Shade 12 introduces new, optional improvements to the Shade work space without disrupting or changing the way you work in the form of additional controls over the 3D workspace.

Using Work Plane Controller and 3D Coordinates

The Work Plane Controller gives you control over how you work with the 3D cursor in the Figure Window, by allowing you to constrain movement of the 3D cursor to a specific plane. The 3D Coordinates Menu lets you switch between working with global coordinates or working with local coordinates. You can also create named Axis objects that represent a local 3D coordinates space.

Why Put Work Plane Controller and 3D Coordinates Together? The Work Plane Controller and 3D Coordinates Menu both give you granular control over how objects are managed and modified within Cartesian coordinates (X, Y, Z).

The Work Plane Controller

Lets take a more detailed look at how the Work Plane Controller works.

Displaying the Work Plane Controller

The Work Plane Controller reflects the current state of the viewport as well as the Work Plane of the 3D cursor. If the viewport is set to either Top View or Front View, the appearance of the Plane Controller automatically changes to match the visible axis within the viewport. For example, switching to Top View switches the Plan Controller to display the Z (depth) axis pointing down and X axis on the right. The Perspective View and Camera Views (Meta Camera and Custom) show all three axis at once as well as the current Work Plane of the 3D cursor. No axis is displayed for UV View.

You can set the display preferences of the Plane Controller by going to Edit > Preferences…and select the View Tab. Change the Work Plane Controller Settings option to switch between display methods.

Axis and 3D Cursor Control

Any change you make to your viewports automatically changes the Axis View. But Axis View is not the same as a viewport change, but an indicator of how the 3D cursor works within a Work Plane. If you are in the Perspective View or a Camera View and the colored directional indicators are visible, you can automatically switch perspectives by selecting one of the indicators.

The right example shows what happens when you select the Y axis The letters on Axis View also change depending on if you are working in Global or Local coordinates. Global coordinates are indicated with capital letters. Global coordinates are a measurement of the world space and all objects in relation with each other. [[Image:Shade-Work-Plane-06.png]]

Work Plane View

You can easily switch between Work Plane Views by selecting the area between two axis (X, Y,Z).

Coordinates Menu

By default, your views are set to Global coordinates. You can switch back to Global coordinates at any time. You can also create and save a custom Axis, a Local coordinates object for the selected object. You can also switch between Global and Local coordinate systems from the Control Bar.

Rotation Axis

You can rotate the object within the Rotation Axis either by Shift-Click on the axis or through the Coordinates Menu.

If you want to restore the Axis View or assign an Axis to a Camera, select View>Camera and select your choice of + X, -X, + Y, -Y, + Z, -Z. You can also elect to link the View using the Link Axis option.

If you are not happy with how you have reconfigured the Axis View of the camera, you can Undo or ReDo your last modification right from the Camera Palette using the double arrows options.

Work Plane View

The default view of the Work Plane and operations of the 3D cursor is based on the XZ axis coordinates, but the Work Plane itself is not visible by default. If you are modeling in Perspective View, you may want to make the Work Plane visible. To make the Work Plane visible within the current viewport, go to Display>Figure Window>Display Work Plane. Move the 3D cursor within the Work Plane.

(Above: Displaying XZ, XY, YZ work planes)

Work Plane Display Settings

You can show or hide the current Work Plane using either of the following methods. The first method is menu Figure > Work Plane, which allows you to show or hide the Work Plane.

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The second way is through the Display menu of a viewport. Go to Display>Figure Window>Show Work Plane and set the option to show or hide.

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You can also set default preferences for showing or not showing the Work Plane each time you start Shade. To set default preferences, go to menu Edit > Preferences > View Tab. From the Work Plane Controller Settings, select or unselect the option.

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You can also modify the colors of every aspect of the Work Plane, including both the grid color as well as the state of axis.

Using Local Coordinates

This section covers how to use local coordinates along with the Work Plane in order to achieve better results in modeling of object surfaces.

Creating Local Axis

In this example, we will be working with a sphere that has been converted into a mesh object. The first thing to do is create a sphere. Select the sphere and then go to menu Tools > Convert > Convert to Polygon Mesh. Go to Mesh > Mesh Selection Mode > Face to work with the polygon faces of the converted object. Go ahead and select a face. Go to the Axis Menu and select Local > Create Axis.

The appearance of the face selection changes, with a new 3D manipulator appearing around the face, and rays appear showing the direction in which the face can be pulled within the local coordinates. The default selection method though is based on the entire object, so you will need to reselect the face again if you are going to modify it.

If you are working in Shade Standard or Shade Pro, all of your Mesh Tools become active. This allows you to easily create new objects based on both the local coordinates of the object. You can use this to create a vertical and parallel surface object based off of the surface of a master object, such as creating clothing that hugs the shape of a human body. Let’s follow along with creating a surface object from the polygon we’ve created.

The Local Axis from this example also appears in the Shade Browser. Open menu View > Browser and note that the axis is visible with a checkmark. In the Browser, select the Axis and open menu Object Info. An Axis is a native Shade object.

Saving Axis Objects

You can save Local Axis objects permanently to your Shade project from within the Browser. An unsaved Local Axis is marked as temporary within the Browser.

To save the Local Axis, right click the object in the Browser > Save Local Axis. You can also save a Local Axis from within the Axis Menu.

Shade automatically assigns an incrementing number to each Local Axis. You can rename the Local Axis from within the Browser.

Rename a saved Local Axis by Right Click > Object Info and entering a new name in the Object Info field.

The new name is saved in your Shade project and accessible from within the Axis menu.

Don’t forget that now that the Axis Object is saved, it can be linked to a Camera.

Axis Switching

There are four different ways in which you can switch between saved Axis objects.

• Axis Menu. You can switch to a saved Axis through the Axis menu in any viewport.
• Control Bar. You can switch between Local and Global Axis from the Control Bar.
• Browser. Right click the Axis object from within the Browser.
• Camera. Associate a camera with an Axis through the Camera Palette > Set & Link > Link Axis option.

Editing an Axis

You can edit an Axis through the Browser. Select the Axis from within the Browser. Manipulator arrows appear. Drag the Manipulator arrows in the direction you desire.

You can also edit the Axis numerically from within Object Properties.

Delete Axis

If you have not saved an Axis, you can automatically delete an Axis by switching back to Global coordinates.

Local Axis Camera Linking

You can link a Local Axis to a Camera. To link a Local Axis to a Camera, menu View > Camera and locate the Set and Link option group. In Set & Link, select Link Object and then select the Axis from the coordinates menu.

To see what the result is of associating a Local Axis with a Camera, go to the Viewport menu within a viewport and select the Camera name with the Local Axis.