Tutorial Post 6: Clipping.

Tutorial Post 6: Clipping.

Sometimes the fragment you want to edit is obscured by some other objects. You may use use clipping to prevent drawing the fragments that are outside  specified clipping box. 

Go to the clipping sub-menu with the sequence of key presses 'QX':

In the following example you see blue cube without any clipping:

Note the position and orientation of the cursor. When you invoke clipping sub-menu ('QX') and press the left arrow on it, then you move the 'maximum'  X coordinate of the clipping box to the X coordinate of the cursor. Clipping box is aligned with the model space. The direction of clipping is determined the same way as the direction of moving the cursor. 

Now you can see the smaller red cube hidden inside the blue one as the fragment of the blue box outside of the clipping box is not drawn.  (If you clicked 'QX' left arrow again, then the  X coordinate of the clipping box would be reset to its initial, very large, value. Arrows and 'B', 'F' keys on clipping sub-menu act as toggle switches.)

Let us press 'QX' and down arrow:

The maximum Y coordinate of the clipping box has been set to the Y coordinate of the cursor.

To cancel  clipping press 'QX' and then 'R'. (Actually, it resets the clipping box to its initial, very large  volume.)