Matching Sample Points

The Match command snaps a selection of a polygon object's sample points to one or more target types. Unlike regular snapping, which only affects the selected point closest to the mouse-down position, matching can affect all of the points in the selection, and typically affects more than one of them.

In practice, this is useful for precisely matching the positions of two or more discontiguous groups of sample points. For example, you could match the sample points from one half of an object to the points from the other half, creating a symmetrical texture map.

By default, the Match command uses a Tolerance value. Tolerance is the threshold within which snap targets are sought. The larger the tolerance value, the farther away potential snap targets can be, and vice-versa. You can deactivate the tolerance, in which case the selected points are snapped to their closest targets.

To match a selection of sample points to one or more targets

Select the points that you would like to match.

NoteIf you want to include Selected Points as a target type, the target points must also be included in the initial selection.
If necessary, transform the selected points to bring them closer to their targets. This removes much of the ambiguity inherent in matching points that appear to be equidistant from two targets.
Click the Match button in the command bar. The MatchUVW property editor opens.

Activate or deactivate one or more of the following target types, as needed:

NoteIf you activate more than one target type, each point in the selection snaps to the nearest target of any active type.

Selected Points moves points in the selection towards one another. As you increase the tolerance, the points collapse to a smaller number of positions until they occupy exactly the same location.


Two discontiguous groups of points are selected and the Match operator is applied.	Points within the selection move toward one another, snapping to each other somewhere in the middle.

Unselected Points snaps selected points to the closest unselected points. Once again, as you increase the tolerance, the selection appears to collapse in the direction of the unselected points.


One group of points is selected and the Match operator is applied.	Points within the selection move toward unselected points.

Grid snaps selected points to the closest grid points on a virtual grid. By default, the virtual grid matches the grid displayed in the texture editor work area (as specified in the texture editor preferences). You can use the Grid Info controls to change the resolution of the virtual grid and/or offset it from the texture editor grid.


Each sample point in this selection has been slightly offset from a grid point.	Matching the selection to the grid aligns the sample points perfectly.

Pixel Corners snaps selected points to the nearest pixel corners. When you activate Pixel Corner matching, the Image Info controls are activated. By default, the match operation is performed relative to the texture image's resolution. You can use the Image Info controls to change the resolution of the image's resolution for matching purposes only.


Zooming in enough so that individual pixels are visible reveals that the sample points are arranged roughly in the shape of the numeral 1.	Matching the points to the closest pixel corners perfectly matches the sample points to the numeral's pixels.

Do one of the following:
- If Tolerance is active, adjust the value until you get the desired match results.
  
  TipAlthough the match slider only goes to 0.1, you can enter higher values in the parameter's text box.
  
  or
- Deactivate Tolerance to snap the selected points to their nearest targets.