Polar Snapping Mode

When drawing a Line spline or Wall object, Polar Snapping Mode constrains line creation to angle increments determined by the Angle Snap setting relative to the active grid.

• By default, Polar Snapping mode is not directly accessible in the 3ds Max user interface. To add it as a button on the Snaps toolbar, see the Procedures section, below.

To change the Angle Snap setting, right-click the Angle Snap Toggle button on the main toolbar and in the Options panel General group, edit the Angle setting.

Polar is particularly useful for drawing plans where angles between all lines must conform to specific angle increments, such as 45 degrees. If all lines must be at 90-degree angles to each other, use the Ortho Snapping Mode toggle instead.

The following provisions apply to using Polar:

• Use of Polar is mutually exclusive of use of the Ortho toggle; only one can be active at a time.
• Polar applies primarily to the creation of line splines and wall objects. It can be used while creating other objects, but results are likely to be unsatisfactory.

Polar mode displays a compass that provides a readout of the current angle of the input relative to the positive direction of the local X axis.

Note: If you hold down Alt in Polar mode, the next point becomes doubly constrained by both the previous point and the first point of the current object. This allows you to close splines precisely. In this mode, two compasses are displayed; one each at the first and previous points.

Procedures

To add Polar Snapping Mode to the Snaps toolbar:

1. Open the Snaps toolbar, if necessary. To do so, right-click an empty part of the main toolbar, such as the area directly below one of the drop-down lists, and choose Snaps.
2. Drag the right end of the toolbar to the right to make room for a new button.
3. Choose Customize menu Customize User Interface.

   This opens the Customize User Interface dialog.

4. On the dialog, click the Toolbars tab.
5. Scroll down the Actions list on the dialog to the Polar Snapping Mode item. You can jump to the P section by clicking any item in the list and then pressing P on the keyboard.
6. Drag the Polar Snapping Mode item from the list to the empty section of the Snaps toolbar. This adds the button to the toolbar.
7. Close the Customize User Interface dialog.

   3ds Max automatically saves the toolbar in its revised state and makes the new button a permanent part of the user interface.

To use Polar:

1. Turn on (Polar Snapping Mode).
2. Begin to draw a line spline.

   An orange compass appears where you place the first point, along with a red number indicating the angle of the current line segment with the positive direction of the local X axis.

3. Move the mouse cursor around in the viewport.

   The line jumps to specific angle increments from the X-axis, while the compass reading updates to show the current angle. You set the angle increment in the Grid And Snap Settings dialog Options panel General group, which you can access by right-clicking the Angle Snap Toggle button on the main toolbar.

4. Click to place the next vertex.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you're ready to complete the shape.
6. Do any of the following:
   • To finish the shape at the most recent vertex without closing it, right-click anywhere.
   • To finish the shape by closing it, position the mouse cursor close to the first point and then click. A small dialog opens asking if you want to close the spline; click Yes.
   • To finish the shape by closing it while constraining the line to the polar snap, first position the mouse cursor close to the first point, press and hold Alt to constrain the mouse by both the previous point and the first point, and then click. This vertex is automatically placed at the current angle increment from the first point, so that you need only click the first point to close the shape.