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How do I copy or duplicate vertices / points?

Point information can be copied using the Structure Manager (the second tab behind the Object Manager tab). You can select points in either the Viewport or the Structure Manager itself. To copy points into the same object, simply use the Copy and Paste commands from the Structure Manager menu (Edit / copy / paste). If you need to create or move the points to a new object, you'll have to have another object created so information can be pasted into it. For example, to create a point with the same coordinates as the original but as a separate object, you could create a Spline object (Objects / Spline) and then paste the new point information into the empty Spline object.

The corners of my spline have a harsh angle when extruded.

The spline interpolation can only occur between control points. 

If the harsh edge is at a control point, that point must be changed.

When I create an Instance of an object the Instance is not the same size.

The position, scale and rotation of Instances are independent of the source object but instances are usually created in the same scale as the source object. Most likely you scaled the original object using the Object tool before creating the Instance. The Object tool scales the object axis rather than the geometry, and the Instance is created without axis scaling, making it a different size than the source object.

To resolve this, apply any scaling using the Model tool, or use the Transfer function to copy the scaling to the instance.

How do I use the Chamfer tool?

The Chamfer tool is used to round or bevel the corners of a Spline. To use the Chamfer tool, the Spline must be made editable (not a primitive) and you must be in Points mode. Select the points you wish to round and drag to determine the amount of rounding. You can find the Chamfer tool in the Structure / Edit Spline / Chamfer.

How can I create a tangent off a point of a bezier spline?

With the point selected, choose Soft Interpolation from the Structure / Edit Spline menu.

How do I create a polygon from points?

With the Points tool selected, choose the Create Polygon tool from the Structure menu. Select the points in a circular fashion, working clockwise. To create the polygon, click on the first point to 'close' it. If you work counter-clockwise, the normal will point away from you. To reverse the normal, select the polygon and choose Reverse Normals from the Functions menu.

How do I prevent my Loft NURBS from twisting?

Whenever a loft looks different than you expect, first make sure the splines are ordered sequentially in the Object Manager.

Lofts can twist for several reasons:

1) The start points are not aligned properly. You can use the Set First Point, Move Up Sequence and Move Down Sequence options in the Structure / Edit Spline menu to resolve this issue.

2) One Spline has many more points than the other. The best way to solve this is to add or remove points from the Splines so that they have approximately the same number of points.

3) Splines have opposing directions. If this is the case, you'll notice in Points mode that the spline gradient from yellow to red runs in opposite directions for each spline. To resolve this, select the problem Splines and use the Structure / Edit Spline / Reverse Sequence command.

How do I unhide something that I've hidden?

If you have hidden polygons, go to Selection / Unhide All. If you've hidden an object In the Object Manager, make sure that there are no red dots to the right of your object. If there are, click on them to turn them grey or green. This will make them visible.

Can multiple Splines be lathed with a single LatheNURBs object?

The LatheNURBs object affects only the first Child spline within its hierarchy. To lathe multiple splines, you must create seperate LatheNURBS for each Spline or connect multiple splines to form a single compound spline by selecting them and choosing Functions / Connect.

When extruding text paths or compound paths imported from Adobe Illustrator, the holes aren't punched out

Choosing the Connect Splines option in CINEMA 4D's Illustrator Import Preferences should resolve this issue. 

When using the Group Splines option instead of the Connect Splines option, compound paths used to create the holes in letters will be imported as Child objects of the outside path. To make these compound paths extrude properly, just select the outside path and choose Connect from the Functions menu. A new connected spline will be created and the original spline group can be deleted.

Is there a way to mirror objects or groups without having to make the whole thing editable, then selecting each object's polygons and using the Mirror tool?

Objects and groups can be mirrored using the Symmetry object. Just add the Symmetry object to the Project and place any objects or groups to be mirrored as Child objects of the Symmetry object.

To mirror without creating a Symmetry, you can also enter a scale of -1 for the appropriate axis in the Coordinates Manager.

How do I move the axis of an object without moving the object itself?

In order to move an object's axis without moving the object itself, it must first be made editable (Functions / Make Editable). Switch to the Object Axis tool and move the axis where you like.

When connecting two NURBS objects, resulting object contains no polygons

NURBS surfaces must be converted to polygons via the Make Editable command prior to being connected.

To connect multiple splines within the NURBS, select the splines rather than the NURBS objects and choose the Connect function. This can be used to create more complex shapes, including shapes with holes or cutouts in them.

What is the difference between scaling with the Object tool and the Model tool?

These tools are quite different with regard to scaling. The Object tool will scale the objects axes and not the object itself. The Model tool will scale the actual polygons while maintining the scale of the axes. In general, the model tool should be used when modeling and the object tool when animating.

