Quicksaw is now obsolete. Consider using the new, improved cutting tools in my plugin pack on the main page.
Please excuse my humble notepad-generated webpage. I am currently very busy with my classes and will attend to it in time.
What's New in V2:
Version 2 includes a minor bug fix to address a bug which caused the Quicksaw Double variants to not subpatch the polygons it sliced through correctly. It is also now capable of dealing with 5+ point polygons immediately outside the selections and will not create a floating point that isn't connected like in the previous version.
Quick Saw is a collection of tools used to quickly make cuts between edges of selected polygons. It is similar to the bandsaw tool except it doesn't require you to make cuts all the way through a loop of polygons, you don't have to make cuts that follow the polygon loop (you can define new loops with your cuts), and it doesn't display a dialogue box since it always makes slices through the center. It also works in symmetry mode and with subpatches.
QuickSaw is handy when you want to make quick slices through the center of selected polygons. Edge Tools by D-Storm is an excellent tool for cutting with precision, but when you want to quickly cut through centers of a series of quadrangles, this tool will offer a much faster workflow.
The collection includes 4 tools: Quicksaw, Quicksaw Double, QuickSaw Double Terminate Inside (QS Term Inside), and QuickSaw Double Terminate Outside (QS Term Outside).
The regular Quicksaw makes single slice through the centers of the shared edges of your selected polygons. Like all the other Quicksaw Tools, it will create all quads through the poylgons it slices. It does not, however, terminate the cuts and will produce 5-point polygons immediately outside the selection if the selection isn't circular (the first selected poly isn't connected to the last). For circular selections, it will create all quads.
Quicksaw double is similar to the regular Quicksaw but cuts two slices instead of one. Like the single version, it does not terminate the cuts and 6-point polygons can be created from the cuts unless the selection is circular.
Quicksaw Double Terminate Inside (I know the name is long but I wanted to be specific - the script is simply labeled "QS Double Term") is basically Quicksaw Double with the additional property that it will terminate the cuts in a way that nicely creates all quads at the ends of your selection if the selection isn't circular and the cuts need to be terminated. See the before and after images to see how this works.
Quicksaw Double Terminate Outside is the same as QuickSaw Double Terminate Inside except it terminates detail to quadrangles immediately outside of your selection instead of inside it.
Some before and after images:
Quicksaw Cut:
Quicksaw Zig-zag Cut:
Quicksaw Circular Cut:
Quicksaw Double Cut:
Quicksaw Double Circular Cut:
Quicksaw Double Terminate Inside Cut:
Quicksaw Double Terminate Outside Cut:
To use quicksaw, add the 4 scripts using Modeler->Plugins->Add Plugins menu. After that, add the scripts to your menu layout using Modeler->Interface->Edit Menu Layout (Alt-10) and add the scripts from the Additional set of commands to the menus you want. Additionally/Alternatively, you can assign the scripts to keys using Modeler->Interface->Edit Keyboard Shortcuts (Alt-F9).
Note that quicksaw will only cut through 4-point polygons. This is due to the inherent drawback of Lightwave's inability to select edges. When you slice between two or more polys, unless they are quadrangular, the script will be uncertain which edges to cut between. Using quads only allows the script to ensure that every set of two polygons to slice between has only one shared edge to slice through. However, most modelerss I know try to model with as many quadrangles as possible since quads subpatch much more predictably than triangles.
Quicksaw Double comes in three different variations based on whether or not the cuts should be terminated and if so, whether they should be terminated inside or outside the selection. I recommend picking the variant you think will be most useful to you and assigning it to a key along with the single Quicksaw for speed. I personally use c for single slice and Shift-C for double terminate inside (I prefer it over double terminate outside).
If you have an older version of Quicksaw, to install the latest version, simply replace all the existing files with the files found in the zip. There's no need to re-add the plugins and re-configure your hotkeys/menus as long as you overwrite the original files. Lightwave will make use of the new scripts immediately upon overwriting the originals.
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