Alignment Orientation

The Alignment Orientation panel (VIEW3D_PT_alignment_orientation) creates a custom Blender transform orientation from two points recorded with the 3D cursor. It is the recommended way to derive a working axis system from survey markers (e.g. wall corners, total-station prisms, photogrammetric targets) without manually entering Euler angles.

This page is the parameter and operator reference for the panel.

Source: utils/alignment_orientation_tool.py. Sidebar tab: 3DSC. Default state: collapsed (DEFAULT_CLOSED).

Workflow inputs

The panel stores two points as scene properties:

alignment_point_1 (Point 1)

First reference point. Captured from the current 3D cursor position when Record is pressed.

alignment_point_2 (Point 2)

Second reference point. Captured the same way.

Both points are displayed in the panel as (x, y, z) formatted to two decimals once recorded.

Orientation parameters

Only visible after both points have been recorded.

Name

Name assigned to the custom transform orientation and to the optional reference empty object. Default D.x.x_alignment (follows the Extended Matrix naming convention for stratigraphic alignments).

Type — alignment strategy

  • XYZ from Points — Point 1 → Point 2 defines the X axis; Y is orthogonal in the horizontal plane; Z is derived assuming X and Y are on the same level.

  • XY axis from Points - Z not modified — Point 1 is the origin, Point 2 defines the X direction, Z remains the global Z axis. (Default — the safer choice when the survey is approximately level.)

Keep Object

When enabled (default), the empty used to anchor the orientation is left in the scene so it can be re-used or re-named later. When disabled, the empty is created only as a scratchpad and removed at the end.

Operators

view3d.record_cursor_location — Record

Stores the current 3D cursor location into the scene property referenced by location_prop (either alignment_point_1 or alignment_point_2).

view3d.clear_alignment_points — Clear

Resets both recorded points to (0, 0, 0).

view3d.create_alignment_orientation — Create Orientation

Creates the named custom transform orientation (visible in the Blender header Transformation Orientations dropdown) and the optional reference object.

Typical workflow

  1. Position the 3D cursor on the first reference target (Shift + Right click or Snap → Cursor to Selected).

  2. Press Record next to Point 1.

  3. Move the cursor to the second target and press Record next to Point 2.

  4. Choose Type and confirm Name.

  5. Press Create Orientation. The new orientation is now selectable in the Blender transform header.

Remember

The created orientation is a standard Blender custom orientation — it persists with the blend file and can be applied to any subsequent transform operation.