You may not notice the difference when modeling, but when you begin animating the difference will be quite noticeable.

Objects are not being created at the world origin, e.g when creating objects, they are being generated at X=2, Y=-8, Z=-2 and not at the world origin.

To fix this, go to the Interface tab in Edit / Preferences, and disable the Create New Objects in View Center option.

How do I cleanly split an object?

Simply select the polygons you wish to split and choose Split from the Structure menu. This will create a new object from the selected polygons. You can then delete these polygons from the original object, or delete the entire object if it's no longer needed.

How do I fill in a spline or set of splines without extruding them?

You can accomplish this by using Loft NURBS. Create a Loft NURBS (Objects=>NURBS=>Loft NURBS). Drop all of the splines that you want to form this object into the Loft. Order is important. If the splines are not in the same order in the Object Manager that they are in the Editor Window, the Loft will not function correctly. To correct this, all you have to do is reorder the splines in the Object Manger. NURBS are live so you will see the results in real time.

You can also create a very small extrusion.

How can I extrude a group of polygons without deleting the originals?

There are three options:

1) Duplicate the object before you extrude. After extruding, group the extruded object with the original and select the Connect then the Optimize command.

2) Clone the original polygons using the clone tool. Then extrude the selected polygons and after extruding select all of the polygons and select the Optimize command.

3) Extrude the face then use the Bridge option to connect it, or Create Polygon function.

Why does my Loft NURBS Object look faceted?

Whenever a loft looks different than you expect, first make sure the splines are ordered sequentially in the Object Manager. Your Loft NURBS may require additional subdivision. To edit the Loft NURBS subdivision, select the Loft NURBS object and refer to the Object tab in the Attributes Manager. If the loft shape doesn't appear to match the shape of the profile spline or the profile appears faceted, increase the Mesh Subdivision's U value. If the transition between splines appears faceted, increase the Mesh Subdivision's V value.

How can I ascertain the number of polygons in a Project or object?

In the Object Manager's Objects menu, choose Project Information.

To find the object information, select the object and choose Object Information.

My group of spines is a Child under my Loft NURBS object but nothing is being lofted.

The source splines need to be placed as direct Child objects of the Loft NURBS object. They cannot be grouped.

How do you align a group of objects so they are all in a row without having to position them manually?

The easiest way to do this is to use the Center function (Function / Center). This function centers the axes of an object group based on the size and position of the objects in the group. First, CINEMA 4D makes boundaries enclosing all the objects; it then positions the objects based on the X, Y, and Z axis values entered by the user. These fields refer to the position of the objects inside the boundaries of the box. 

Is there a way to move a Parent object without its Child objects in the Object Manager heirarchy?

No, this is not possible. However, you can move the points of the Parent object without moving the Child object(s). NOTE: This will offset the object from its axis, so be sure this is what you want to do.

Select the Parent object in the Object Manager.

Select the Points tool (Tools palette).

Press Ctrl+A (Win) or Cmd+A (Mac) to select all the points of the Parent object.

Select the Move tool.

Move the object's points by dragging the mouse in the Viewport.

You can now move the Parent without moving the Child objects!

Selected object will not move

Make sure that you're using either the Object or Model tool.

Also, ensure that a Protection tag isn't applied to the object and no expressions are limiting the movement of the object.

Note that if an object has been animated it will return to its previous position when the current frame is changed unless a keyframe is recorded

Can I move the axis of a primitive object?

No, the axis of a primitive object cannot be repositioned, the object must be made editable in order to manipulate the axis.

Can I hide the axis so it doesn't block my selection?

You can hide the axis by going to Display Filter / Axis. Uncheck this and the axis will be hidden. 

Another way is by using a keyboard shortcut Alt+D

You can also adjust the scaling and display of the axis by choosing Configure from the Viewport's Edit menu and adjusting the settings within the Attribute Manager's View tab.

How can I make my imported object editable?

When an OBJ object or any other file format is imported, the model already contains polygonal information and thus has been made editable.

Is there any way in CINEMA to lathe around an axis besides the objects Y-axis?

Currently, there is not. You can, however, rotate the finished lathe to assume a position along any of the axis.

When I use a Polygon Selection tag and choose 'Select and Hide Others,' I can't seem to unhide the polys.

You cannot currently unhide polygons hidden using this option. To do so, go to Selection / Unhide All. The polygons should reappear.

How do I use the Polygon Reduction tool?

Make the Polygon Reduction object a Child of the polygon mesh in the Object Manager. Once you've tweaked the settings, select 'Current State to Object' (Functions / Current State to Object) to produce a final reduced version.

Is there any easy way to delete unused points?

Select all the points in your model (Edit / Select All) Then go to Functions / Optimize. Make sure that the Unused Points check box is enabled and click OK.