Insert Menu
The insert menu is one my favorite features in Hard Ops in fact I am excited I finally got to this menu and get to explain it.
The insert menu was added by Wazou and Pistiwique who did a phenomenal job with it’s implementation. There’s still things I want to add to it however lets discuss its current state. There are also smart options here that only show up if conditions are met.
The thumbnail when clicked will allow you to select what insert you want to place at the 3d cursor or add to the scene. This is the basic operation but lets talk about the super awesome part that it also offers and that is the ability to place inserts directly on face selected in edit mode. This is normally how I use it.
Here is an example of me taking a cube. Using Circles on the faces and then inserting bolts on the selected faces.
I recommend grouping them in object mode with ctrl + g so you can select them easier with shift + g >> group. Also to scale them individually I used the shortcut ctrl + (.) to set the origin to individual.
More interestingly now that they are grouped I can use the now scaled screw for another insert and the size and grouping will also be the same. This makes it quick to insert bolts of a specific size and group without issue.
So I duplicated (shift + d) a bolt and reset the rotation (alt + r) and then shift selected the main mesh and used circle to make holes. From there instead of inserts I chose obj to selection. This option will take whatever object is selected primarily and place it on each face.
The obj to selection option won’t show up unless. multiple objects are selected.
The other option in the insert menu is for placing basic primitives instead of specific bolts. That’s really all there is to the other options. This is used for cases where you would want to link a particular mesh later.
This option I don’t use as much but it has its uses.
You can also link meshes to keep them all using the same object data as well as unlink in this menu.
From Imagination To Creation 