Cylinder Manipulator

The handles on the manipulator are color coded to help the user understand which property of the Cylinder is being modified. 

  • Green handles represent the Direction / Length of the Cylinder.
  • Blue handles represent the Radius of the Cylinder.

Rotation

  • A Cylinder element can be rotated by clicking and dragging on one of the spheres located at each end of the manipulator.
  • All rotations are performed around the opposite end of the Cylinder from the selected sphere.
  • During a rotation the angle through which the Cylinder has been rotated is displayed in the Asset View.
  • Dragging the mouse in one direction will rotate the Cylinder about one axis and dragging the mouse in the other direction will rotate the Cylinder about the other axis.

Display the manipulator for the Cylinder

Click on one of the manipulator's spheres to start rotating

Move cursor up to rotate about one axis

Move cursor across to rotate about a different axis

  • During a rotation the user can press the 'X' key while dragging the mouse to cycle through the different rotation modes.

Start rotation about one axis

Press the 'X' key to rotate about the other axis

Press the 'X' key again to freely rotate about any axis

  • By default during a rotation the manipulator will snap to the following common angles, 30, 45, 60, 90, etc. To disable this snapping the user must press and hold the ‘Control’ key while rotating.

Start rotating the Cylinder, notice how is snaps to common angles

Press the ‘Control’ key to temporarily disable snapping.

Release the ‘Control’ key to re-enable snapping.


Translation

  • A Cylinder can be translated by clicking and dragging on one face of the manipulator.
  • Dragging the mouse in one direction will translate the Cylinder in one direction and dragging the mouse in the other direction will translate the Cylinder in the other direction.

Display the manipulator for the Cylinder

Click on one of the manipulator's planes to start translating

Move cursor up to translate in one direction

Move cursor across to translate in the other direction

  • During a translation the user can press the 'X' key while dragging the mouse to cycle through the different translation modes.

Start translation in one direction

Press the 'X' key to translate in the other direction

Press the 'X' key again to freely translate within the manipulator's plane


Length

  • The length of a Cylinder can be changed by clicking and dragging on one of the center cubes located at both ends of the Cylinder's manipulator.
  • When the length of a Cylinder is changed only the end being dragged is moved, the position of the opposite end of the Cylinder remains unchanged.
  • While the length is being changed its new value is displayed in the Asset View. The length is displayed using the current distance units.

Display the manipulator for the Cylinder

Click on one of the manipulator's cubes to start changing the Cylinder's length

Move cursor to make the Cylinder longer

Move cursor to make the Cylinder shorter

  • While changing the length the user can press the 'X' key while dragging the mouse to cycle through the different modes.

Start changing the length and the opposite face will remain fixed.

Press the 'X' key to change the dimension with the center fixed.


Diameter

  • The diameter of a Cylinder can be changed by clicking and dragging on one of the edge cubes located at both ends of the Cylinder's manipulator.
  • When the diameter of a Cylinder is changed the position of the Cylinder's center remains unchanged.
  • While the diameter is being changed its new value is displayed in the Asset View. The diameter is displayed using the current dimension units.

Display the manipulator for the Cylinder

Click on one of the manipulator's cubes to start changing the Cylinder's diameter

Move cursor to make the Cylinder larger

Move cursor to make the Cylinder smaller

  • While changing a dimension the user can press the 'X' key while dragging the mouse to cycle through the different modes.

Start changing the diameter and the center will remain fixed.

Press the 'X' key to change the diameter edge with the opposite fixed.

General 

  • In situations where the Cylinder being manipulated is occluded by other Assets the user can press the ‘H’ key to temporarily hide all other Assets in the scene. Releasing the ‘H’ key will redisplay the hidden Assets.

Display the manipulator for the Cylinder

Press and hold ‘H’ to hide all the Assets not being manipulated

Release ‘H’ to show all the Assets not being manipulated

  • Additionally, if the Cylinder itself occludes some of the manipulator handles, the user can press the 'A' key to temporarly hide the Cylinder and all other Assets in the scene. Releasing the 'A' key will redisplay the hidden Assets.
  • At any time during a manipulation the user can press the ‘Esc’ key to cancel the current action and return the Cylinder to its original position and/or orientation.

Display the manipulator for the Cylinder

Click on part of the manipulator to start manipulating

Press the ‘Esc’ key to cancel the current manipulation