Auto-snap cursor -> grid?

gurkesaft · October 20, 2006, 7:33am

Hello,

I’m sorry if someone posted this already and I couldn’t find it.

Is there a way to automatically snap the cursor to the grid in this program? Seems like fairly simple/obvious functionality but I can’t find it.

I’ve gone through tutorials and also made some very shiny beautiful graphics to advertise my research with this program. I love it. But I’ve been wasting a lot of time always clicking, then typing Shift-E and clicking again. For some reason this makes me uncomfortable in the environment. I ALWAYS want the grid! The grid is gorgeous and perfect and wonderful. Long live the grid!

Thanks in advance!
Jack

Captain_Jack · October 20, 2006, 7:40am

Typing Shift-S brings up the snap menu, then you can select “Cursor->Grid”. Is that what you’re looking for?

gurkesaft · October 20, 2006, 11:05am

Thanks for your quick response!

No, actually I already use Shift-S. I was hoping there would be a setting somewhere that would automatically snap the cursor to the grid always, regardless of where I click without having to do all that. At least a hot key to hold while clicking or something! Right now, any time I want to move the cursor I have to click, shift-s, find scroll to “cursor->grid”, click.

Yar.

-Jack

MADCello · October 20, 2006, 11:18am

If you press CTRL you move in units (or 0.1 if you zoom) and with CTRL+SHIFT you move 10% of the CTRL only value. Was the english to bad?

pixelmass · October 20, 2006, 11:46am

In user preferences—>View and controls there is a “snap to grid” set of radio buttons, is this what you are looking for?

gurkesaft · October 20, 2006, 1:42pm

The ctrl-move only works when you’re moving objects or vertices. I want the cursor to stick to the nearest grid every time I click somewhere on the grid.

I had found the radio buttons (mine are just toggle buttons) in the user-preferences. With those checked it will automatically step things I’m dragging with the grid, but will not auto-snap the cursor to the grid.

The reason I want to auto-snap to the grid every time I click (and move the cursor) is because I’m creating a lot of different shapes and I want to be able to click once, create an object centered on a grid point, click again, create another object etc… but currently I have to click-shift-s-click every time which is obnoxious for this kind of work.

Thanks!
Jack

MADCello · October 20, 2006, 2:15pm

There’s not much control (fast one) over the cursor. Maybe this will change.

It could be very good that, with nothing selected, we could apply move (G) to the cursor.

gurkesaft · October 22, 2006, 7:53am

Poop.

Maybe there’s a script to be written. Is it possible to write a script and bind it to a single key?

-Jack

rm5248 · October 22, 2006, 8:10am

You could just keep the cursor at one point, make the objects and then move them while holding CTL.

Daz_Harris · December 31, 2019, 12:03am

13 years later guys!

I’m sure you made some beautiful stuff in the meantime and had great careers, kids, and all that good stuff?!

Sooooo, almost in 2020, is it possible to have the cursor snap to grid?!

Stan_Pancakes · December 31, 2019, 12:27am

Almost in 2020, in 2.8x there’s a “move cursor” tool, activated with default keymap with shift+right mouse button. That is a full-fledged move tool, respecting snapping settings, such as Increment and Absolute Grid, only instead of moving objects it moves the cursor.

anon15708797 · December 31, 2019, 1:03am

I’ve been playing with this today -

moving the 3D Cursor as the active tool or with Shift RMB, with snapping on and Snap / Increment enabled, the 3D Cursor doesn’t snap to the grid units in the viewport, even in Orthographic view. You have to Snap Cursor to Grid each time.

Something I was going to post as a new thread is that placing the 3D Cursor with Shift RMB does not obey the Orientation settings -

if you place the 3D Cursor as the active tool with Surface Project selected and Orientation setting of Geometry, the 3D Cursor will be placed at the position and orientation of the geo below the cursor, if you do this by placing the cursor with Shift RMB the cursor is not placed on the geometry and at the orientation.

Holding CTR while placing the cursor with Shift RMB will snap it to geometry but not obey the Surface or Orientation settings.

It’s a bit inconsistent.

Stan_Pancakes · December 31, 2019, 1:28am

Increment snaps to increments. You need to also tick “Absolute Grid Snap” to snap exactly to grids.

The other part’s true though. I think there’s difference in invocation between active tool and shift+rmb.

anon15708797 · December 31, 2019, 1:41am

Still having no luck with the snapping the Cursor to the grid.

With Snap to set to increment and Absolute Grid Snap ticked, when I drag the Cursor as the active tool and either hold CTR or have snapping on, the 3D Cursor is not snapping to main unit of the grid

Stan_Pancakes · December 31, 2019, 1:50am

Hm, that’s strange. It does for me, be it meters, decimeters or centimeters. So for you with “10 Centimeters” zoom, it doesn’t snap to 0.1m divisions? In 2.81a?

anon15708797 · December 31, 2019, 1:55am

Yes, with all settings and Blender version matched, it doesn’t seem to. My units are set to Metric, Unit Scale 1.000000

Stan_Pancakes · December 31, 2019, 2:00am

Even in a default file? If so, weird. Seems to glue itself just fine here.

anon15708797 · December 31, 2019, 2:06am

Ah, it works in a new default file.

So will have to watch if it ever comes unstuck again.

EDIT:
Seems to come unstuck as soon as I add an object into a scene

I’ve centred the Cursor and moved it while snapping to the grid
added a mesh object moved the Cursor with snapping and it doesn’t snap to the grid.
and different variations of this and having the new mesh object selected or not selected

anon15708797 · December 31, 2019, 5:19am

I’ve also tried resetting to factory settings and disabling all enabled Add-ons

Stan_Pancakes · December 31, 2019, 9:35am

That doesn’t sound good. Works here just fine, adding geometry or no.