Creating Primitives from the Keyboard

You can create most geometric primitives from your keyboard using the Keyboard Entry rollout. In a single operation, you define both the initial size of an object and its three-dimensional position. Name and color are automatically assigned.

This method is generally the same for all primitives; differences occur in the type and number of parameters. The Hedra primitive, a complex and highly visual family of objects, is unsuited to this method and has no keyboard entry.

Reference:

Coordinates and Parameters

The Keyboard Entry rollout contains a common set of position fields, labeled X, Y, and Z. The numbers you enter are offsets along the axes of the active construction plane; either the home grid or a grid object. Plus and minus values correspond to positive and negative directions for these axes. The defaults are 0,0,0; the center of the active grid.

The location set by X,Y is equivalent to the first mouse-down position in the standard method of creating objects.

Each primitive has the following parameters on its Keyboard Entry rollout.

Primitive      XYZ point      Parameters

Box      Center of base      Length, Width, Height

Sphere      Center      Radius

Cylinder      Center of base      Radius, Height

Torus      Center      Radius 1, Radius 2

Tube      Center of base      Radius 1, Radius 2, Height

Cone      Center of base      Radius 1, Radius 2, Height

Teapot      Center of base      Radius

Creation Method Rollout

You often have a choice of how you use the mouse to create an object. For example, you can use either the center (radius) or edge (diameter) to define the size of a Circle shape.

There’s always a default creation method. If you want to use an alternate method, choose the option before you create the object. The creation method has no effect on a finished object; the options are for your convenience during creation.

How To:

To open the Keyboard Entry rollout:

1. On the Create command panel for Standard Primitives, click any of the primitive Object Type buttons, except Hedra.
2. Click the Keyboard Entry rollout to open it. This rollout is closed by default.

As an example, this is the Keyboard Entry rollout for the Tube primitive:

Note: The buttons on the Creation Method rollout have no effect on keyboard entry.

To create a primitive from the keyboard:

1. On the Keyboard Entry rollout, select a numeric field with the mouse and then enter a number.
2. Press TAB to move to the next field. You do not have to press ENTER after entering a value. Press SHIFT+TAB to reverse direction.
3. When you have all fields set, press TAB to move to the Create button. Press ENTER.
4. The object appears in the active viewport.

Once created, a new primitive is unaffected by the numeric fields in the Keyboard Entry rollout. You can adjust parameter values on the Parameters rollout, either immediately after creation or on the Modify command panel.