Select by material doesn't work in a group with groups unlocked.

[johnalexander1571]

Select by material doesn't work in a group with groups unlocked. Not sure if it is supposed to work in that case or not.

[Justin Montoya]

Hey John -  

I see this too, but I admit, I've never run into this as an problem.  Let me try to explain my rationale here.

While I use object groups extensively (ctrl+G), I never lock them, and in fact I never even use the Objects palette at all anymore.  I now just use Layers for managing everything, which often contain many different object groups within them.  I'll also use Layer groups for managing that hierarchy better as needed.  By separating things this way, I find it much easier to select, isolate, and modify my various object groups.  I'll use shortcut keys or the right click context menu to quickly go through the layers and/or object groups.  IMHO, this could be improved though, a la SketchUp style selection where you simply keep single clicking to go deeper into a group hierarchy.   

Anyway, at first I thought the Objects palette was brilliant, as it automatically generates.  But as my projects get more complex, there's simply way too many Objects for me to manage efficiently.  Simply managing grouped objects with the right click context menus and creating Layers for organization of things seems much easier to me without 100s or 1000s of Objects to go through in the palette. 

I know everyone's workflow and project types vary, but have you tried ignoring the Objects palette entirely and just try using Layers with grouped objects like this?

[Des]

What Justin said 100%.

 

[johnalexander1571]

Oh yes, ok I agree, no I don't use the Objects palette either only the Layers palette. I hadn't thought of layer groups. I do find myself using the right click select all with same material or on same layer often to get selections done. I'll try adding Layer groups to my workflow.

Thanks and cheers,

John A

 

 

[Justin Montoya]

Gotcha,  I thought you meant you were locking Groups using the Objects palette.  I guess when you lock Layers, the objects and object groups also become unselectable this way.  I reckon that's a good thing though, and encourages a more tidy organization of modeling Layering.

[Jaakko]

I also rely only to the Layers palette. It is absolutely essential tool to organize my work. This is how my pallette looks normally.