Coordinate Axes

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Coordinate Axes

Page Contents

Description

•Relative position option

•Shifting and rotating

•Example: Absolute and relative origins

Related Topics

Description

The Coordinate Axes visualization dialog allows custom visualization of any FRED object's local coordinate axes and is functionally identical to the Coordinate Axes control found under the Visualization tab of a Surface dialog. This utility can be extremely useful for debugging or positioning purposes, when verification of a coordinate system is desired.

Navigation

This feature can be accessed in the following ways:

•Right mouse click on an entity in the object tree and select "Coordinate Axes" from the list menu.

Controls

Control	Inputs / Description	Defaults
Draw	Check this box to render the selected entity's coordinate axes in the 3D view.	Unchecked
Direct Specification
Origin	Enter the X, Y, and Z offsets of the coordinate axes from the local origin.	(0,0,0) absolute origin
Neg Axis Length	Enter the absolute or relative X, Y, and Z negative axes lengths.	(1.2,1.2,1.2) relative length
Pos Axis Length	Enter the absolute or relative X, Y, and Z positive axes lengths.	(1.2,1.2,1.2) relative length
Axis color	Change the axis color using the standard Windows color palette.	X=Red Y=Green Z=Blue
Absolute origin	Select this option to orient the coordinate axes relative to the local origin of the displayed node.	Selected
Relative origin	Select this option to orient the coordinate axes relative to the origin of the local (surfaces only) or global bounding volume.	Not selected
Absolute Length	Select this option to fix the axis lengths in system units.	Selected
Relative Length	Select this option to size the axes lengths based on the local (surfaces only) or global bounding volume.	Not selected
Scale
Scale lengths by	Scales axes lengths by the value entered.	Unchecked (1)
Equal Length
Set to same length	Make all axes of same length.	Unchecked (1)

OK	Accept settings and close dialog box.
Cancel	Discard settings and close dialog box.
Apply	Apply settings and keep dialog box open.
Help	Access this Help page.

Application Notes

Default settings

The default settings for the dialog are to draw the coordinate axes at the local origin of the selected node with axis lengths that are scaled relative to the size of the bounding volume. If the bounding volume is not symmetric in three dimensions, the axes are rendered with different lengths.

Relative position option

Selecting the relative position option is useful if the bounding volume is not centered at the local origin.

Shifting and rotating

Only surfaces have a local bounding volume that may be both shifted and rotated. All other entities have a global bounding volume that may be decentered, but is never rotated.

Example: Absolute and relative origins

Consider the following lens element whose coordinate axes are visualized with the "Absolute origin" setting, which orients the axes with respect to the entity's local origin.

In the following image, the same lens element has its coordinate axes drawn with the "Relative origin" option setting, which orients the coordinate axes with respect to the outer bounding volume.