Part 3: Organizing the model
 
 
 

In this section, you will organize your model by grouping. One group will be the base of the lamp, the other group will be the angled arm and hinge. The groups will be named and managed using the Object Lister. The Object Lister is a schematic view of the objects in your scene. It is very useful for managing the components of a design.

Watch Part 3 of the tutorial.

Using the Object Lister to control visibility

Use the Object Lister to turn off the sketch, making the geometry easier to select.

  1. Choose Windows > Object Lister from the Alias menu.
  2. Choose Show > By Object on the Object Lister menu.

    The objects in your scene are listed.

    The sketch is shown at the top of the list, followed by the cylinders you created.

    NoteThe ‘Persp’ object is the camera used to show the perspective view. This will not be used in this tutorial and can be ignored.
  3. Click the on the Sketch_Assembly name in the Object Lister. A submenu appears. Keep the mouse button held down and move to visible.

    Release the mouse button and the sketch disappears from the screen.

    NoteMake the sketch visible again by selecting the same submenu and choosing Visible.

Grouping the base objects

Individual objects can be grouped so they can be selected with a single click. A group has a single pivot point.

  1. Use Pick > Object from the Alias palette.
  2. Click and drag in the area shown to select all the base components.

    The selected objects are highlighted in white and are also highlighted in the Object Lister.

    Note that each cylinder is showing a different pivot point.

  3. Right-click on the selected objects in the Object Lister and choose Group from the pulldown menu.
    NoteIf you are not using the Object Lister, you can group the selected objects by choosing Edit > Group from the main menu.

    The grouped objects are now shown with a single pivot point at the origin. The separate cylinders in the Object Lister have now been replaced by a single item named node.

  4. Double-click the word node in the Object Lister.

    The word node is highlighted. Type Base to name the group, then press (Windows) or (Mac).

Grouping the arm

Next, group and name the upper arm of the lamp.

  1. Choose Pick > Nothing .
  2. Choose Pick > Object and pick the top two cylinders.

  3. Right-click on the selected objects in the Object Lister and choose Group from the pulldown menu (or choose Edit > Group ).

  4. Rename the new node to Arm.

  5. Choose Pick > Nothing to deselect all the objects.
  6. Choose Layouts > All Windows > All Windows to display all four views, and check that all the objects are in the right locations.

    NoteIf there are any problems, ungroup the models and use Transform > Move and Transform > Scale to adjust the model. Then, group the components again, as before.

Saving your work

Choose File > Save As to save the current scene, and call your file mydesklamp3.