Handles Panel

Location: Tools page > HyperMorph module

Create Subpanel

Use the Create subpanel to create new handles.

If more than one handle is created, their names will have a number appended to the prefix so that all handle names are unique.

Dependencies assigned during creation apply to all handles being created.

You do not need to select a domain for a handle when using the by nodes option. If you do not select a domain, the handle will be assigned to a domain that contains the node.

To remove individual handles without affecting other handles that have been created, use the Delete panel and select handles.

Option	Action
attached to: domain	Select the domain that you want the new handle to be linked with/part of. If the node selected for a handle is part of a domain, then this field is optional.
by nodes / type in	by nodes Select nodes from the model that you wish to create handles from. type in Specify the X, Y, and Z coordinates for the desired handle, as well as the coordinate system in which it lies. You can also click as node and then pick node from the model; that node's coordinates and system fill in the fields automatically, and you can edit them as desired.
dependent on: handles	Select one or more existing handles that it is dependent on. This selector may be left empty.
name =	Specify a name for the new handle. A default prefix of "handle" is used. A number will be appended to the name prefix if you create more handles without changing the name, for example, Handle1, Handle2, and so on.
size =	Specify the handle size.

Update Subpanel

Use the Update subpanel to update the position or dependencies of handles.

If more than one handle is selected, you can only update the handle dependencies.

Review sym displays the selected handle's associated symmetries by plotting vectors between handles which are linked via symmetry. Review dep displays the selected handles' dependencies by plotting vectors on the screen pointing from the selected handles to the handles upon which they are dependent.

Note: When using the hierarchical or mixed methods for global influences, the local handles are dependent on global handles. These dependencies are calculated internally and cannot be changed manually.

Option	Action
Dependent on: handles	Select the handle(s) upon which you want to make the selected handle(s) dependent. This selector may be left empty.
handle / handles	Choose whether to update one handle or multiple handles. When updating a single handle, you can also change the position of the handle by specifying new x, y, and z coordinates and, optionally, a local coordinate system. Click as node if you wish to update the XYZ coordinates by clicking an existing node.

Load Subpanel

Use the Load subpanel to load shapes, global handles, or both from a file.

Only global handles and shapes are stored in the file. Saving and loading local shapes to and from a file can be done in the Shapes panel.

The load and save subpanels allow you to transfer globally defined shapes from one model to another even though the local handle and domain definitions may be different. It also allows you to save shape templates. When you read in a shape, it searches for the handles it perturbs by name. So if you have global handles with the same names in different models, you can transfer your shapes between them by saving your shapes in one model to a file and then reading that file into another model. For this option, you should only read in the shapes and not the handles when loading the file.

Option	Action
browse	Navigate to and select a file containing handles and shapes that were created using the save option in the Handles subpanel.
file	Specify the file path.
overwrite/no overwrite	overwrite Overwrite the entities in the model with the ones in the file. no overwrite Retain the current state of the model entities. Note: Overwrite deletes all of the shapes and global handles in the model, not just those that may conflict.
read handles	Read in handles from the file. Only checked items will be read in from the file; unchecked items are ignored.
read shapes	Read in shapes from the file. Only checked items will be read in from the file; unchecked items are ignored.

Save Subpanel

Use the Save subpanel to save global handles and shapes to a file.

All of the shapes and global handles are saved to a file. However, only global handles and global handle perturbations for the shapes are saved; local handles and local handle perturbations are not written to the file. If a shape contains both local and global perturbations, only the global ones are written to the file, and constraints that are applied to nodes will not be saved. Only shapes that have been saved as handle perturbations are written to the file.

Saving and loading local shapes to and from a file can be also done in the Shapes panel.

The load and save subpanels allow you to transfer globally defined shapes from one model to another even though the local handle and domain definitions may be different. It also allows you to save shape templates. When you read in a shape, it searches for the handles it perturbs by name. So if you have global handles with the same names in different models, you can transfer your shapes between them by saving your shapes in one model to a file and then reading that file into another model. For this option, you should only read in the shapes and not the handles when loading the file.

Option	Action
browse	Navigate to the desired file path and specify the desired file name to save.
file	Specify the file path.

Command Buttons

Button	Action
create	Create a new handle.
load	Load in the specified file, using the specified criteria for merging the data into your model.
reject	Undo the creation or update of a handle.
review dep	Display the selected handles' dependencies by plotting vectors on the screen pointing from the selected handles to the handles upon which they are dependent.
review sym	Display the selected handle's associated symmetries by plotting vectors between handles which are linked via symmetry.
save	Save the file to the specified path and filename.
update	Update the selected handle's characteristics.