Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object. > Modify panel > Polygon or Border sub-object level > Edit Polygons rollout >
Bridge Settings button
Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object. > Polygon or Border sub-object level > Quad menu > tools 2 quadrant > Bridge
Settings button
Use these settings for bridging pairs of polygons, polygon selections, or borders in Interactive Manipulation mode.
Note: Bridge calculates which way the bridge polygons should face. If you bridge two sub-objects so that the bridge goes through the object, the bridge polygons face inward. But if you create a bridge that goes through empty space, such as when connecting sub-objects between two elements, the polygons face outward. To make the bridge polygons face differently, use the Flip function.
Note: Bridging two elements makes them contiguous, combining them into a single element.
Bridge lets you use existing poly/border selections, or pick them from the dialog. Choose one of the following:
Use Specific Polygons/Borders—In this mode, use the Pick buttons to designate polygons or borders for bridging.
Use Polygon/Border Selection—If one or more qualifying selection pairs exist, choosing this option connects them immediately. If not, you can select pairs of sub-objects in a viewport to connect them.
If you make more than two qualifying selections, Bridge connects them in increasing order of ID. For example, if you select polygon 12, 35, and 89, Bridge connects polygons 12 and 35. But if you then deselect polygon 35, Bridge then connects polygons 12 and 89.
Polygon/Edge 1/2—Click each Pick button in turn, and then click a polygon or border edge in a viewport. At the Border sub-object level, clicking any edge on a border designates the entire border for bridging. Also, the edges you pick on each border are connected directly, and the remaining edges are connected in consecutive order. You can change the order of the edge correspondences with the Twist settings. Available only in Use Specific mode.
After clicking a sub-object, the Pick button shows its ID number. You can change the selection at any time by clicking a Pick button and picking a different sub-object.
Twist 1/2—Rotates the order of connection between the edges of the two selections. The two controls let you set a different twist amount for each end of the bridge.
Segments—Specifies the number of polygons along the length of the bridge connection. This setting also applies to manually bridged polygons.
Tip: When using Taper, set Segments to a value greater than 1.
Taper—Sets the extent to which the bridge width becomes smaller or larger toward its center. Negative settings taper the bridge center smaller; positive settings taper it larger.
Note: To change the location of maximum taper, use the Bias setting.
Bias—Determines the location of maximum taper amount.
The range of the Bias value is -99.0 to 99.0. At the default value of 0.0, the taper amount is greatest at the center of the bridge. At -99.0, the taper amount is greatest near the first selected polygon or border; at 99.0, it's greatest near the second selected polygon or border.
Smooth—Determines the maximum angle between columns across which smoothing can occur. A column is a string of polygons extending along the length of the bridge.