Visibility Mode Quick Help

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  Overview  

The Visibility Mode submenu provides a set of tools for cleaning up duplicate and back facing faces.  This is useful especially for imported models where the incoming data isn't perfect.  

Here is how to use Visibility Mode settings :  
1) Select two or more intersecting surfaces that you wish to fillet.
2) Choose the fillet parameters and options   
3) Pick additional cutters.
4) Pick stock objects (stock objects will be cut up by the cutters).
5) Define the parts of the originals you wish to keep (Stock Outside Cutters, Stock Inside Cutters, Cutters Outside Stock).
6) You can then extract to an Editable Mesh and use the Explode option with 360 degrees to get separate objects to manipulate or animate.   

Backface Cull:  This option is useful for showing / hiding faces that point the wrong direction.  Turn this option off if you want to see (in black) the faces that are pointing away from you.  When the option is on, those back facing faces will be hidden.

  Face Duplication  

These options are used to easily select duplicate faces (usually for removal).  Most rendering engines have difficulty rendering quality images if there are duplicate faces.  

Select Duplicates:  Click on this button to select the duplicate faces in your object
Edge Match %:  This option tells the Select Duplicates how closely the faces have to match.  100% means that the faces have to be exactly the same.  A smaller value means that it will select partially duplicate (or overlapping faces).  We suggest starting at 100% and decreasing the value little by little until you have removed all of the duplicates.

Adjacency Expansion
This tool will drape an offset surface around the selected surface.  This is useful for applying UVW maps, as the maps can be applied to the draped surface (which can match the original surface precisely).

Flip Faces Mode:  If you are in "Flip Faces Mode", when you make selections, the selected faces will be flipped.  If you are in the "Select Mode", the faces just get selected.  Flip Faces Mode is sort of an immediate modification mode in that respect.  As you click on faces, they are immediately flipped.
Expand Rings:  This value determines how far outward each selection expansion will go.  For example, a setting of 3 means that when you select a face, it will also select the 3 closest faces around it.  Selecting the same face again will add another 3 faces to the selection.  It will keep working outward in a ring until all of the faces are selected (or flipped if you are in "Flip Faces Mode").
Select Mode:  Using Select Mode, when you click on a face, it will be selected.  If you want to flip the selected face(s), you will then need to click on the "Flip Sel" button.
Hide Mode:  While in Hide Mode, each selected face will be hidden.

Flipping Options
Choose the trimming type from the drop down list.  The trimming type determines how the surface fillet will be trimmed or extended at the ends of the fillets.  Choose between the following options.

Apply:  
Auto Orient:  Uses the surrounding faces to determine the orientation.  It will flip the ones that point in the opposite direction from the rest of the faces.  It essentially normalizes the faces so that they all point in the same direction.
Hide Sel:  Hides the selected faces.  This option is useful if you have a complex model and can't see to select the correct face.  Hide the ones that you don't need to work with.
Unhide All:  Unhides all the faces that have been previously hidden
Expand Oriented Sel:  
Flip Sel:  Flips the direction of the selected faces.

Viewport Visibility Selection
These useful options provide methods for selecting faces based on their visibility.

Select All:  Selects all of the faces
Visible:  Selects only visible faces
Hidden:  Selects only hidden faces
Back Facing Faces:  When this option is checked, it will select only the back facing faces.  This is a good way to filter your selection.  For example, if you are trying to flip the faces that point in the wrong direction, you can use this option.
Front Facing Faces:  When this option is checked, it will select only the front facing faces.