To Use the Clipping Plane

Use the clipping plane to hide parts of the scene on one side of a plane. This is useful for construction evaluation purposes.

Enable the Clipping Plane

1. Click Interaction > Clipping to open the Clipping dialog box.
2. Select Enable Clipping.

Position the Clipping Plane

1. In the Clipping dialog box, click Pick, then Shift-click the point in the scene where you want the clipping plane.
2. Adjust the position of the plane using the Position X/Y/Z controls.

   You can enter numbers directly or drag the accompanying scrollbars .

3. To move the clipping plane into the center of the screen, click Center.
4. To align the clipping plane parallel to the current active camera, click Align.
5. To position the plane along an axis, click Toggle X, Y, or Z.
6. To adjust the direction of the plane, use the Direction X/Y/Z controls.

   You can enter numbers directly or drag the accompanying scrollbars .

7. To invert the direction of the plane so that the opposite side of the scene is visible, select Invert Direction.
8. To align the clipping plane parallel to the current active camera, click Align.
9. To adjust the position using the mouse, hold down the Shift key and drag the handles of the manipulator.

Change Clipping Plane Appearance

From the Clipping dialog box, use the controls under Visualisation to change how the clipping plane looks.

• Plane: Choose whether to show the plane and what color to use. You can keep the grid visible while hiding the plane.
• Grid: Choose whether to show the grid and what color to use. You can keep the plane visible while hiding the grid.
• Contour: The contour is the line around the part of the object clipped by the plane. You can adjust its color and width, or disable it.

Hide Everything in the Scene but the Clipping Plane Itself

• Select Hide Scene.

Align the Camera Parallel to the Clipping Plane

• Click Show Plane.

  This is the inverse of Align, which positions the plane relative to the camera.

Create Geometry from the Clipping Contour

• In the Clipping dialog box under Visualisation, click Clone.

This creates a geometry node from the clipping contour. You can find this node, named "Clipping Contour," in the Scenegraph.

Set a Clipping Plane Path (Genuine Clipping)

You can set the clipping plane to move along a predefined path. A path can either be a line geometry contained in the original model or a continuous part of the clipping plane itself.

1. In the Clipping dialog box, under Genuine Clipping, click Pick.
2. Select (Shift-click) a line geometry in the scene, including any displayed clipping contour.
3. Adjust speed with the Speed controls.
4. Move the clipping plane along the path using the mouse wheel while holding down the Shift key.

When you reposition the clipping plane, the path is discarded.