Max Isolate face / Cut tool alternative

danshewan

Is there a function or plugin to allow the isolation of specific polygonal faces? The contextual right-click menu doesn't allow 'isolate selection' or 'hide unselected' when selecting individual faces. Any ideas? It's not something I'd need all the time, but I'm dealing with a situation where this functionality would be really helpful.

Also, is there a decent alternative to using the Cut tool when connecting vertices across several faces? I'm so sick of Cut's inaccuracy, and I seem to spend more time going back over the cuts and welding or deleting extra verts. Since Connect doesn't work if there's an edge in the way, I was wondering how people get around this.

Piflik

My Quad menu has 'hide unselected' Really simple to put it in there with Customize User Interface...

SyncViewS

Hi, you're a perfect candidate to test IC.Shape. It indeed offers the instruments you're looking for: hide sub selection starting from verts, edges, faces (just hide the elements you want to keep, then invert their visibility). Plus some alternative edge drawing tools, like "Draw" and "Split Ring".

I solve the specific case you're describing with "Slice" from IC.Shape, or with the standard QuickSlice, by selecting faces to cut first, then by activating 3D snap and pointing into the extremes of the cut.

Ryno

For Editable Poly (and many other) objects, there are hide/unhide options for faces, verts, edges in the Command Panel under the Edit Geometry rollout. You have to be in sub-object mode to see these.

Edge connect will work if you haven't broken your edge rings. If not, and you want to cut all the way around the model, Slice Plane may work. Under the Graphite Tools, Swift Loop is another option, which is basically an edge connect with an interactive preview a la Maya's Insert Edge Loop.

danshewan

Thanks for the tips, guys. Think I'll try IC.Shape, as there's some pretty nifty looking tools in there.