Object snaps

Toolbar Menu

Object Snap

Tools

Object Snap >

The menu versions turn the object snaps on for one pick only.
For persistent object snaps, use the Osnap control.

The object snaps constrain the marker to an exact location on an object such as the end of a line or the center of a circle.

When Rhino asks you to choose a point, you can constrain the marker to specific parts of existing objects by turning on object snap modes. When an object snap is active, moving the cursor near a specified point on an object causes the marker to jump to that point.

Object snaps can persist from pick to pick, or can be activated for one pick only. Multiple persistent object snaps can be set in the Osnap control. All object snaps behave similarly, but snap to different parts of existing geometry.

For example, the End object snap finds the endpoint of a curve. When activated, the end object snap constrains the marker to the endpoint of the curve closest the cursor.

Multiple object snaps

More than one object snap can be active at the same time. As the cursor passes over an object, the appropriate object snap displays.

Persistent object snaps

Use persistent objects snaps to maintain an object snap through choosing several points without having to reactivate the object snap. Only Cen, End, Int, Knot, Mid, Near, Perp, Point, Quad, Tan, and Vertex object snaps can persist.

You can set the Snap radius for object snaps. This means how close you have to move the cursor to the point before the marker jumps to the point.

To display the Osnap control

  1. On the status bar, click Osnap.
  2. Select or clear the desired object snap check boxes.

To turn off all persistent object snaps

To clear check boxes

To clear all persistent object snaps

  1. Right-click Disable.
  2. Press Alt to temporarily suspend object snaps.
    If object snaps are disabled, press Alt to toggle them on temporarily.

One-shot object snaps

One-shot object snaps only work when Rhino is requesting a point, are turned on for one pick only, and override all persistent object snaps for that pick.

To set a one-shot object snap

Object snaps when dragging

When object snaps are on, click and hold near object snap locations to use them for the start or end locations of the drag.

To suspend object snaps for the drag, press and hold Alt.

Drag line from midpoint to circle center.

Project object snaps

The Project button on the Osnap control projects any object snap to the current construction plane. For example, in the illustration, the curve projects to the construction plane from snapped locations on an object.

See: ProjectOsnap

Simple object snaps

Simple object snaps snap to one location on an object.

Steps

NoSnap

If a command is active, NoSnap turns off persistent object snaps for one pick.

Center (Cen)

Snap to the center of a circle, arc, closed polyline, centers of single surfaces with a polyline outer boundary and no holes, and annotation text bounding box.

End

Snap to the end of a curve, text corners, interior vertices of polylines and joined curves, the seam point on closed curves, and the "corners" of surfaces, and polysurfaces.

Intersection (Int)

Snap to the intersections of curves, edges, and isoparametric curves on a surface.

Knot

Snap to a knot on a curve or surface.

Midpoint (Mid)

Snap to the midpoint of a curve, surface edge, or a segment of a polycurve.

Near

Snap onto a curve or surface edge at the cursor location.

Perpendicular (Perp)

Snap perpendicular to a curve or surface edge.

The Perpendicular object snap is not effective for the first point for a command.

Point

Snap to a point object, extrusion axis, control point, edit point, block, and text insertion points.

Also snaps to centers and corners of rectangular lights and block insertion points even if control points are not displayed.

Quadrant (Quad)

Snap to the point on a curve that is at the maximum x or y point relative to the current construction plane.

Note

Tangent (Tan)

Snap tangent to a curve.

The Tan object snap is not effective for the first point for a command.

Wikipedia: Tangent

Vertex

Snap to a mesh vertex.

Note

Object snaps using references

When picking points during these steps, use simple snaps (End, Near, Point, Midpoint, Center, Intersection, and Quadrant) for greater precision.

To access reference object snaps from the Osnap control

Along

Track along a line.

Along example

Start a circle located on the line between the center of the circle and the end of a line.

Along steps

  1. Pick the start of the tracking line (the center of the circle).
  2. Pick the end of the tracking line (the end of the line).
  3. The marker moves only along the tracking line.
  4. Click the left mouse button to specify the location.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

AlongParallel (AlongP)

Track along a line parallel to a reference line between two points.

AlongParallel example

Start a line along a line parallel to the rectangle that passes through the circle's center.

AlongParallel steps

  1. Pick the start of the base line (the corner of the box).
  2. Pick the end of the base line (the other corner of the box).
  3. Pick the start point for parallel tracking (the Center of the circle).
    The marker moves only along the tracking line.
  4. Click the left mouse button to specify the location for the start of the line.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

Between

Snap midway between two specified locations.

Between example

Center a circle between two rectangles

Between steps

  1. Pick the first reference point.
  2. Pick the second reference point.

From

Snap from a specified base point.

Note

From example

Center a circle four units from the endpoint of a line.

From steps

  1. Snap the base point to the end of the line.
  2. Type 4 and press Enter.
  3. The marker is constrained to four units from the endpoint of the line.
  4. Click to place the circle's Center point and pick the radius.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

PerpendicularFrom (PerpFrom)

Track along a line perpendicular to a curve.

PerpendicularFrom example

Draw a line perpendicular from a line at the intersection with the circle.

