ZAlignEdges¶

Straightens two sides of the open boundary of a mesh and makes them parallel to the world X or Y axis. The mesh is deformed, but it does not gain or lose vertices or triangles.

Toolbar button:

When to use¶

You have a flat mesh with two irregular sides that should become straight and parallel. At the end the mesh has those two sides straight and aligned to X or Y, with the same length.

Before you start¶

• The object must be a mesh. Surfaces, polysurfaces and curves are not accepted.
• The mesh must have an open boundary (naked edges) with at least 2 sides. It does not work on completely closed meshes.
• It works best with flat or flattened meshes, approximately on the XY plane. The axis (X or Y) is chosen automatically.

Steps¶

1. Run ZAlignEdges.
2. When prompted Select the mesh to align sides, click the mesh. Each detected side is shown as a thick line in a different color. Only these lines can be clicked.
3. When prompted Click on the first side, click a colored line. It turns white.
4. When prompted Click on the second side to align parallel to the first, click another line. You cannot pick the same side twice.
5. When prompted for the Influence distance from each side into the mesh, type a value and press Enter, or press Enter alone to use 0.

Options¶

• With a value greater than 0, both sides use the same distance.
• With 0 (no limit), the influence reaches as far as needed.

Result¶

The mesh is replaced in the document, with the same layer and name. The two chosen sides are straight, parallel to the X or Y axis, and have the same length.

Tips¶

• With 0 (no limit), the order in which you pick the sides matters. If you do not like the result, use Undo and repeat with the order swapped.