I’mcurious if there’s a particular application for the "Align Cursor to Surface option. I’ve played around with it both moving geometry and polypainting with and without alpha, and I can’t see a difference between the two states.
I’d be very grateful if someone can explain what’s the purpose of this feature and point out instances where it might be applied. Thanks!
Nancy,
It’s just a display thing, it doesn’t affect sculpting. Load a sphere and you’ll see the difference. With the Align option on, the cursor will show side on when over the edge of the sphere; with the option off, it will remain in the screen plane.
HTH,
Thanks for clearing that up for me Marcus. 
I do see the difference in the behavior of the brush on the screen. I wrongly assumed it had an effect on the way the brush works.
You’re welcome. I think that the option is there for legacy reasons, as in early versions of ZBrush the cursor did not change.