See  The Free Move Tool for more details.

• If the brush is small then the scrapbook contents will be compressed closer together
• If the brush is large then the contents will be spaced further apart
• Every Left Click will paste another complete scrapbook copy
• The Scale control in the Tool Options Palette is ignored.
  

• If the brush is the same size as the original scrapbook then a single exact copy will be pasted
• If the brush is smaller than the original scrapbook size then only the central part of the scrapbook will be revealed and more will be added when the brush is moved around until the "painted" area reaches the size of the original. Further painting will clone or tile the scrapbook contents
• If the brush is larger than the original scrapbook size then the contents will be cloned or tiled to fill the set brush size
• The Scale control is not ignored but selecting extremes (e.g. a very large brush and a very small scale value) can cause problems (e.g. system "lockup" while it attempts to scale and clone the scrapbook contents)

Keyboard Shortcut:  R

The Eyedropper Tool is used to identify objects that are in the route. The objects can be textures, effect layers, scenery, rolling stock, track. track equipment, and splines.

This tool uses the Assets Palette. If this palette is not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document.

Quick Steps

With the Eyedropper Tool selected, move the mouse pointer (which will now be an eyedropper symbol) onto any object in view.

The object will be identified by its object name appearing in a  ToolTip  below the mouse pointer (image shown left). Leave the mouse pointer in place for a few seconds and additional information about the object will be shown, its <kuid> code and Author (image shown below left). Left click on the object to select it in the Filter List. The type of object and its name will be automatically selected in all the Asset Palette filters as shown in the image left. The object is now ready for use by the Placement Tool

Narrowing the Search

Sometimes (or often) a scene will be too crowded with different scenery objects to be able to use the Eyedropper Tool to easily select a single object. In these cases additional options are available to help "remove the clutter".

At the top of the Assets Palette is a drop down box which controls how the Eyedropper Tool works with the filters that you set.

The drop down box will provide three options:- Filter List Filter Selection Filter Visibility

These options work with the Asset Filters to help narrow the search for a specific object or type of object that is in the route.

As an example the following images show the progressive application of a Visibility Filter.

		No filter has been applied. All the objects are visible on the Surveyor screen. ALL objects can be selected by the Eyedropper Tool
		The Visibility Filter option has been applied and the filtered list has been set to display only Scenery Splines. All objects except Scenery Splines, Ground Textures and Effect Layers are now hidden. Only Scenery Splines can be selected by the Eyedropper Tool.
		An additional filter has been applied. The word "fence" has been added to the search text box. All Scenery Splines that do not have the text "fence" in their names have now been hidden. Only the remaining visible Scenery Splines can be selected by the Eyedropper Tool.

The Free Move Tool

Keyboard Shortcut:  S

The Free Move Tool is used to move objects around the route in the XY (horizontal) directions only.

This tool uses the Tool Options Palette and the Info Palette (to display data only). If these palettes are not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document.

For Scenery Mesh Objects

Individual "non-spline" scenery objects that are not attached to track are often referred to in Trainz terminology as Scenery Mesh Objects.

 Moving a Scenery Mesh Object 

Select the Free Move Tool. Select (Left click on) the object. Use the mouse (Left button held down) to drag the object in any horizontal (XY) direction. When moving a scenery object, its height will be fixed to the terrain height.

 Set the Height for a Scenery Mesh Object 

When placed in a route by the Placement Tool a scenery object will take the height of the terrain as its set height. It will be fixed to the terrain so when you move it around it will always be at the same height as the terrain it is over.

This can be changed to fix the object to a set height above or below the terrain.

With the scenery object selected, enter a height value into the Tool Options  Height  text box Hit the  Enter  key The scenery object will now be fixed at the entered height above (or below) the terrain as it is moved around. The height can also be set to the  Height  value using the  Apply Height  option in the objects Context Menu.

 Mesh Object Context Menu 

A selected scenery object, or a group of selected scenery objects, will have a Context Icon with a Context Menu. The icon design will vary between object types. Multiple objects can be selected by holding down the  Shift  key while Left clicking on each object.

To open an objects Context menu either:-

• Left click the Context Icon, or
• Press the  T  key

Cut  remove the selected object or objects and move them into the Scrapbook  Copy  copy the selected object or objects and place them into the Scrapbook  Paste  paste the contents of the current Scrapbook next to the selected object  Delete  delete the selected objects. It has the same effect as pressing the  Delete  key  Smooth Ground Under Selected  changes the height of the terrain under the object to match the set height of the object. If multiple objects at different heights have been selected then the terrain height will be set to match the height of the lowest object  Settle on Ground  sets the height of the objects to match the height of the terrain beneath them ("drops them back to earth")  Apply Height  sets the height of the objects to the value in the Tool Options  Height  text box  Reset Object Rotation  resets the rotation angle of the objects to their default values  Randomise Object Rotation  applies a random rotation angle to each object  Select in Assets Palette  identifies the selected object in the Asset Palette like the Eyedropper Tool. If multiple different objects have been selected then the object with the Context Icon will be identified  Edit Properties  opens the Properties window of the selected object

For Spline Objects (Including Track)

Scenery splines and track splines are defined by their end points. Splines are usually added to a route as a series of joined segments linked at the end points. Moving a spline can involve moving:-

• an end point,
• a segment, or
• multiple segments including the whole length of the spline

 Moving Spline End Points 

To move an individual spline end point:-

Select the Free Move Tool. Select (Left click on) the spline end point to be moved. This will be shown as green meaning active. Inactive spline end points are shown as black. Use the mouse (Left button held down) to drag the spline end point in any horizontal (XY) direction. The spline end point will be fixed at its original height.

 Moving Spline Segments 

Splines are frequently made of multiple segments joined together. You can easily move a spline by moving its segments, individually or as a group.

To move an individual segment or multiple segments:-

Select the Free Move Tool. Select (Left click on) the spline segment to be moved - click anywhere between the two spline end points on the segment. The selected segment will be highlighted in green. The segment that you clicked will have a Temporary Spline Point inserted at the location where you clicked.

IF you are going to select and move more than one spline segment, then:- hold the  Shift  key down and individually Left click between the end points on each additional segment. The last segment that you click will have a Temporary Spline Point added. To select ALL the segments in a spline, Dbl-Left click on a segment The segment you double click will have a Temporary Spline Point added

Use the mouse (Left button held down) to drag the Temporary Spline Point in any horizontal (XY) direction. If you had selected:- only a single spline segment then only that segment will be moved and the adjacent segments that were not selected will have their positions "adjusted" multiple spline segments then those segments will be moved and the adjacent segments that were not selected will have their positions "adjusted" all the segments then ALL the segments will be moved

 Set the Height for a Spline Object 

 Spline Object Context Menu 

The Fine Adjustment Tool

Keyboard Shortcut:  D

The Fine Adjustment Tool is used to make fine adjustments (XYZ axis, rotation, tilt) to objects in the route.

This tool does not need any other palettes. None of the controls in the Tool Options Palette are active. However it will display position data in the Info Palette. If this palette is not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document.

The Marquee Tool

Keyboard Shortcut:  F

The Marquee Tool is used to select areas of the route.

This tool does not need any other palettes.

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Trainz Wiki

More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz How to Guides Driver Commands List Session Rules List (Alphabetical) with Parameters Session Rules List (Categories) With Parameters

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This page was created by Trainz user pware in January 2023 and was last updated as shown below.

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