Editing a group in 3ds Max primarily involves accessing and modifying the individual objects that are part of that group. You don't typically edit the group object itself directly as you would a standard mesh.
Understanding Group Editing in 3ds Max
When objects are grouped in 3ds Max, they behave as a single unit for transformations (move, rotate, scale). To modify the properties or position of the individual objects within the group, you need to temporarily break the group's unified behavior without permanently dissolving it.
The most common way to do this is by opening the group.
Steps to Edit Objects Within a Group
To modify the individual elements inside a group:
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Select the Group: Click on the group in your viewport or Scene Explorer.
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Open the Group: Go to the Group menu in the main menu bar and select Open.
- Visual Indication: According to the reference, when you open the group, you might see a visual change, such as the objects within the group changing color (e.g., from white to pink). This visual cue indicates that you now have access to the individual elements inside the group.
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Edit Individual Objects: Once the group is open, you can select and modify the objects within it just as you would if they were not grouped. You can move, rotate, scale them, apply modifiers, change parameters, etc.
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Close the Group: After you have finished editing the objects, it's important to close the group to restore its unified behavior. Go back to the Group menu and select Close.
- The objects will revert to their original display color (e.g., back to white) and will once again behave as a single unit when selected.
Other Group Operations
While 'Open' is for temporary editing, other operations exist:
- Ungroup: Permanently dissolves the group. The objects are no longer linked as a group.
- Explode: Similar to Ungroup but recursively ungroups any nested groups within the selected group.
Using the Open command is the standard procedure for making temporary edits to the contents of a group while keeping the group structure intact. The visual change mentioned in the reference confirms that opening the group gives you the necessary access to its individual components.
