Curve Point Editing Methods
Video
Watch a video that shows editing the position of curvature and acceleration control points within their degree of freedom.
Curve point editing methods
Use the following commands to edit curve points:
Edit Operation | Command | Location |
|---|---|---|
Create a soft point | • Hold down SHIFT while you select and drag a free point to snap to the nearest geometric entity. When  Show Original is selected, you can snap to the original curve• Click > > and select and drag a free point to snap to the nearest geometric entity | Graphics window |
Move a soft point along a curve, edge, datum plane, or surface Move a free point according to the movement constraint you set | Select and drag the point | |
Change a soft point reference | Select the soft point, right-click, choose Pick Soft Point, and select a new reference | |
Flip a soft point parameter to the opposite end of its reference | Select the soft point, right-click, choose Flip Soft Point. Also flips the direction of the soft point tangent when the first constraint is G1, G2, or G3. | |
Override the selected drag constraint to move a point in a straight line that is normal to the active datum plane | Hold down ALT while you select and drag a point | |
Override the selected drag constraint to move a point horizontally or vertically along the plane of the screen | Hold down CTRL + ALT while you select and drag a point | |
Delete points | • Select points, and press DELETE • Select points, right-click, and choose Delete | |
Select multiple points along a curve between two selected points | Select a point, and press and hold down SHIFT while you select a second point along the same curve | |
Clear all point selections | Right-click and choose Deselect All Points when one or more points is selected | |
Nudge a point | Select a point and press UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, or LEFT ARROW | |
Make a curve smoother | • Select points and click  Smooth• Right-click points and select Smooth | |
Reduce the number of points in a curve | • Click  Simplify• Right-click points and click Simplify. | |
Move a soft point to an exact location | Modify the Type and Value | Point tab of the Curve Edit tab |
Move a free point to an exact location | • Specify X-, Y-, and Z-coordinate values • Select the Relative check box to treat the x-, y-, and z-coordinate values as offsets from the original position | |
Place a soft point on a specific reference | Select a soft point, and do one of the following: • Click the References collector • Right-click the graphics window, and select Point Reference Collector Then select a vertex, point, curve, edge, axis, datum plane, facet, or surface for the soft point to lie on | Point tab of the Curve Edit tab, under Soft Point |
Offset a soft point from a plane to specify a distance along a reference | Select a soft point, and do one of the following: • Click the Plane Reference collector • Right-click the graphics window, and select Point Plane Collector Then select a plane from which to offset the soft point | Point tab of the Curve Edit tab, under Soft Point |
Nudge a point | • Select a point and click  ,  ,  , or  • Select a point and enter a value in the Adjust box | Point tab of the Curve Edit tab, under Point Movement |
Apply a dragging constraint to the selected point | Select a constraint from the Drag box | |
Apply an extend constraint to the nearest endpoint | Select a constraint from the Extend box |
 | • When you snap a free point of a planar curve or a curve on surface (COS) to a datum plane or to any another intersecting surface, an offset from plane soft point is created. • To nudge a point using the arrow keys, you must first activate the graphics window. You cannot nudge a soft point. • Planar curve points can only be dragged using the Free and Horizontal/Vertical methods. The Free drag method is the only one available for curve on surface (COS) curves. |