Desription
The Orient command is used to edit the orientation of source curves, database
curves, and database surfaces.
Tip: It is best if the orientation of database entities are changed
before the creation of any associated grid entities. Changing a database entity’s orientation
when there is an associated grid entity will cause the XYZ coordinates of some or all grid
points to change.
Select database entities or source curves to be oriented, then go to Edit, Orient. The
panel provides different options based on whether the selected entities have a parametric
definition (source curves, database curves, and parametric surfaces) or a non-parametric
definition (database shell entities and models).
The Orient panel provides different options based on whether the entities selected have
parametric (left) or non-parametric (right) definitions.
The table at the top of the Orient panel displays the number of entities currently selected
and the name of the current Master entity. Below the table is a color key that shows
the colors used to indicate each coordinate direction and the Master entity in the
Display window.
Align
The Align frame provides commands by which you can align all adjacent entities with the
orientation of a Master entity. The commands in this frame are enabled when multiple
entities are selected prior to entering the Orient panel. Use Set Master to
select the entity by which all others should be aligned. Use Align to align the
orientation of the selected entities with that of the Master entity.
Align can also be used to automatically orient nested closed models to have opposing
orientations. In this case, it is recommended to set the outer model as the Master
entity and use Align to orient all nested interior models to have their normals
pointing in the opposite direction.
Reverse
The Reverse frame provides different options for reversing orientation depending on the
type of entities selected:
- Database and Source Curves: Use the Reverse U command to
change the orientation of the curve. Reverse V is disabled for curves, since they
only have one parametric direction.
- Parametric Database Surfaces: Use the Reverse U and Reverse
V commands to change the orientation of the U and V coordinate
directions, respectively.
- Non-parametric Database Surfaces: Use the Normal command to flip
the surface normal in the opposite direction.
Swap
The Swap frame provides additional controls for altering the definition of
parametric database surfaces. Use the U-V command to switch the U and
V coordinate directions.