PerpendicularFrom steps

  1. Select the curve.
  2. The cursor moves only along the curve. Cross-hairs appear to indicate the perpendicular and tangent lines that extend from any point on the curve.
  3. Pick the point on the curve to extend the perpendicular line from.
    The marker tracks along the perpendicular line.
  4. Click the left mouse button to start the line.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

TangentFrom (TanFrom)

Track along a line tangent to a curve.

Wikipedia: Tangent

TangentFrom example

Draw a line tangent from the circle at the intersection with the line.

TangentFrom steps

  1. Select the circle.
    The marker moves only along the circle. Cross-hairs indicate the perpendicular and tangent lines that extend from any point on the circle.
  2. Pick the point on the circle to extend the tangent line from.
    The marker tracks along on the tangent line.
  3. Click the left mouse button to start the line.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

Object snaps on an object

OnCurve (OnCrv)

Snap to and track along a selected curve for one pick.

Notes

OnCurve example

Select the curve to move a control point along.

OnCurve steps

  1. Select the curve.
    The marker moves only along the selected curve.
  2. Click the left mouse button to place the point.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

PersistentOnCurve (POnCrv)

Snap to and track along a selected curve until the command completes.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

OnPolysurface (OnPSrf)

Snap to and track over a polysurface for one pick.

OnPolysurface example

Place a point object on a polysurface.

OnPolysurface steps

  1. Select the polysurface.
    The marker moves only over the polysurface.
  2. Click the left mouse button to place the points.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

PersistentOnPolysurface (POnPSrf)

Snap to and track over a polysurface until the command completes.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

OnMesh

Snap to and track along a selected mesh object for one pick.

OnMesh steps

  1. Select the mesh.
    The marker moves only along the selected mesh.
  2. Click the left mouse button to place the point.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

PersistentOnMesh (POnMesh)

Snap to and track along a selected mesh until the command completes.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

OnSurface (OnSrf)

Snap to and track over a surface for one pick.

OnSurface example

Place a point object on a surface.

OnSurface steps

  1. Select the surface.
    The marker moves only over the surface.
  2. Click the left mouse button to place the point.
    If you are tracking over a polysurface, the marker is restricted to the single selected face. The cursor changes shape to indicate that you cannot pick. To track over the whole polysurface, see the OnPolysrf object snap.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

PersistentOnSurface (POnSrf)

Snap to and track over a surface until the command completes.

To access this object snap on the Osnap control

Percentage (Percent)

Snap to a curve a percentage from the end.

The curve is marked with temporary black points that are automatically snapped to.

If the percentage is less than 50, the curve is marked with multiple snap points. For example, when using 30, you get snap points at 30%, 60% and 90%.

Isoparametric curve snapping

You can snap to surface isoparametric curves using the Int object snap whenever the input is constrained to a surface, for example in ExtractIsocurve, InsertKnot, OrientOnSrf, and with OnSrf, and OnPolysrf one-shot object snaps.

isoparametric curves object snapping is "weaker" than normal object snaps. The normal object snaps are evaluated first, and only if they fail will Rhino try to snap to the isoparametric curve intersections.

Scripting one-shot object snaps

One-shot object snaps are automatically transparent. In other words, when scripting these, you do not need to use the apostrophe character to make the object snap work while a command is running.

Related commands

Osnap

Toolbar Menu Status bar

Osnap

Tools

Object Snap >

<Options>

Osnap

The Osnap command sets the status of object snaps from the command line.

Steps

Note

ShowOsnap

Toolbar Menu

Object Snap
Standard

Tools

Object Snap >

Persistent Osnap Dialog

The ShowOsnap command turns the Osnap control on, off, or toggles the current state.

Steps

Command-line options

Show

Turns the Osnap control on.

Hide

Turns the Osnap control off.

Toggle

Toggles the Osnap control.

DisableOsnap

Toolbar Menu

Object Snap

Tools

Object Snap >

Disable Object Snaps

The DisableOsnap command manages the state of persistent object snaps.

To temporarily turn off persistent object snaps from the control

To reactivate persistent object snaps from the control

To clear all persistent object snaps from the control

To temporarily turn off persistent object snaps from the command line

To access disabled object snaps

Command-line options

Enable

 

Disable

 

Toggle

 

ProjectOsnap

Toolbar Menu

Object Snap

Tools

Object Snap >

Project to Plane

The ProjectOsnap command projects object snaps from the actual snap point to the construction plane.

Steps

Command-line options

Enable

Object snaps will be projected to the construction plane.

Disable

Object snaps land on the object snapped to.

Toggle

 

SnapToLocked

Toolbar Menu

Object Snap

Tools

Object Snap >

Snap To Locked Objects

The SnapToLocked command snaps work on locked objects and on objects on locked layers.

ToggleOsnapPanel

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The ToggleOsnapPanel command turns the display of the Object Snaps panel on and off.

ToggleOsnapPanelUnderCursor

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The ToggleOsnapPanelUnderCursor shows or hides the Object Snaps in a floating panel and always places it under the cursor.

When you use this command, the Object Snaps panel also will disappear as soon as you move the cursor off the Object Snaps panel.

This command is intended to be used as a macro assigned to a mouse button if you have a mouse with more than three buttons or to a trackpad swipe gesture.

See also

Model with precision

Cursor constraints

 

 

 

Rhino for Mac © 2010-2017 Robert McNeel & Associates. 24-Oct-2017