Figure 18: The "Object List" is an excellent tool to organize and keep track of your objects (similar to files on your disk!). Also, when picking objects in the 3D viewer becomes difficult due to overcrowding, you can use the "Object List". Make sure you give meaningful names to objects as soon as you create them.
"Object List" is used to list and find objects by name. This tool can be used to "grab" objects for selection. This can be very handy in densely packed scenes where it would be difficult to "reach through" to a particular object or group of objects. You may also use it to select and rename objects as you build a complex scene.
Object Names
Select an object by clicking on its name in this object list. Deselect by clicking on it again. You can deselect an object by clicking on its highlighted name. Once an object is selected using "Object List" it will be treated as if it had been selected in the active window.
Objects are listed in hierarchical order. For example, if you've grouped objects "Cube001" and "Sphere001" into a group called "Group001", the objects will be listed as follows:
o Object001
v Group001
o Cube001
o Sphere001
The "v" in front of the group object "Group001" signifies that you want the children of the group listed as well. Double-clicking on "Group001" will turn off display of the children and the tag in front of the "Group001" object will indicate a ">" as shown below:
o Object001
> Group001
Ez3d uses the following types of symbols in front of object names:
o A child object
> A grouped object whose children have not been listed
v A grouped object whose children have been listed below
h A hidden object
List Menu
Arrange
Chronological
Objects in the list are arranged in a chronological order -- objects created earlier are listed above objects that were created later.
Alphabetical
Ez3d will list objects in an alphabetical order.
Display
All Children
Ez3d will list the children of all grouped objects in the scene.
No Children
Ez3d will not list the children of any grouped objects in the scene.
Hidden Objects
If this option is on, Ez3d will list objects that have been hidden using the "Edit - Hide" selection. Hidden objects have an "h" symbol in front in the object list to signify that they have been hidden.
Search
Case sensitive
If you turn on "case sensitive" search, Ez3d will perform upper and lower case sensitive search when you use the "Search for" option to search an object by name.
Match Pattern
If this is turned on, and you type in a search name, and click on "Ok", then Ez3d will select all objects that match the given name. If this option is turned off, then Ez3d will select all objects that don't match the pattern.
Select Parent
When you select this option with a child object selected, Ez3d will traverse up the object hierarchy and select the parent of the object selected.
Object Menu
Remove
When you have an object selected, you can remove it by clicking on the "Remove" button. This is equivalent to choosing "Edit - Delete".
Rename...
When you have an object selected, you can rename it by clicking on the "Rename..." button. This will bring up the "Object Rename" interface. Enter a new name for the object in the "New Name" list field and click on "Ok". Click on "Cancel" if you don't want to change the object's name.
Hint: Use "Rename..." to give meaningful names to your objects (which usually have default names like "Potter001"). As your project becomes more complex, it might help to give meaningful names to objects. Each modeling tool (Like "Potter", "3D Text", etc.) also provide an interface for setting/ changing object names. It is recommended that you give names to objects as soon as they are created.
Search for
Use this option to search for objects by name. Ez3d will try to match all object names that contain the search string entered. For example, if you have objects "Cube001", "Cube002" and "Sphere001", entering "Cube" and clicking on "Ok" will select objects "Cube001" and "Cube002".
