Hi Rob,

> OK but surely the trim command just uses a single line to divide objects

Actually no - you are not restricted to only use a line as the cutting object, you can use any intersection between solids, surfaces, or curves, including when things swoop around with 3D shapes instead of only planar shapes.

Here's a quick example of 2 non-planar surfaces:



Now using the second one as a cutting object to trim the first:




When things are all swooping around in 3D rather than all on a plane, there may not be something that equates with a "side" as you may have in a 2D plane type situation.


Also if it took everything off to one side in 2D situations, it would then make some things not work, like for example here I had a goal of trimming off only one part that intersected with the line, not everything:







If it only worked by throwing away everything to one side, that result above would not be possible without extra steps to draw a shorter cutting line.

By selecting which fragments are to be removed (or kept if you have switched to "keep" mode), it lets you have this kind of flexibility.


In the future I may be able to add something like you are talking about for the 2D curve case, where if you clicked on an empty space rather than on a fragment, it would see if it could determine a side and do a kind of batch select. I've thought about that some before. But that's a pretty customized selection function that is not really similar to other current selection functions, so it will take some extra work to make that happen, that's why it is not in there yet.

Really the window select should make what you need there happen pretty easily though - does it not work well with something you are trying to do? Maybe if you could post the 3DM file that would help me to understand what you are running into, or maybe I could then demonstrate how to make it work quickly with your specific example.


> is there a way to use either the delete key or enter key for this command?

There is no way to do it currently, it will require making the Trim command have a kind of special override for that key so that it would not trigger the usual shortcut for the Delete command. I'll see what is involved in setting that up.


> although I can get myselft confused with how many times
> i've pressed it during an opperation and where i am in an
> opperation, often clicking not enough or too many times
> and repeating the command.

Try to watch what the prompt text says, in this area:



That's meant to be a kind of guide for what is currently going on, like what action MoI is currently expecting for you to do.

It will say things like "Pick a Point", "select objects to do something to", etc...

If you look up there it can help you to know what is going on right at that stage.

- Michael