Aligning Vertices

You can project vertices onto the plane of the compass.

1. Click Modification .

2. Select the surface.

3. Click Alignment .

   Tip: You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+Q.

   The Tools Palette is modified and new icons appear.

4. Click Compass Definition to define the compass position and click the icon again when done.

5. Click On Plane .

   Note: When this option is activated the following options are available for surface selection: All Type Selection, Face Selection, Edge Selection, Vertex Selection and All Elements Selection.

   Tip: In case you have clicked On Plane, you can also pick a line to project onto the plane.

6. Select the elements to be projected.

   
   
   

   The manipulator arrows are displayed on each axis. The manipulator is active when you are in the picking zone. You can click anywhere in the picking zone to perform a modification. As you are in the active manipulator zone, the projection plane is viewed. This plane size is defined to include all the projected points. The interactive arrows direction indicates the direction of projection and is normal to the plane.

7. Click the interactive arrow depending on the direction where you want to align the vertex.
   
   

   The selected elements are projected onto the plane of the compass:

   
   
   

You can project vertices onto the axis of the compass.

1. Click Modification .

2. Select the surface.

3. Click Alignment .

   Tip: You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+Q.

   The Tools Palette is modified and new icons appear.

4. Click Compass Definition to define the compass position and click the icon again when done.

5. Click On Axis .

   Note: When this option is activated the following options are available for surface selection: Edge Selection, Vertex Selection, All Elements Selection.

   Tip: In case you have clicked On Axis, you can also pick a plane to project onto the axis.

6. Select the elements to be projected.

   
   
   

   Manipulator arrows are displayed on each axis. The manipulator is active when you are in the picking zone. You can click anywhere in the picking zone to perform a modification.

   As you are in the picking area of the manipulator, the projection axis is viewed. This axis size is defined to include all the projected points. The interactive arrows direction indicates the direction of projection and is normal to the plane.

7. Click the manipulator arrow depending on the direction where you want to align the vertex.

   
   
   

   The selected elements are projected onto the normal line of the compass:

   
   
   

You can project vertices orthogonally or along a defined direction onto a support element.

1. Click Modification .

2. Select the surface.

3. Click Alignment .

   Tip: You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+Q.

   The Tools Palette is modified and new icons appear.

4. Click Compass Definition to define the compass position and click the icon again when done.

5. Click On Body .

   When this option is activated the following options are available for surface selection: All Type Selection, Face Selection, Edge Selection, Vertex Selection and All Elements Selection.

6. Select the elements to be projected.

7. Select the support element.

   The manipulator is displayed with a sphere in its middle.
   
   

8. Move the mouse over:

   • the center of the manipulator to display arrows on each axis. Click anywhere in the picking zone to perform an orthogonal projection.
     
     

     Projection traces are previewed.

   • the interactive arrow corresponding to the direction where you want to align the vertices to perform a projection along a direction. As you can see below, it is not mandatory that the target be in the same plane as the vertices to project.
     
     

     The direction of the interactive arrows indicates the direction of projection. Projection traces are previewed. The distance between the projection traces and the projection support is computed.

     Note: You can click on an arrow and move the mouse towards the geometry to perform an exact aligment:
     
     

   The selected elements are projected onto the support element, as shown below:

   Orthogonal projection
   
   
   Projection along a direction
   
   

Important: Ctrl and Shift keys are used for selection. However, the manipulator is inactive even in the active manipulator zone. In case of an element is selected, manipulators can be deactivated by keeping the Ctrl key pressed. This allows better selection of elements. To reactivate the manipulators, release the Ctrl key. If no element is selected for the projection, the manipulator remains inactive even in the active manipulator zone. The manipulator's active picking zone is located between two virtual circles (red and yellow circles). Thus it is not possible to manipulate the manipulator near the axis (yellow circle) and outside the red circle. The display of the projection plane depends on the option selected for transparency in Tools > Options > Display > Performance tab, Transparency Quality area, that is either Low (Screen Door) or High (Alpha Blending). For more information on these options, refer to CATIA Infrastructure User's Guide: Customizing: Customizing settings: Performance. The visualization of hidden elements depends on the state of View and Selection mode icon in the Operations toolbar. For more information, see Selecting Visible Elements.

Warning: It is not possible to project two opposite edges of the same face onto a common axis. An error message is displayed.