. I guess it would present itself as a snapping option along with some kind of list interface in object properties, with buttons to edit entries and their location (in object space, again)?
It could be a list or it could be a tool that helps you set the snap points (or both actually). You should be able to modifier click on any of them to remove such an object snap, I suppose. Think of it as adding distinct faux object origins with a baseplane indication.
In CAD software, it goes one step further so you can actually affect object placement based on their custom snaps. For example, you rotate a chair by 90 degrees by hitting a hotkey and with doors they could mirror based on their hinge location (left/ right) or they could flip to the other side of the wall (and specify that the door should be flush with interior or exterior of be at a certain distance offset, etc.). In that case this is all tied to their custom snaps/ insertion points per model and is fully customisable by the user. Usually it is base plane based (so you insert it on a face). Alternatively, they use a concept of joints, which isnât re-use able per asset.
The way I imagine this to work is that itâs a new snapping option that is transparent meaning it takes up existing snapping settings (e.g. vertex snap) for objects that donât have these custom snaps and it takes up the custom snaps for objects that do.
Thatâs a question for many features that havenât been introduced or programmed yet. Some of which might even get a lot of backlash before they are actually used and turn out to be good. (refer to discussion about edit mode scale panel a few posts above).
Saveable snap basepoints sound awesome. I wonder how they are implemented in practice, though. If a model is being worked on and changes that would potentially destroy the points as well, no? Would they have to be repositoned again or a vertex maps robust enough in that regard?
The custom snap points would be saved as XYZ coordinates, so independent from the mesh itself. Otherwise you run into the issues of a topology naming problem as it is known in FreeCAD.
That actually also sounds incredibly useful for modular game level creation and such.
You could then create one module with the appropriate snaps, duplicate the object and make variations with the same snap points
But unfortunately, this isnât a feature request threadâŚ
It isnât but if you have a Link to a RCS Proposal you can still post it here to gather interest.
Could you just add the vertices you wanted to a vertex group and have the option to use the vertices in that group from a snapping menu? So when you press B, the vertices in that vertex group get highlighted for ease of access?
Technically sort of. Though this is more like a hack with many downsides. At the very least unconnected vertices in a mesh are easy to destroy or accidentally edit. Actual reference points that donât necessarily get exported with a mesh or can be held separate are a lot cleaner in this regard. Not to mention they are simply null vertices. If you rely on watertight meshes for whatever reason they will wreck your workflow. No, if this actually was to become part of basepoint snapping then it should be done right and as an actual feature, I think.
Any word on face center snapping?
Snap to the middle of the face seems to be overrated in my opinion.
I imagine that a motivation for this mode would be to place decorative objects in the middle of tables, countertops, shelves?
Note that many of the meshes used in decoration do not have well defined faces (the triangulated ones for example). Thus, the center of the face may not be where you want it.
Also, currently, we can add snap points during a transformation with the A
key to find the center of various points.
A mode that in my opinion would have more priority would be Snap to Grid
. (Absolute Grid Snap
only works for Move, has its own Base Point, snaps to an invisible grid and not the one on the groundâŚ)