Menu Cells

Select

The Select menu cell commands are available in all modules except Tools. They allow you to select one or more elements, including objects, the camera, lights, etc. When selected, the element is highlighted. Selecting an element is usually the first step in a sequence of manipulations. The Select commands work in conjunction with the Single or Multi menu cell.

Toggle Mode

Allows you to select and deselect one or more objects using the same mouse button. You can also use the space bar Supra key to select and deselect objects with the mouse. This is the easiest method.

Select Mode

Allows you to select one or more elements.

Unselect Mode

Allows you to deselect one or more elements.

All

Selects all elements in the scene. This includes objects, lights, cameras, etc.

Note:: Materials and textures are only selected if a Schematic window in Matter mode is currently displayed. Animation elements are never selected.

Clear

Deselects all selected elements.

Toggle

Inverts the selection status of all elements (selected elements become deselected and vice versa).

To select an object, pick it with the cursor using any mouse button. If you work in Multi mode selection, you can select more than one object by defining a rectangle around the desired objects. Move the mouse to the top-left corner of those objects, hold down the left mouse button, and then drag the mouse to define the selection rectangle. When all desired objects are inside the rectangle, release the mouse button. The objects selected are highlighted.

Space Bar

Toggle mode can also be activated by using the space bar Supra key.

Left Ctrl-Space Bar

Select mode can also be activated by pressing and holding the Left Ctrl-space bar Supra key combination.

Right Ctrl-Space Bar

Deselect mode can also be activated by using the Right Ctrl-space bar Supra key combination.

The advantage of using Supra keys is that the currently activated command remains active after the Select operation.

Set Named Selection

The Select -> Set Named Selection command allows you to select a set of objects, clusters, lights, materials, and/or function curves and group them under a logical name. This allows for quick access to predefined selections. You can also save objects to a User Tag name which is used to create tag files at rendering time (see Render Tag Channels). Tag channel information is used when post processing images.

Elements saved by selection can be selected independently from their hierarchies. Once assigned to a name, SOFTIMAGE 3D creates an icon (a larger rectangle) for the named selection in the Schematic window. In the DopeSheet window, a track appears for it which allows you to manipulate many elements' animation at one time.

To select all the items included in a named selection (or user tag) at once, simply select the named selection twice in the Schematic window. To view its contents, pick the named selection when the Schematic window OPEN/CLOSE option is active.

You can also select the appropriate track in the DopeSheet window and then perform operations on it.

Procedure

1. Select the objects, clusters, lights, materials, or function curves to assign to the name. You can use the Single/Multi commands, select function curves from the Fcurve window, or pick an active cluster (or use any combination).

Note:

If you want to replace the contents of a named selection, you must also select the named selection icon from the Schematic window (use the Multi command).

2. Choose the Select -> Set Named Selection command.

The Set Named Selection dialogue box is displayed.

3. Set the selection parameters as desired.

4. Click Create to create a new named selection.

5. Click Cancel to exit.

Parameters

New Selection's Name

Sets the Selection Icon Name

Selection

Items to be included in the named selection.

Selected Objects allows you to put selected objects into the selection.
Active Clusters allows you to put active clusters into the selection.
Selected Fcurves allows you to put selected function curves into the selection. To have a selection of function curves, choose the FcrvSelect command to put the function curve in the Fcurve window, select the function curves you want to remember, then select this option and the Create option in this dialogue box. This lets you group as many function curves as you want.

To recall the function curves, select the named selection twice: if a function curve for that selection is not in the Fcurve window, it is brought in; if the function curve is already there, it is selected.

Tip:: Remember that if the FcrvSelect -> Clear Mode command is active, each new named selection replaces the current list of function curves with the selection's function curves. If the command is inactive, the function curves are added to the list. You can then quickly select or deselect the function curves by selecting or deselecting the corresponding named selection.

User Tag

Items to be included in a user tag selection. Tagged objects are rendered into a separate file which contains a mask showing all pixels in the image affected by the tagged model. This can is used to create tag files at rendering time (see Render Tag Channels). Tag channel information is used when post processing images.

Create

Creates a named selection and adds the icon to the Schematic window.

Replace

Replaces the contents of the selected named selection with the currently selected items.

Multi-Node

The Select -> Multi-Node command works in conjunction with the Multi menu cell as a toggle that allows you to control branch and tree selection.

Select -> Multi-Node is deselected by default.

When this option is selected and you select a hierarchy, all objects making up a branch or tree are selected as a node (as if you had selected each item individually). This means you can deselect each item individually, as desired. When the option is deselected, objects in the hierarchy are explicitly selected in branch or tree mode, which prevents you from deselecting a node individually.

Procedure

1. Choose the Multi menu cell.

2. Choose the Select -> Multi-Node command.

3. Select a branch or tree.

4. Click any branch or node in the hierarchy to deselect it.

The results are the same as if you had selected all the elements of the branch or tree individually in Multi mode.

SOFTIMAGE 3D Reference - 19 APR 1996