Houdini 20.5 Shelf tools

Align components shelf tool

Transforms an object, or inserts a Transform node in a geometry network, to align two faces on separate models.

On this page

Overview

This tool lets you move and rotate one object (or piece of geometry) so one of its primitives aligns with a face on another object (or piece of geometry).

At the object level, you first select an object, then click a face on that object, then a face on another object to align to. At the geometry (SOP) level, you first select all the geometry you want to align, then a face within that geometry, then another face to align to.

Note

This tool uses “quick select” when asking you to choose which polygons to align. This means as soon as you click to select a polygon, the tool proceeds to the next step, without asking you to press Enter to confirm.

This makes the tool quick and convenient to use, but may require practice getting used to. You might need to follow the instructions below or the prompts in the viewer carefully at first.

How to

To...Do this

Align one object to another

  1. Select the object you want to align.

  2. On the Modify shelf tab, click the Align Components tool.

  3. Click the polygon you want to align with a polygon on the other object.

  4. Click the polygon on the other object you want to align to.

    Houdini transforms the first object so the two polygons you clicked touch facing each other.
To...Do this

Align one piece of geometry to another (within the same object)

Make sure both pieces of geometry are visible and selectable in the viewer. For example, merge the geometry and make sure the Merge node is current, or turn on the Selectable Template flag (⌃ Ctrl-click the template flag) on the node containing one of the pieces.

  1. Select all the polygons in the piece of geometry you want to align.

    Tip

    You can select all connected polygons by double-clicking one of the polygons in the piece.

  2. Press Enter.

  3. Click the polygon you want to align with a polygon on the other piece.

  4. Click the polygon on the other piece you want to align to.

    Houdini inserts a Transform node to align the first object so the two polygons you clicked touch facing each other.

Shelf tools

Using the shelf

  • Customize the shelf

    How to change the look of the shelf, change and rearrange its contents, and create your own shelf tools.

Technical