Working with external files as components

* @thinsoldier * Ok, I understand this solution and way. The question are:

1. As I understand the object in collection should be hiden as patern istance - right (as good pratice)?

• in other way any movement of this as part with other (duplicate? cloned? - how to say?) moving all from cursor (should I care about? Eg. hide the "3dCross"?)

2. If I hiding object (cube) and leave on some place as collection, and in next work It will exist on place where working with other new type object (eg. cylinder) where is some builded object, and want operate on the duplicated/cloned as instances.. - what then? I should put the main instance of collection on some special layer for this type object/collection or in some special scene?

3. How to solve situation that adding collections have "3dCross" related with cursor in case I don't wat watching this, and not sure is always usefull and made "lines" (in case some object can have similar lines as some edge)?

* @thinsoldier * BTW thahk you for Your effort here, it's helping to understand the pratice. What about external animation? Linked too? Any plans for this? I'm strong familiar with Adobe Animation where can put object that have internal animation with many asembled instances that have own timelines and controled by Action Script. And this object can be copied/import from other file to main scene and used.

* @thinsoldier * OK! I watched all, and I did not know that I can link Collections in this way. HVR..

1. When we have collections with objects, looks we can't move whole collection? It's impossible to do join on this to have one. This made not intuitive. Or I don't know how..

--a) Eg. my intuition talking me to click main collection to get range selection on whole objects and move this, but this not working in this way, it's moving object and reacting for whole collection and modify by disintegrating --b) Then discovering that object as cloned instance to collection can be included in case we have 3 colections and 1 object as patern (example with cubes and 4 part), that is 4part. We must hide 1 object as patern and made 4 collection. Ok.. working, but not good for intuition. --c) We can't select this collections from viewport.. as one "object" to move. We can select the main patern object, but in my test working only y axe (up, dn movement) as integraded movements, and x,z desintegrating whole collection --d) WHEN WE HAVE LINKED COLLECTION the we can move whole as object, but modifiers can't be aplied to this type - no option for this like for cube. Or I don't know how.. (regarding link 8 youtube.com/watch )

2. Following 2th movie.. we can duplicate collection, but regarding point 1 we can move this as one again.. Or I don't know how..

3. We don't know easy what is linked from external (especialy) or append (can be recognized on viewport due to aditional elements and option), but we don't see this on outliner in first look.. Or I don't know how..

4. Linked files are not "refreshed" in main file after changes part files.

a) eg. part.blend is some cube crossed like on 1st movie, I. linked to main.blend, ok see collectionX II. changing part.blend around collectionX eg. size, and linking again then no changes on main.blend, doing rever then other linked are changed but last disaper.. (looks like bug)

5. Regrding movie 5 and point 4, the F3>>input "reload library", not working, and "refresh" as Alt+F5 to..

a) blender should discover changes on part.blend in outliner and give option to refres some collections if I want refresh/reload (not all, maybe other user working on remote file and should waiting for final work)

6. When I try reproduce steps like 6th link

youtube.com/watch a) doing this: -- Object -- Move to Collection --Move to New Collection ..then whole shape of object builded from paterns disaper, even objects exist in "Super New Collection" postimg.cc/gallery/yzmwRhj b) maybe it's bug, or I doing something in wrong way

8 . I watched time ago tis move (8th) about grouping etc. but this not working in relation to point 1. From collection I can't do object (ctr+p), and join is not available. Event I trying do reference to other objet for collections, move whole collection is not available.

* @ManBlender * "GROUP" in other 3d programs is just "PARENTING". They create an INVISIBLE parent object (with its own xyz and rotation and scale) that is represented in the outliner as a folder or something similar and you can click the folder and then move all of the children as a single unit.

Blender does not do the invisible automatic grouping.

You have to make an object (usually an "EMPTY") and make it the parent of the child objects. GROUPING / PARENTING is for objects in 3d space relationship.

COLLECTIONS ARE NOT FOR GROUPING/PARENTING/MOVING in 3d space relationship

The first problem is that a single object can exist in INFINITE MULTIPLE COLLECTIONS.

