8

Copying an d Pasting Objects 553
Copying and Pasting Objects
In the Track View controller window you can
use the Hierarchy list to copy and paste objects.
This allows you to replace the geometry of one
animated object with the geometry of another
object.Thisissimilartothefunctionalityprovided
by XRef objects and scenes where you have to
option of defining
proxy or stand-in objects.
Copy ing and pasting objects is achieved by
high lighting the Object t rack for the source object,
copying it, then pasting it to the Object track
of the target object. The Object track is found
beneath the Transforms and Modified objects
entries, and appears with parentheses tha t define
the geometry type. For example, Object (Box) or
Object (Editable Mesh) are two label nam es that
might appear on the correct track for object cut
and paste.
Using these two cont ainer types, you can copy
geometry between objects.
To copy one obj ect to other obj ects:
1.
In the Curve Editor controller window, find the
object that you want to copy from.
2. Navigate to the Object track that is beneath
the Transform or Modified Object entries.
ThenamewillbesomethinglikeObject
(PivotDoor) or Object (Editable Mesh), for
example.
Note: Iftheobjectismodified,theorderof
the name of its Object track in the Hierarchy
list is reversed; for example, Object (Sphere)
becomes Sphere (Object).
3. Highlight the object track you wish to copy,
then right-click and choose Copy from the
quad menu.
4. Navigate to the object track for the target object,
high light it, and then r ight-click and choose
Paste. Set options in the Paste dialog, then click
OK.
The object is replaced with the new one in the
viewport as well as in the Hierarchy list of the
controller window.
Wa rn in g: The original target has been completely
replaced by the pasted object. Use
Save Selected
(page 3–404)
on the target object to save a copy of
that object, if you think you’ll need to use it again
sometime.
Herearesomeexamplesofhowyoumightuse
object copy and p aste:
• Paste an Object to another Object to replace
onesimpleobjectwithanother.Forexample,
you animate the transforms of a box object and
want to replace the box with a torus.
• Paste an Object into a Modified Object to
replace a complex, modified object with a
simple st and-in object. For example, you mo del
a complicated vehicle and you want to replace it
withaboxwhileyouanimateitstransforms.Be
sure to save the Modified Object to a file (using
Save Selected (page 3–404) ).
• Paste a Modified O bject into another Modified
Object to replace one complex modified object
w ith another. For example, you animated a
flight of jets and want to replace them with
helicopters.
• Paste a Modified Object into an Obje ct to
replace simple stand-in objects with complex
modified objects. For example, you have
animated a box and now want to replace it with
acomplexmodelofajet.
Copying and Pasting Object Modifiers
You can also copy and paste mo difiers below
the Modified Object container. Copy and paste
modifierstodothefollowing:
• Copy modifiers within the modifier stack of a
single object.