Moving Items Together
Doc Acme
Posts: 1,153
This is one of the things that just infuriates me with the DS interface. If you have a group of separate items & you simply want to move them TOGETHER w/o first having to make a null or grouping, etc., you simply select & move. Any other 3D app, that's how they function; it just moves them & keeps them in same realtive positions. No, not DS. It instead moves ALL of the selected items to the same position. Why would someone make that the default action? Makes absolutely no sense.
I know I've accidentally done this so it's possible, but what's the secret handshake or incantation?
Tnx
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Huh, you cannot really select multiple items at the same time and move them using a move tool etc, you can only change their XYZ translation parameters at the same time, which is a value that is relative to origin, not a local point.
I get what youre saying though. Maybe they could have a way for this value to be relative.
Tbh i only ever move things around with the translate tool, not the parameters sliders, so never experience what youre describing.
If you multi-select the individual, top-level, un-parented items and use the viewport Universal or Translation tool, they will all move together as a group (parented items will multiply their translation for each level of nesting if you select them, too). If Consolidated Properties is checked, using the translation dials will set them all to the same selected axis coordinate position (the x, y, or z of the last one you selected). Rotations are different, each one will spin in place, not about some fixed point. For that you would need a group or null parent.
hmmm, i checked 'Secondary Nodes' under the Tool Settings, and now it does that. ^
Here's what's going on...
Trying to arrange some words on earkhams-zworld-lightboard-signs. I've gone ahead & made nulls & groups just to get this basic thing to work. So in this case I've 4 letters selected. Back in the params tab, it shows the (4), but if you try to move them using the panel slider, this is the result:
This sort of thing SHOULD just be a Crtl or Alt modifier, but isn't.
I know i've don't this before & have spent a couple hours so far trying to find what should be a 15 second look up if proper documdntation existed.
I'll look there again but didn't see anything.
REALLY! That's how you have to do such a simple thing?
Along a similar line, is there a way to re-parent multiple items & have the option of doing so in place or not so you DON'T have to do them one at a time to get that option? I've tried various Ctrl & Option combos (which is what they should be) but to luck.
Thanks folks. Things are laggy today so I'm seeing replies staggered.
Activate the translation tool on your toolbar. Then in the tool settings tab, make sure secondary nodes is checked and enabled. That should allow you to move multiple selected items with the manipulator in the viewport. It has to be the translate tool and not the universal tool for the option to show up.
Okay, maybe "top-level" might be overkill. Items at the same level will move together. Either just move the "MEET" group, or select each letter and drag the red axis of the Universal tool.
To parent items to something but keep them from moving to that item, you need to right-click the object you want to parent and select "change parent". The window that pops up lets you select the object that you want to be the parent with the option to parent in place. Now whenever you parent something by dragging, it will always parent in place until you manually change the setting again.
Secondary nodes are covered in the Change Log here http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/change_log_4_9_3_166#4_9_3_16
Reparenting a group of items with Parent In Place on vai drag-and-drop should preserve their position - I just tried it without issues. You are right that the Change Parent dialogue works n only the Primary Selection, though.
A decent help file would have prevented the need for this completely. Just shows exactly why a coherent and comprehensive help file is needed. DS version 4 has been going years. This is long enough for DAZ to have at least made a really good start.
Ah, great I see that now.
But that's the problem You HAVE to do each item one at a time; I've found no means to do a group that way. Unless I'm missing something else.
Well, Harummph!
Feature request?
Ah HA!
If I select multiple items & use the Parameters Tab such as X to group move, they all jumptto same position as show.
IF on the other hand I drag the red handle in the Viewport, they move as I want.
Isn't Covid-19, but that is a bug.
Okay, jumped into that one a little too fast. I set Secondary nodes on and left it like that a long time ago. I just make sure I keep things at the same level instead of having to worry about it every time. I will only use the viewport tools with multiple selections. The Parameter sliders will not always do what you want or expect with more than one node selected.
There is a Secondary nodes setting for each of the individual manipulators (Translate, Rotate, Scale) and one for the Universal tool that can set and combine them independently from the individual tools.
When multiple items are selected (no parents or descendants), Secondary nodes off, only the last selected will be affected by a transform using a tool in the viewport. With Secondary nodes on, each item will be equally affected. Any child elements will follow the affected parent node regardless.
If a node and its and descendants are selected (some or all), with Secondary nodes off, only the last selected node will be affected, and all its descendents (if any) will follow along. (That means if you select a child element last, that node will be transformed, not the parent). With Secondary nodes on, the transform will be applied to the top node in the selection and multiplied on any selected descendants. You can get some interesting effects this way, like progressively increasing sizes or translation or rotation on a set of recursively nested objects, but probably not the way you would want to use Secondary nodes everyday.
No, it's a feature that doesn't work the way you want. I do agree that having multi-parenting work in the Scene pane but not the Viewport, while multi posing works in the Viewport but not the Parameters pane can be confusing and you can certainly make a feature request on these areas but it isn't a bug.