Showcase enables you to select
patches of an object and extract them as new objects. In other words,
you can take something that was modeled as a single object and divide
it into separate objects. You can then manipulate these objects
as you would any other object: apply materials, create animations,
and so on.
Some examples of how
you might use this:
- Extract trim from a door as a new object,
then apply a new material, such as brass, to the trim.
- Extract the components of a reclining
chair to create different behaviors for each part, such as the back,
seat, and footrest.
Select and extract patches as objects
You must open the Extract
Patches as New Object dialog box before you can select areas you
want to extract. Click areas to select them. You cannot marquee
select areas for extraction.
To select patches (parts
of an object) to extract as objects:
- In Authoring mode, select Edit
> Fix Object Patches > Extract Patches As New Object.
The Extract Patches as
New Object dialog box opens. All objects in the scene turn a shade
of purple. This indicates they can be selected for extraction.
- In the scene, click the parts of the
object you want to extract. Continue clicking on other parts in
the viewport to add them to your selection.
The selected patches
are displayed in gray.
- To deselect patches, click them again.
To deselect all items you have selected, click Deselect
All in the dialog box.
- To toggle between the current viewport
and the way it was before entering extraction mode, deselect and
select Show selected patches in
the dialog box.
- To cancel without extracting any objects,
click Cancel or
press Esc.
To extract the selected
patches:
- When you have selected all the patches
you want to extract, click the Extract as New Object(s) button
in the dialog box.
The patches are extracted
as one or more new objects, and are selected in the viewport.
Working with the new objects
When you extract, be
aware of the following:
- You can undo an extraction by selecting Edit
> Undo. You will have to do this twice: once
to undo selection of the new object, and once more to undo the extraction.
- An extracted object inherits the name
of its originating object. In the Organizer, the new object appears
as a sibling of its originating object.
- If you select multiple parts of a single
object, the parts are extracted together as one new object.
- If you extract multiple selections across
several objects, they are extracted as separate objects.