Named Selection Sets

Command entry:Main toolbar

(Edit Named Selection Sets) and the Named Selection Sets text field and drop-down list

The Named Selection Sets list allows you to name a selection set and recall the selection for later use. It supports selection sets both at the object level and at sub-object levels. You edit named object-level selection sets with the Named Selections Sets dialog and sub-object level sets with the Edit Named Selections dialog.

A named selection set is removed from the list if all of its objects have been deleted from the scene, or if all of its objects have been removed from the named set in the Named Selections Sets dialog.

Selection set names are case sensitive at both the object level and at sub-object levels.

You can transfer sub-object named selections from one level in the stack to another. The Copy and Paste buttons let you copy named selections from one modifier to another.

While at a specific sub-object level, such as Vertex, you can make selections and name those selections in the Named Selection Sets field of the toolbar. The named sets are specific to both the selection level and the level on the stack.

Keep in mind the following restrictions:

You can transfer named selections only between the same type of sub-object level. In other words, you can transfer named selections from vertex sub-object to another vertex sub-object, but you can't transfer it to face or edge sub-object level.
You must transfer the selection between modifiers that handle like geometry. You can copy and paste between an editable mesh and a mesh select modifier, but you can't copy and paste between a mesh select modifier and an editable spline.
You can copy and paste between two modifiers in two different objects, as long as you're at the same level and both modifiers handle the same type of geometry.
If you change the topology of a mesh after creating a named selection (such as deleting some vertices), the named selections will probably no longer select the same geometry.

Procedures

To create a named selection set:

Select the objects you want to be in a set.
Type the name of the set in the Named Selection Sets field, and then press Enter.
Whenever you want to access the selection, choose its name from the Named Selection Sets drop-down list.

To select a named selection set, do one of the following:

To select a single item, click it in the list.
To select more than one item in the list, select one, and then select others while holding down the Ctrl key.
To deselect single items after you've selected multiple items, hold down the Alt key.

Named Selection Sets Dialog
The Named Selection Sets dialog, available from the Edit menu and the toolbar, is a modeless dialog that lets you create named selection sets or select objects to add to (or remove from) a selection set, directly from the viewport. The dialog also lets you organize your current named selection sets, browse their members, delete or create new sets, or identify which named selection sets a particular object belongs to.
Edit Named Selections Dialog
Edit Named Selections displays the Edit Named Selections dialog, letting you manage named selection sets of sub-objects . Unlike the Named Selection Sets dialog, which applies to objects only, it is a modal dialog, which means that you must close it in order to work in other areas of 3ds Max. Also, you can work only with existing named sub-object selections; you cannot use the dialog to create new selections.

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