I seem to not understand the logic behind the “Remove symmetry from SubD” tool. It has an option called “Remove existing reflect symmetry”, which does not remove symmetry. In fact, it merges the original model with the symmetry copy, resulting onto creation of a new model that combines both mirrored sides (for example, a car body). Why this option is named in such a confusing way? It basically acts as a “Merge SubD symmetry” tool.
What command should I use to actually remove the symmetry off the original half of my model?
Also, it seems like both ! _Reflect and ! _Reflect _Pause _RemoveExistingSymmetry do exactly the same thing, so the RMB click on the icon is virtually unnecessary in its current implementation.
On a side note, why the reflected half of the model has control points, when I show the control points of the original model? This makes it really difficult to work on a model in a side view.
Updating this post because the question came up again:
The normal way to remove any SubD symmetry (made with _Reflect, _Radiate or a combination of both) is to use the _RemoveSymmetry command.
The remove symmetry option in _Reflect is not intended to just remove a reflection from a SubD. It is there to offer a choice between creating a double reflection or replacing the existing symmetry plane with a new one (i.e. remove the existing symmetry before creating a new one).
The _Reflect command only offers the remove symmetry option when the object: 1. already has an existing symmetry and 2. this symmetry is compatible with adding a second reflection. When there is already a double reflection present, _Reflect would not be able to add a third reflection, so it treats the object as if it had all symmetries removed and offers the normal pick a plane / XAxis / YAxis options.
It also prints a message about what it is about to do in that case:
"
Selected SubD already has a non-compatible symmetry.
Continuing will remove the existing symmetry.
"
I don’t think that it’s a good idea to call the RMB command “Remove symmetry from SubD” (! _Reflect _Pause _RemoveExistingSymmetry), because it does not do what’s the tooltip suggests. Activating this command will not remove the SubD symmetry. Instead, it merges the original object with the symmetry copy into a single object. “Explode” is the command that removes the SubD symmetry.
Also, Rhino returns the following warning in the Command line:
Unknown command: _RemoveExistingSymmetry
Answers were already posted elsewhere but just for completeness here because this thread shows up first in Google results:
This toolbar button has been fixed to use the correct command in newer service releases. Because users can customize the default Rhino toolbars, they are not automatically updated when a new service release is installed. The only way to update all your toolbars is to run the _ToolbarReset command.
The correct command to remove a SubD symmetry is _RemoveSymmetry.
There is no command named _RemoveExistingSymmetry, there is only an option in the _Reflect command named RemoveExistingReflectSymmetry.
Got it. Looks like I will have to reset my toolbars and apply my custom changes again… The funny thing is that the only change to my SubD toolbar was replacing several default Rhino 7 icons with my custom icons. No changes in the LMB/RMB commands, just basic swap of icons.
Why this option is named in such a confusing way? It basically acts as a “Merge SubD symmetry” tool.