AutoGrid

Create panel > Any object category > Object Type rollout

AutoGrid lets you automatically create objects on the surface of other objects by generating and activating a temporary construction plane based on normals of the face that you click. This serves as a more efficient way of stacking objects as you create them, rather than building objects and then aligning them.

Note: If the Smooth checkbox is turned on in the Parameters rollout of a parametric object, the construction plane is placed tangent to the face of the surface implied by any smoothing present on the surface, not the actual face of the surface.

See also

Grid

Grid and Snap Settings

Snaps

Activate Grid Object

Procedure

Example: To create a box aligned to another object using a temporary construction grid:

1. Create or load a scene containing an object to which you want to align a new box object.

2. Choose Create panel > Standard Primitives > Object Type rollout > Box.

3. Turn on AutoGrid.

4. Move your cursor over the object to which you want to orient the box.

   The cursor includes an X,Y,Z tripod to help you orient the position of the new object. As you move over the object, the cursor aligns the Z axis to the surface normal.

5. When the orientation is as you want it, click and then use the standard drag-release-move-click method to create the box.

   When you click, a temporary, automatic grid is created, and the newly created object is aligned to that grid.

Interface

Object Type rollout

AutoGrid: AutoGrid is available only after you select an object button (such as Box). When you turn AutoGrid on, the cursor includes an axis tripod to help you orient the grid. Before clicking and as you position the cursor over a visible mesh object, the cursor jumps to the nearest point on that surface. The tripod's X and Y axes form a plane tangent to the object surface (forming an implied construction grid), and the Z axis is perpendicular to the plane.

After creating the object, gmax places it on the temporary construction grid. When creating an object, if the cursor isn't over another object, gmax places the object on the current active grid.

Tip: If you want to make the grid permanent, hold down the ALT key before you click. The grid becomes active and gmax turns AutoGrid off. This method applies only to the first click when you create objects that require multiple clicks. So, for instance, if you want to create a Line shape that snaps to the faces of a sphere, turn on Face in the Grid And Snap Settings dialog.