Normal Align Dialog

Main toolbar > Normal Align (on Align flyout) > Normal Align dialog

The Normal Align dialog, displayed by the Normal Align tool, enables you to align the normals of two objects.

Procedure

To align normals:

1. Select a source object. This is the object that moves during alignment.

2. Click Normal Align on the Main toolbar, or choose Tools > Normal Align.

3. Drag across the surface of the source object.

   The Normal Align cursor appears, attached to a crosshair. A blue arrow at the cursor indicates the current normal.

4. Move the cursor and blue arrow until you locate the normal you want to use, then release.

   The blue arrow remains as reference to the source normal.

5. Drag across the surface of the target object.

   A green arrow at the cursor indicates the current normal.

6. Move the crosshair and green arrow until you locate the normal you want to use as a target, then release.

   The source object moves into alignment with the target normal, and the Normal Align dialog appears.

7. Do one of the following:

   • Click OK to accept the alignment.

   • Using the dialog, make modifications to the alignment before clicking OK.

Interface

The Normal Align dialog lets you adjust or cancel the current alignment, and contains the following controls:

Position Offset

Lets you translate the source object perpendicular to the normal on the X, Y or Z axes.

X/Y/Z: These three fields let you affect how much of an offset will be given to the selected faces.

Rotation Offset

Lets you rotate the source object about the normal's axis. You see the rotation in real time.

Angle: This field lets you define the angle for the rotational offset.

Flip Normal: Determines whether the source normal matches the target normal's direction. This defaults to off, since you usually want the two normals to have opposing directions. When you turn this on or off, the source object flips 180 degrees.

OK/Cancel Align: The Cancel button is labeled Cancel Align to make it clear that you're not only canceling the settings in the dialog, but canceling the original transform of the source object.