CompuServe Thread

#Hide/Unhide Alphabetical

6 messages in this thread
#186071From: Dennis FenskeAug 19, 1995 11:03 PM
I recently completed a 2400 frame animation. It had 394 objects in it. I named objects I would be "hiding" and "unhiding" frequently in the 3D Editor to have names beginning with "Z" or "Y". This way I could use Display/Hide/By Name and find objects very easily. Unhide was also easy. When I moved over to the Keyframer, I discovered (using Display/Hide/By Name) that the objects were no longer listed in alphabetical order, but were listed in the order they were created. The most recently created objects were at the end of the list. This forced me to search through the 394 objects to find many of the objects to hide, and unhide. I am guessing that this is an oversight, and the 3D Editor and the Key Framer should work the same. Can this be fixed in any future releases of 3DS, and expecially in MAX? Thanks, Dennis
#186073From: Paul Sanford [LVL5]Aug 19, 1995 11:35 PM
Hi Dennis, It is frustrating, isn't it. In the future you can make good use of the tag function within most object selector boxes. If you begin your project with good naming organization, you can just enter the prefix you want. Maybe "y" and "z" would have been specific enough for you. I tend to make use of 2 or 3 digit prefixes, such as "grg_arm L". Then I can hide/unhide (and many other functions) all grg_ objects at once. You can also go back later and organize object names in the KF into the groupings you want by linking them to a common dummy. Paul S.
#186102From: Dennis FenskeAug 20, 1995 9:08 AM
Paul; >> use of the tag function I totally forgot about it. I just tried it, and it would have worked even better than manually selecting as I was doing. Thanks for the reminder! I guess I should have asked sooner(for my sake), but I figured the Yost group was very busy getting ready for Siggraph, and I didn't want to bother them at that time. Thanks again, 🙂 Dennis
#186134From: Paul Sanford [LVL5]Aug 20, 1995 2:42 PM
You're welcome! Paul S.
#186116From: Dan O'LearyAug 20, 1995 11:56 AM
>> You can also go back later and organize object names in the KF into the groupings you want by linking them to a common dummy. << Good idea! – Dan / n-Space, Inc.
#186133From: Paul Sanford [LVL5]Aug 20, 1995 2:42 PM
Dan, Dummies are super cool! Actually, I often use them as hide/unhide markers of their own too, even easier than the tag function. Paul S.