Subd and named selections for rapid iteration

check out this short video about how to use named selections with subd models to create super fast variations-

here is the model to play with bike frame_named selections.3dm (154.6 KB)

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once selected, how do you deselect only this area? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Ctrl+ click the faces you want to deselect with the face selection filter active.

One at a time? Easy in this case that you have 3-5 faces sure, but a non starter when you have 15+

I think we need a quick way to unselect subobjects from existing selection, just like we have with objects. If thereā€™s a way Iā€™m completely missing it.

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I was about to start a conversation about that. Is there a way to window deselect sub-objects?

I see it useful in SubD and I really need it also in other cases.
Cleaning some meshes of 3d scanned data is a good case for this - for example selecting a bush and deleting it. When I window select a bunch of mesh faces, most of the time I select e.g. 15 faces too much on one side and I want to window unselect them.

but I am also interested in deselecting borders, points and specific faces and it seems that all the selection is canceled, this seems to be an error

I recall some discussion of having a ā€˜single keyā€™ (not Ctrl+Alt+Windows+motherā€™s maiden name+name of your first petā€¦) approach to swap immediately between vertex/edge/face/mesh mode. Similar to Modoā€™s 1-2-3-4 keys on the keyboard. I think T-splines has this too? Every other SubD modeling software has it. I canā€™t imagine a decent workflow without this, for as long as this level of manual sub object selection is still needed.

Is something like this already working in V7? Or in the works for development?

G

You can alias all the selection filters and assign them any key you want.

Mine are verts =vv
Face =ff
Edge= ee
None= nn

You could just as easily assign them to 1234- asdf or whatever you want.

That work for you?

Hi Kyle,

Aliases require and ā€˜enterā€™ or ā€˜space are after you press the alias key, correct? If thatā€™s the case is not working for me, at all. I need a single stroke. Iā€™ll test it tomorrow. Also I have no idea what to put to each filter, with some trial and error I could figure it out. But thereā€™s currently no easy way to share any toolbars with my team since we are using WIP builds that need toolbar resets, but thatā€™s a whole different can of worms.

We need what the rest of the industry is doing: have the development team do the work for this. Not us the users.

G

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Hi gustavo
Another option for now [until this is done by the Mcneel team] is if you use a device like a multi button mouse, [a 3DConnestion variety, a Wacom, or another device that has several configurable buttons.]
Assign an acrobatic keystroke combination that for sure wonā€™t be used directly. for example. I set : Command+Option+Control+Shift+E as Edge Filter to an intuos button. and then it is just one click.

HTH
Akash

Thanks Akash for pointing out the absolute UX failure thatā€™s the current disregard and deprioritization of basic SubD workflows.

I donā€™t use obscure hardware, except for my 17ā€ Precision laptop. And thatā€™s hard enough to make it portable. No interest in Wacom or 3D connections products. They will only slow me down, and are not portable.

I just one 1-key shortcuts. I expect McNeel to provide a solution. Ideally really soon. Itā€™s time.

Gustavo

Use the keyboard shortcuts instead of aliases. they work without the enter. Especially the f keys. I reassigned my f9 thru 12 to selection filtersā€¦ >>poof<< one key and done.

Hi Kyle, maybe not intentionally, but what you are saying is misleadingly incorrect.

So let me please clarify for you and everyone else:

ā€˜especiallyā€™, is the key word here. Since the only single key options to map to keyboard are:

  • Function Keys (F1 through F12, and all those have very useful assignment already)
  • Home key
  • End key
  • Tab key

So, we do not have a way to assign selection filters to keys like 1-2-3-4-5 or transform shortcuts to keys like q-w-e-r-t.

This is a major limitation. It need to be resolved IMO.

G

thatā€™s fair and you are correct only f keys are accessible unless you have a fancy keyboard or mouse with programmable buttons.
Sadly that is a hard limitation of the current rhinosphere. Because we are command based, everything we do has to be scriptable, otherwise it canā€™t be accessed in GH or by 3rd party plugins. If we deviate from that we break alllll sorts of stuff for people who rely on it.

The best we could offer is aliases with a single key and a right click mouse to enter.

tab is currently used to toggle between box/smoth mode

Iā€™d Iā€™d push back and say not all the f keys have useful assignments. :wink: Or at least not as useful as selection filters for me.

transform is done via gumball all in one shot, so Iā€™d argue the 1234 keys for transforms are obsolete.

thoughts?

WHY? There must be something in Rhino that fundamentally breaks when you do single key input? Otherwise it does not make sense this level of coordinated avoidance for this request.

Is this a technical limitation?

A support problem? (someone hit 1 when focus was on viewport, they meant to type one somewhere and now they turned on vertex selection filter)

How come Tsplines could do it without any problems? (or at least no problems that I can recall)

I made a _GumbalwaysOnMyWay video to show you why for old people like me, the ā€˜obsoleteā€™ is still the better way to work. I look forward to work with something better. Not seeing it here, not even close.

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tried paint selections for stuff like that? 2 seconds of swiping vs, loooots of clickingā€¦

also has a select thru yes/ no option to avoid the back faces being picked.

(psā€¦ im older than you areā€¦ canā€™t claim that as an excuse yetā€¦) :slight_smile:

also, do you have an example where this is done better elsewhere? Iā€™m genuinely curious as to what we are measuring by.

This is as far as I know basically a binary question/solution. As Rhino is command line based, any keyboard input - even one letter - might be the start of a typed command or option. If that is a given, then one letter/number key hot keys are just out - itā€™s not possible to interpret the keyboard input any other way.

So, as I said, the solution is binary - you either have the use of the command lineā€¦ or you donā€™t. There could be for example a function tied to a hotkey to divert the command lineā€™s reception of keystrokes from the keyboard. In that mode, single keys could then be programmed to toggle pick modes, selection filters etc.

The downside of this is that you would still need to continuously toggle back and forth between command line keyboard input and hotkey input modes. If you always launch your commands via icons or the menu and never type anything on the command line, this would be fine I guess.

That was IIRC how the T-Splines hotkey mode workedā€¦ maybe Iā€™m wrong about that though.

It sounds like you have the right knows somethere deep in the code, to do better selection but I, a user, and one that itā€™s quite a bit familiar with Rhino, have no idea where that stuff is.

This is all I can get to when trying paint selection:

No idea where select-though setting is.