Aligning docking ports properly

[THX1138]

I'd like to align these docking ports but without the special trick that I hope you're about to tell me I can only judge it by eye which isn't satisfactory. Thanks!

[NASAHireMe]

I have no idea what you're building (some monstrous orbiting gas station?) but if you're looking for a way to attach them in orbit, there's always docking port alignment indicator [MOD]

Otherwise I'm not quite sure what your goal is. It should snap into alignment.

[THX1138]

It's not snapping. Maybe I hit a button that accidentally turned off snapping.

(it's a monstrous Class E asteroid ejector that I'm building. It's too big to build in the VAB so I'm forced to assemble it properly in orbit)

[LethalDose]

Try holding down alt (or whatever you've set the 'mod' key to) when placing the port. That should disable surface connections.

[THX1138]

Try holding down alt (or whatever you've set the 'mod' key to) when placing the port. That should disable surface connections.

Unfortunately that only seems to work in the up-down axis.

[Beachernaut]

I've always had the best luck when looking at it from the side and sliding the part I want to attach slowly closer until it snaps to. For example, in you're picture you're looking almost strait on, move so you're 90 degrees to either side looking across the face of the port. Then position the part you want to attach a bit away from the port and slowly bring it towards it. When you get within range the port you're attaching will snap to the one that you're attaching it to.

Kind of hard to explain through text.

[tsotha]

Unfortunately that only seems to work in the up-down axis.

It works from the side, but it's a pain. The easiest thing to do is click on the root part (or shift click anywhere on the ship), use the aswd keys to flip your ship so the docking port is pointing up, then hold down alt while you attach the other port.

Make sure when you point your ship back up it's in the same orientation relative to the VAB. Otherwise 90 degrees won't be to the right when you go to launch.

[match]

I'm sure you tried it, but I've found that rotating the part while pressing the mod key will allow the horizontal node snaps to join the parts in the desired fashion.

Then again, with the complexity of that thingermabob you're building, the editor may be just saying, "OMG you want what!!?"

[Montag]

Sometimes I would assemble to the two in the vertical axis and then move it back to the horizontal. This comes up when I have a mothership with multiple small probes.

[MarvinKitFox]

rotate your view so that the piece you are attaching has its green blob pointing towards you, and the assembly you are attaching it to has its green blob facing *away* from you.

Now also make sure there are no other green blobs anywhere near the alignment.

SNAP.

[Laie]

I'd like to align these docking ports but without the special trick that I hope you're about to tell me I can only judge it by eye which isn't satisfactory. Thanks!

Based on your previous post, I assume that the camera is inside the large kerbodyne tank and you're trying to place two rings of docking ports that will match the outriggers you already have. Is that right?

In that case, eyeballing it is your only hope.

You can make the task a little easier if you disassemble one of your outriggers so that only the part with the docking ports remains. Save that as a subassembly and use it as a template-piece. Also re-root it so that one docking port will be the root part.

I like to use I-Beams as a construction aid, like this:

• attach one ring of docking ports to your tank.
  
• attach one long I-beam to the port
  
• attach your template-piece to the I-beam
  
• attach a short I-Beam to the other port on your template
  
• place another port on your tank, again sticking a short I-beam from it
  
• slip the second port on the tank around until the I-beams match perfectly
  

The I-beams are easy to judge by eyeball. This approach will also provide you with enough wiggle room to place the second port -- it won't constantly snap to something else.