Scale

Move Tool

The Scale tool allows you to make any selection larger or smaller by changing the scale percentage factor. To quickly scale in a single axis dimension, use the various handles. After applying a transform amount, middle-click to re-apply the previous offset amount. This way, you can easily apply an edit multiple times. Activate the command in the Model viewport's Basic sub-tab, in the menu bar under Edit > Transform > Scale or by pressing R.

In the component modes (vertices, edges, and polygons), the tool affects the selected geometry directly. When nothing is selected, it affects all active foreground geometry. Active foreground items are those that are visible and selected in the Items list. In Items mode, the tool affects all the currently selected items in the Items list. If nothing is selected, then the tools appear to do nothing. In material mode, it works the same way as in any of the component modes. Lastly, in the Center and Pivot modes, it modifies the center or pivots respectively.

Note:  You need to select either the center or the pivot itself, depending on the mode, prior to activating the tool, as in Items mode, with no selection, the tool appears to do nothing.

When you define any of the falloffs, application of the tool can be attenuated across a user-defined area. For more information on using falloffs, see Using Falloffs.


Once you activate the tool, Modo draws the relevant tool handles in the viewport. At this point, you can click and haul anywhere in the desired viewport to interactively transform the geometry. Additionally, you may prefer to utilize the various tool handles, constraining the application of the function to one or all three axes. The tool handles are color-coded to match the coloring of the different axes, red for X, green for Y and blue for Z. Hover the mouse over a specific handle until it changes to a yellow color and then click and drag to modify. To interactively scale the size of the handles themselves, use the - (minus) key to decrease size and = (equals) to increase their size. Additionally, for the Scale tool, there is a small circle at the intersection of all three handles that you can use to uniformly scale the selection interactively.

The Transform tool also respects the settings for action center, and originates the appropriate action from the defined position. For more information on understanding and using actions centers, see Specifying Action Centers and Falloffs .

Scale Tool Panel

Option

Description

Transform

Scale

Use the X, Y and Z input fields to apply specific rotation values. When adjusting an object interactively in the viewport, these input fields display the current factor applied, providing useful feedback.

Absolute Handle

Applies an additional function to the tool handles, allowing you to scale the handle itself without affecting the transform amount. In some cases this provides finer control over very large or very small adjustments.

Negative Scale

Enables/disables Modo's ability to interactively apply negative scale values when manipulating the tool handles in the viewport. When disabled, you can always input negative values in any of the input fields directly.

Pivot

Allows you to easily modify an item's pivot position without the need to go into Pivots mode.

Gimbal

This setting is not available in scale mode.

Uniform Scale

Uniform Scale

The Uniform Scale tool is identical to the normal Scale tool, except that you can haul anywhere in the viewport and all three axes are constrained, forcing all scaling operating to be uniform. This ensures the mesh doesn't become distorted when scaling.

Option

Description

Transform

Scale

Use the X, Y and Z input fields to apply specific rotation values. When adjusting an object interactively in the viewport, these input fields display the current factor applied, providing useful feedback.

Absolute Handle

Applies an additional function to the tool handles, allowing you to scale the handle itself without affecting the transform amount. In some cases this provides finer control over very large or very small adjustments.

Negative Scale

Enables/disables Modo's ability to interactively apply negative scale values when manipulating the tool handles in the viewport. When disabled, you can always input negative values in any of the input fields directly.

Pivot

Allows you to easily modify an item's pivot position without the need to go into Pivots mode.

Gimbal

This setting is not available in scale mode.