USER INTERFACE | HOW TO USE
The Wings user interface is modeled after Nendo, a very easy to use subdivision modeler. The premiss is that only relevant functions and commands are presented to the user, to avoid confusion. Some common functions are to be found in the drop down menus at the top of the workspace. But most of the modeling commands are to be found in context sensitive pop-up menus. These are accessed by right clicking in any empty portion of the workspace. The context sensitive menus are:
Primitives if no elements are selected, or if the workspace is empty, right clicking will bring up the Primitives Menu. Click on one of these to add it to the workspace. Some of the Primitives have a little box on the right side of their names. If you click the box you will be able to set some of its parameters.
Vertex if one or more vertices are selected on a model, then right clicking in the workspace will bring up the Vertex Menu.
Edge if one or more edges are selected on a model, then right clicking in the workspace will bring up the Edge Menu.
Face if one or more faces are selected on a model, then right clicking in the workspace will bring up the Face Menu.
Body if one or more bodies (also called objects) are selected on a model, then right clicking in the workspace will bring up the Body (or Object) Menu.
Many user preferences can be set via the Edit | Preferences menu. One of the preferences is to turn on Advanced Menus. New users are strongly urged NOT to turn on Advanced Menus until they have a firm grasp of the standard Wings interface.
One of the first things you will want to be able to do is pan and zoom around the workspace. Because Wings allows you to set up your camera preferences, you will need to choose which preference you will work with, learn how to move about with that method, and stick with it. Set your camera preferences in the Edit | Preferences menu. This user manual is written with the default Wings/Blender camera preference. Keep this fact in mind when working through any of the tutorials or viewing the examples.
As a quick finger exercise try adding a cube to the workspace. Click on it to select it. Notice that it becomes highlighted. Then click on the four icons in the middle of the Icon Bar at the bottom of the work space, one at a time, and watch what happens to the selected set. Then click on the Vertex Icon and hit the space bar. Notice that all the vertices become unselected. Now choose a couple of vertices and right click with the mouse to bring up the Vertex Menu. Choose Move | Normal and move the mouse. Left click to lock in your action. That is the basics of how to do things. Now repeat similar operations with the Edge, Face and Body functions. Then try to make something recognizable. Note that some, but not all, operations require more than one selected element to have any effect. Connect, for example needs at least two edges to be selected in order to connect them. You can post questions and results to the Wings forum where lots of fellow Wingers will be happy to help you over any hurdles you run into.
The Wings user interface is modeled after Nendo, a very easy to use subdivision modeler. The premiss is that only relevant functions and commands are presented to the user, to avoid confusion. Some common functions are to be found in the drop down menus at the top of the workspace. But most of the modeling commands are to be found in context sensitive pop-up menus. These are accessed by right clicking in any empty portion of the workspace. The context sensitive menus are:
Primitives if no elements are selected, or if the workspace is empty, right clicking will bring up the Primitives Menu. Click on one of these to add it to the workspace. Some of the Primitives have a little box on the right side of their names. If you click the box you will be able to set some of its parameters.
Vertex if one or more vertices are selected on a model, then right clicking in the workspace will bring up the Vertex Menu.
Edge if one or more edges are selected on a model, then right clicking in the workspace will bring up the Edge Menu.
Face if one or more faces are selected on a model, then right clicking in the workspace will bring up the Face Menu.
Body if one or more bodies (also called objects) are selected on a model, then right clicking in the workspace will bring up the Body (or Object) Menu.
Many user preferences can be set via the Edit | Preferences menu. One of the preferences is to turn on Advanced Menus. New users are strongly urged NOT to turn on Advanced Menus until they have a firm grasp of the standard Wings interface.
One of the first things you will want to be able to do is pan and zoom around the workspace. Because Wings allows you to set up your camera preferences, you will need to choose which preference you will work with, learn how to move about with that method, and stick with it. Set your camera preferences in the Edit | Preferences menu. This user manual is written with the default Wings/Blender camera preference. Keep this fact in mind when working through any of the tutorials or viewing the examples.
As a quick finger exercise try adding a cube to the workspace. Click on it to select it. Notice that it becomes highlighted. Then click on the four icons in the middle of the Icon Bar at the bottom of the work space, one at a time, and watch what happens to the selected set. Then click on the Vertex Icon and hit the space bar. Notice that all the vertices become unselected. Now choose a couple of vertices and right click with the mouse to bring up the Vertex Menu. Choose Move | Normal and move the mouse. Left click to lock in your action. That is the basics of how to do things. Now repeat similar operations with the Edge, Face and Body functions. Then try to make something recognizable. Note that some, but not all, operations require more than one selected element to have any effect. Connect, for example needs at least two edges to be selected in order to connect them. You can post questions and results to the Wings forum where lots of fellow Wingers will be happy to help you over any hurdles you run into.
