MAXON Computer Cinema 4D Tutorials: Selection and Display Filters

Tips & Techniques - Interface

Interface:
Selection and Display Filters

Works with:
R8 Requires:
Version 8+

With R8, workflow has been greatly improved with the addition of the new selection and display tools. Two of these tools are the Selection Filter and Display Filter.

Step 1: The first tool you'll be using is the Selection Filter. There are two ways to get to this feature: through the menu Selection=>Selection Filter, or the button with the arrow and question mark on the toolbar. With your objects all displayed, click the Selection Filter button.

Step 2: As soon as you click the button, there's a list of the different objects filtered for selection. The check next to it means that they can be selected. Uncheck the ones you don't want to be allowed to select.

Step 3: Try it out by clicking on the objects that you unchecked in the Selection Filter menu.

Step 4: To be able to select the objects again in the editor, go back to the Selection Filter and recheck all the objects you want to be able to select.

This is useful when you only want to work with particular objects like Null Objects or Bones, etc., and when you don't want to keep referring back to the Object Manager for selection.

Also available through the Selection Filter menu is the new Selection Tool. This dialog will allow you to quickly select or deselect groups of objects. Used in conjuction with the Attributes Manager this new feature is extremely powerful and speeds up workflow tremendously. You can for example check the box for Bones, selecting all of the Bones in the scene, and change the strength of all of them in the Attributes Manager. Or you can select all the Lights in the scene to change their Brightness or Shadow Type.

You can also use this tool for Tag selection and manipulation. You're now able to easily select every Texture Tag in the scene, or every Polygon Selection Tag on an object.

The other button is the Display Filter, which is just as easy to use as the Selection Filter.

Step 1: All your objects should be in view in the editor view. Again, there are two ways to reach the Display Filter feature: the menu Selection=>Display Filter or the view panel with a question mark button on the toolbar next to the Selection Filter. Click on the Display Filter button.

Step 2: As soon as you click the button, there's a list that looks almost exactly like the Selection Filter list. When you uncheck something from the list (for example, Null), everything under that category disappears from view.

Step 3: To bring the vanished objects back into view, go back to the Display Filter button and recheck the objects you want viewed again.

Unchecking the items on this list will hide all of those types of objects in the display. So you can for example hide all Deformers or Bones with a single click in the Display Filter. This saves the trouble of hiding many objects in the Object Manager.

-Special thanks to Kai Pedersen.