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Selecting obj elements


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I am a relative newbie to VW and am learning slowly but surely. I am working on a project that involves using sandbags, and I have downloaded a kit from Turbosquid with a bunch of different possibilities on it. I can open the obj file, but cannot figure out how to separate out the pieces I want to work with. Any help much appreciated!

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Can you post a screenshot of what it looks like?

 

My guess is that all of the sandbags came in as a single Mesh object. You'll want to separate it into individual Meshes. First, select the Mesh and go to Modify<Convert<Convert to Group. Then ungroup the resulting group, leaving you with a whole bunch of 3D Polygons. Then select each individual sandbag and go to Modify<Convert<Convert to Mesh. (Note the keyboard shortcut if you have to do this numerous times).

 

You'll also want to double check that the imported objects are oriented correctly on the X,Y,Z axes (sometimes things come in laying on their side). Also check their scale (fix using Modify<Scale Objects if needed), and that the bottom of each object is on the ground plane rather than floating in the air.

 

You may also choose to may each object into a Symbol if you'll have multiple instances in your project file.

 

Let us know if this works or if you have additional questions.

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So it looks like what you have to start with is a Group, as seen at the top of the Object Info Palette. Always look here to see what "type" of object you have.

 

With this group selected, go to Modify<Ungroup, which will break up the group into its component parts. What are you left with after you ungroup? If there are more groups, keep on ungrouping till you get down to the level you want.

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When I do that it takes me to this screen that says I have a 3D Polygon. I cannot select the objects in this, and when I pass the cursor over the bags, a black section of mesh is highlighted and the cursor becomes a cross. It does not select anything however. Maybe I should try and find a tutorial about meshes!

Screen Shot 2018-04-19 at 10.41.10 AM.jpg

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My guess is the 3D polygon you have selected is the large 'floor' shape, which you should probably just delete. Perhaps it's interfering with your ability to select the other objects?

 

You might find Edit<Invert Selection to be useful, as it will unselect the current object and select everything that isn't currently selected. Another tip is to use Edit<Select All to see how many discrete objects there are total. And double-tap "Esc" to deselect everything.

 

A mesh is essentially a container of 3D polygons, but unlike a regular group, it actually joins the polygons into a single object, plus the vertices of the 3D polygons stick together when modified.

 

Post more screenshots if there are still issues, or feel free to attach the file itself and I can take a closer look.

Edited by Andy Broomell
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