# Guide Snap

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/DMIOgUOiZ2CaABtGfiO8" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

## Overview

1. This tool has two main functions: For **Daz Studio** workflow where the creation of hair does not originate from Maya Xgen and the guides need to be snapped to tubes/cards or curves.
2. Merging curves that goes into a French braid style hair.
3. You can now use a ramp to control the tip/root snapping strength.

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/l-47aAy8KH4>" %}

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## Merge Side Curves into a French Braid

1. Use the Curve To Braids Tool to create center curves.
2. **NOTE: The 'first CV' of Maya curve need to be "sitting on" or "through" the scalp geo, it can not be floating in 3D space.**
3. Select a guide, and shift select a Maya curve and click Snap Guide.
4. Remove excess points and sculpt the guide better to fit with the hair flow.
5. Please be noted that using Undo (Ctrl + Z) will not work due to nature of XGen.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/DGhJxEeVyEFqRnthudPY" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

You can also snap a guide to a Maya curve. Use XGen's add guide function, with the new guide selected, select another curve in scene and click on Snap Guide.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/FE8F41dMlMq4fod1BtjQ" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

## Using The Ramp Control

* When the ramp value is all the way up, it's the 'full' snapping strength. Here we are snapping just the tip of an XGen guide to a Maya curve with a fall off (Tip:1.0, Root:0.0).

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/AuHrHI7jEw08nacxXTu4" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

* When the ramp value is half way up, it uses half of the snapping strength.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/xIM2xxZGe2na2w5wShvI" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

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## Daz Studio Guides Snap to Curves

Another popular usage to this tool is for Daz users, to reconstruct the exported curves from Daz studios into XGen guides.

​As the snapping is still based on Maya curves, you will need to convert all the tubes/cards into Maya curves first. If the geometries are tubes, make sure Extract From is set to “Tubes”. ​Set to “Cards” if they come in as cards. Then select all the tubes/cards (NOT the groups), and click on the ‘Create Center Curve’ button. This will create a curve in the ‘center’ of each tube/card. Please note, this will create a ‘xgt\_guideSnap\_curves’ group and the extracted curve(s) will be put under it.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/qlBBpPDFj9SwPbV0PlU7" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

To snap single guide to curve, select the guide first, and shift select the a curve, then click “Snap Guide”.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/pxVQ2KgmJubriI7gr5TB" alt=""><figcaption><p>Snap a single guide to curve</p></figcaption></figure></div>

To batch snap, select the Xgen description node (Or the subdPatch node), and shift select the curve ‘group’ (‘xgt\_guideSnap\_curves’ ). Click ‘Batch Snap Guide’.

<figure><img src="/files/vzaTY75AP2ufzOVnelAv" alt=""><figcaption><p>Batch snap</p></figcaption></figure>

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