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74 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects
Exit Isolation Mode—Click to end isolation, close
thedialog,andunhidetherestofthescene.
The views are restored to what they showed before
you chose Isolate Selection.
Int roduction to S ub-Object
Selection
This is a general introduction to sub-object
selection. For specific information, see Editable
Mesh (page 1–996), Editable Patch (page 1–968),
Editable Poly (page 1–1022),andEditable Spline
(page 1–289).
When you model an object, often you edit a
portion of its underlying geometry, such as
a set of its faces or vert ices. Or when you are
working with a model, you may want to apply
mapping coordinates to a portion of its underlying
geometry. Use the methods described in this topic
to make sub-object selections.
Left: A selection of face sub-objects
Middle: A selection of edge sub-objects
Right: A selection of vertex sub-objects
You can access sub-object geometry through a
variety of methods. The most common technique
is to convert an object into "editable" geometry
such as a mesh, spline, pa tch, NURBS, or poly
object. These object types let you select a nd edit
geometry at the sub-object level.
If you have a primitive object and want to retain
control of its creation parameters, you can apply
amodifiersuchasEdit Mesh (page 1–634), Edit
Spline (page 1–680), Edit Patch (page 1–638),or
Mesh Select (page 1–719).
Spline Lines and NURBS curves and surfaces are
the exception: you can edit their sub-objects as
soon as you create these kinds of objects.
You choose a sub-object level in the stack
display. Click the plus sign th at appears next to
thenameofanobjectthathassub-objects.This
expands the hierarchy, showing the available
sub-object levels. Click a level to choose it. The
name of the sub-object level highlig hts in yellow,
and the icon for t hat sub-object level appears to
therightofbothitsnameandthenameofthe
top-level object.
Stack display shows the sub-object hierarchy, letting you
choose a sub-object level.
Editing at the Sub-Object Level
When you edit an object at the sub-object level,
you can select only components at that level, such