Making Instance and Reference Controllers and Objects Unique

You can convert instanced and referenced objects into unique objects by clicking Make Controller Unique on the Track View toolbar or by choosing Make Unique on the Controller menu. The result of clicking Make Unique depends on how the object was instanced or referenced, and which object container you select in the Hierarchy list.

When you make an instance or reference object, you cause the data flow to branch on its way from the master object to two or more named objects.

In Track View, these branches usually occur at Modified Object containers and sometimes at the base Object container.
In Track View, instances and references are displayed in bold face.
In the modifier stack, these branches display as a horizontal line, called a derived object line.

For descriptions of object data flow and instance objects, see Understanding Object Data Flow.

You can make an object unique by selecting a Modified Object or an Object container and clicking Make Unique on the Track View toolbar. Your result depends on whether or not the data flow branches at the selected container.

If the data flow does not branch anywhere below the selected container, nothing happens.
If the data flow does branch at or below the selected container, the data flow above the branch is split from the current data flow as a unique object. The data flow from the selected container to the master object is copied and attached to the new unique object.

Making a Selection of Multiple Instances Unique

If you select multiple objects that are instances of each other, or share instanced modifiers, you can choose how to make them unique. After you click Make Unique, the Make Unique dialog appears, with the question, “Do you want to make the selected items unique with respect to each other?”

Click Yes to make each object in the selection completely unique.
Click No to leave the objects in the selection as instances, but to make them unique from other objects not in the selection.