Organizing Objects

Effective organization of objects is crucial for managing your assets efficiently. Each asset in Foxel contains an object hierarchy, allowing you to create complex scenes and manage relationships between different objects seamlessly.

Understanding Object Hierarchy

The object hierarchy is a tree-like structure that represents the relationships between objects within an asset. Each asset can contain multiple objects, and these objects can have child objects nested under them. This hierarchy enables better organization and manipulation of objects, as actions performed on a parent object can affect all its child objects.

Benefits of Object Hierarchy

• Structured Organization: The hierarchy helps you keep your workspace organized by grouping related objects together. This makes it easier to locate and manage objects within your asset.
• Transformations: When you apply transformations (such as translation, rotation, or scaling) to a parent object, all child objects inherit these transformations. This feature is particularly useful for creating complex models where multiple components need to move together.
• Visibility Control: You can easily show or hide entire branches of the hierarchy, allowing you to focus on specific parts of your scene without distraction.

Navigating the Object Hierarchy

To explore the object hierarchy, utilize the Hierarchy Panel found in the right sidebar.

• You can expand or collapse objects by clicking the arrow next to each object's name, which will display or hide any child objects associated with it.
• To view the properties of a specific object, simply select it from the hierarchy. The details will be displayed in the Inspector Panel.
• Use the eye icon to toggle the visibility of an object and all its child objects.

Creating Hierarchies

To add a new child object:

1. Select the desired parent object within the hierarchy.
2. Navigate to Object > Create or click the Create Object button located at the bottom of the Hierarchy Panel
3. Choose the type of object you wish to create from the submenu.

The new object will be added as a child of the selected parent.

Managing Hierarchies

To reposition an object within the hierarchy:

1. Select the objects you wish to move.
2. Click and drag the selected objects. A visual guide will indicate where the object will be placed. If no line appears, the object will be parented to the highlighted object; otherwise, it will be positioned above or below it.
3. Release the mouse button to finalize the placement.

Best Practices for Organizing Objects

• Use Descriptive Names: Give objects meaningful names that reflect their purpose or content. This will make it easier to identify them in the hierarchy.
• Group Related Objects: Create parent objects to group related child objects together. This will help maintain a clean and organized hierarchy.
• Regularly Review the Hierarchy: Periodically check your object hierarchy to ensure it remains organized as you add or modify objects.