The script deals with vertex positions and selections.

download Verty • general info • installation • vertex positions • transfer coordinates
multiCopy • vert iterate in group • vert iterate • selection sets • insert new verts
uninstall • rollouts • contact me • version history

general info

- I started writing it under max 3.1, but now it only works for max 4.x or later
- basemesh must be mesh or poly. NURBS not supported. Does not work correctly with patches at the moment.

installation
Maybe after downloading the filename is 'Verty.mzp.zip' instead of 'Verty.mzp'. Just rename it correctly.

Start Max4 or a later version.
Select 'run maxscript' from MAXscript in your main menu bar. Choose "Verty.mzp".
You can find the script in the category 'Vertex Tools'.
When executing "Verty.mzp" a install-script is executed automatically, allowing you to setup a menu hosted in the main menu bar - containing the script.

To do so: type in the text field "scripts" and press the 'add' button. Now close the floating window. Choose 'Verty' from the menu 'scripts' from your main menu bar.

vertex positions
This was the first function I wrote in january 2001. With it, you can copy and paste position coordinates from vertices.
If you select more than one vertex, the positions are interpolated.

example: You want to move a vertex to the center-point betwenn two other vertices. First, select the two vertices then press the XYZ button under the GETTERS section. Then, select the vertex to be moved and press the XYZ button under the SETTERS section.

I recently discovered that blur has published a little script similar to this one .. I think it's called 'vertexpositions'.
I tried it today (23.mai) and I think my version offers more functionality.

Choose the coordinate system you want to use from the rollout. Be careful when using local coordinates as they may not behave as expected, it always uses then the local coordinates from the object that the vertices belong to.

NOTE: I've ecountered strange behaviours when using the undo feature. It seems that I broke something there. You may have to undo every single stept the script did. I'll have a look at this later.

transfer coordinates

Just something fo ease of use. To save you from having to copy the spinner fields values to the type-in transformation fields, it pastes the values one gets from the vertices to objects or their pivots.

example:
In order to get the pivot in the middle of the selected vertices ... Hit 'xyz' under 'getters' in the 'vertex positions' rollout. Check 'affect pivot only' and hit the 'xyz'-Button in the 'pos2obj' rollout.

it uses the coordinate system one chooses from the drop down of the 'vertex positions' rollout.

multiCopy UPDATED
This is the latest addition to my tool set. It allows you to copy and paste several vertex positions.

example:

what is this??

well a simple egg with arms and legs (on the left). On the right I already 'pushed' the vertices near
to the body. I had 2 morph targets. Then I recognized that I wanted first the legs came out of the egg and later the arms.... uff ... no chance .. redoing it all?
Ok, let's copy the right egg. Select the left one. Vertex sub-mode ... select the upper 'body'.



Open the rollout 'selection sets'. Save this selection under ... ehr ..let's take slot 1. Check 'lock sets' as
sometimes I get confused and I press the button in the wrong row ... overwriting my selection set.
Go to the multiCopy rollout and press copy. Ignore the sentence I wrote thinking of a prince song.

Leave sub-edit mode. Select the copied egg. Go to the vertex level. Load the first selection set by pressing '1' under load in the 'selection sets' rollout of verty. Go to the multiCopy rollout and press 'paste'. Don't worry if your mesh moves ... it will come back after (wait a bit!). It is a quick solution and I used a dirty trick. But for me it worked.

Et voila. The third morph target. Using the same method I was able to make another morph target quickly which had only legs without arms.

Ok now the UPDATED part. It does now have two new options which allows you to repeat the copy action. I needed this to create morph targets for a progressive morph of extrusions. Let show you it with some made up example:

Lets assume you want, for what ever reason, animate the growing of an tentacle coming out of a body.You take a face and extrude it along a path.

We will start by the end. It's important that the number of vertices that defines the shapealong the path is constant. This is also why I did not weld the end. In this example every step is defined by 6 vertices - so same for the end.

Now copy the 6 vertex positions from the before-last step of the extrusion and paste them to the end. This can be done with what multiCopy did before - no need of extra options. Now, try to repeat this.

It does not work, because you got 6 target positions and 12 vertices to move. MultiCopy will only copy the amount of vertices equal to th amount of stored positions. If you check 'Deselect translated verts', you can repeat the action and iterate manually through the rest. But when you got 6 target positions and 120 or more vertices to move, you will feel like playing a shoot-up game! 'Repeat throught whole sel.'(-ection) will do this for you - copy all selectedf vertices onto the target positions.

He he ... look at that scary gif animation ... flee !!! ;)

HINT: do not modify the topology of the extrusion or you will get messy results.

vert iterate in group
Here you can define a group of vertices where you can afterwards select a following or previous vertex of the group.

example: You broke a vert. Now you only want to move one of them and then weld the rest. Often to get the right one, one had to move all the others until the right one was found and the move them back ... I mean with the 'vertex position' rollout this is doable too as one can copy the position where the vertices were. But you can also select all the vertices, press 'define group'. Now press '+' and move the vertex. If it's the wrong one, cancel the move with a right click. Select the next one with '+' until you found the right one.

vert iterate
This allows you going throw all the vertices of the mesh.

There's no special reason I implemented this. I did this just for fun. If this will ever be useful for you, please E-Mail me, I'd like to know for what you used it.

Go to vertx submode. Select one vertex and press 'Get Nr.'. Now you can use the spinner buttons in order to go to the next or previous vertex of the mesh.

selection sets
This allows you to save [temporarily] a vertex selection. You can even apply this selection pattern on another mesh. This may not work with meshes where the targetmesh has less vertices than the sourcemesh.

If you fear pressing the wrong button ... overwriting your selections sets, you can disable the 'save' button by checking 'lock sets'.

example: see multiCopy

It does now copy and paste the Soft-Selection parameters.

insert new verts
Sometimes on forums people appear and have the following situation:

they have a couple of morph targets but later they found out, that the original mesh needs modifcations. But now - how to transfer these modifications to the morph targets.

This implementation was my idea how to solve this problem. Unfortunately when I made some test after implementation I found a basic error in my thoughts - in the concept. But for some cases it may help.

It simply looks for new vertices and paste them to the target-meshes and then rebuild the topology by copying the edge and face information of the source mesh.

One can check 'interpolate pos' which will average the position of the vertex in relation to the vertices to which it's connected to.

Unfortunately I forgot to copy and paste the Material IDs - but if someone needs that I can implement it - shouldn't be complicated - at least I hope so ;-)

And another issue: because of some Maxscript problems I wasn't able to copy and paste
the UVW coordinates. The functions I need are declared as 'broken in 4.2' ...

And another one: don't delete vertices!!! it only works if you ADD vertices .... it won't work if you delete some.

I finally think a better approach to this kind of problem would be something like a 'simultaneous' modelling script. A script
which copy every thing you do on one mesh to the other mesh (relatively). Well ... this is at least my newest idea for this problem ;-)

! --- Works with poly objects only, at the moment --- !

uninstallation
In the rollout 'uninstall' you find some aide for removing the 'verty' entry from a menu and the menu itself too.
In order to completely uninstall this macroscript you have to go to the ui\macroscripts and delete the verty.mcr file and restart 3ds max.

rollouts
Simply uncheck the rollouts you don't need in order to save some space.

contact me
If this script is useful for you, you have improvement ideas, found bugs, know a better - smarter code or other feedback - don't hesitate mailing me ... please use 'Verty' in your subject.

dominique {at} boutin {dot} de

hints

You don't need always to go to the vertex sub modus. Check it out with: multicopy/-paste and Selection-Sets.

bref version history