For example I have a lightbulb for christmas tree that is ouside of the house and animates blinking on-off and is color blue.

I have all of these collections: lights, small-lights, lights-on-curves, objects-arrayed-on-curves, animated-materials, animated-lights, outside-objects, front-yard-objects, back-yard-objects

My ONE blinking blue christmas lights is in ALL of those collections AT THE SAME TIME. Parenting/grouping/3d-space-heirarchy does not work with that.

"Revert" means to close the file without saving and then open the file again. You don't have to revert to refresh the linked files. You can save your current changes, close the file, and then open it again.

The outliner has multiple sub-modes. One of them is "blender file" and in that mode at the very bottom of the outliner is listed all external linked files. I think you can right click on them and refresh from there.

The origin of a COLLECTION INSTANCE is relative to the world origin by default. If I am making a window on a house and I create it 30m away from the world origin and then I turn it into a collection and then I put the 3d Cursor on the opposite side of the house (also 30m away from the world origin) and I try to place an INSTANCE of the window collection in that location, its origin will be in the correct locatin but the window geometry will be 60m away from the world origin (30m away from where I wanted it to be). To fix: put the 3d cursor somewhere on the original window geometry, select any object in the window collection, go to properties sidebar > object properties tab > collections > then click the arrow menu and choose "set offset from cursor". This sets the origin point the collection INSTANCES will use. I could not find any videos that explain this.

A collection instance is only an "Empty" object set to [properties sidebar > object properties tab > INSTANCING > Collection] a chosen collection.

You can place "Empty" objects all over the place and go back later and make them instance any collection you choose.

* @thinsoldier * The most importat is outliner blender.community/c/rightclickselect/Fghbbc/

* @thinsoldier * You are right, I don't understad many things after changes in new blender and it's hard to understand from docs. Thx for support here. I'll try do much more experiments, but habits from oter like sketchup doing disonanses.

* @thinsoldier * It's sugestion for use "dynamically" external file as .blend (or .blendpart) in other .blend Due that we have problem with Collection and operate on this trying watch in future. Just simple issue.. when we doing "Join" it's hard to recognize parts and modify this or "UnJoin". We need some more advanced hierarchy system with object around parenting, join, linked, etc. to se this object as gouped in outline as real not virtual/hiden where we not see this in GUI.

* @ManBlender * Let's try something crazy. Post your reply in your preferred language and I'll try to translate it myself via Google.

The parts I think I understand is that you are trying to do things via the "Join" command which then makes it hard to manage the different parts as individual objects.

COLLECTION INSTANCES allow you to create a single ASSET/COMPONENT out of multiple objects. You can create collections in a .blend file and LINK them as an INSTANCE into a different .blend file.

* @thinsoldier * Right, due that Collection is not a merged object (for viewport) with other, then trying join object to operate on whole as one instance. Sketchup have this solved in this way as "Component". I'm not talking that Collection instance are wrong or bad, in some case maybe is usefull (especialy around python coding etc. - or other, not sure), but if this not exist as solid object that have inclued other then this made difficultes for user, hard work, and hard to manage this all.

I understand the philopshy for instaces as external files, but in my opinion this should be as object, and blender should allow to create for us abstract object (empty dimension that can have other dimensions - axes xyz) like collection to clone (no is just dir on outliner), duplicate as depth linked/parented.

Watch this situation. After join, in outliner we have option to unlink, but this made 2 object as disapear (Why?). In sketchup is "Explode", that made something like ctr+z/reverse on this join/component (after this operation can move separated on modify as single on any of them). In Join we should see under abstract object 2 joined objects, eg. 2 Cubes as Cube.01, Cube.01 as the main Componet as Cubes.

The thread going far from external files : )

Translator can help here, coz we usig very abstratctional definition related with GUI/UX. In my opinion blender complicated this to much in case that object need own hiererchy of objects (as tree of objects) as unique group and if for replication then component. Like in sketchup, preaty, simple, easy to understand and pratice - 10years child using this, can't for her explain blender.

* @thinsoldier * You can se example here: developer.blender.org/T86052