 | Click the Hierarchy Tab
 to show the Hierarchy Panel in its
expanded state.
When a new scene is created it isn't entirely empty. There are a number of components that
are created by default with a new scene including a Point Light, the Ambient Light, two Directional Lights and the Animation Camera.
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| A 3D Canvas scene is made up of a hierarchy of
groups. Groups in 3D Canvas are much like
folders are in Windows. Groups are used to organize a scene, as folders are used to
organize the files on your computer. A group can contain scene components and other
groups
just as a Windows folder can contain files and other folders.
Groups are represented in the hierarchy by
 .
Click on the plus sign next to the Point Light group to expand it. It contains a Point
Light. Lights are represented in the hierarchy by
 .
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| Drag and drop a cube on to your scene.
Now drag and drop a sphere on top of the cube.
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| When an object is dropped on to the scene a new
group is created for that object. The
new group will be created as a child of what it was dropped on.
We dropped the cube on the scene so it became a child of the scene. We dropped the sphere
on the cube so it became a child of the cube.
Expand the new items added to see this parent-child hierarchy.
Objects are represented in the hierarchy by
 . |
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| When you
select and drag a scene component, you are not dragging the component, but
the group to which it belongs. This
results in any groups or components contained within the group being moved also. If you
rotate a component, you are not rotating the object itself, but its
group. This behavior
of groups is very useful since it permits the creation of complex objects made up of many
parts that behave as a single object.
Click on the cube in your scene and drag it. The sphere moves also since it is a child of
the cube. |
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| Click on the sphere and drag it. The cube doesn't move. This allows you to set a
relative position and orientation of the child object from its parent. |
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| Drop another cube onto the scene. Place it next to the first cube. |
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| Groups and components can be moved within the Scene Hierarchy much like you would move
folders and files with Windows Explorer.
In the hierarchy drag the new cube on to the group that contains the first cube.
These cubes are now siblings. If you move one cube in your scene you will move the other.
The behave as a single object.
Note that even though they behave as a single object they are not a single object. You
could still apply an operation to one cube but not the other. If you want them to be a
single object you can merge them using the
 Merge
operation. |
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| Drop a cylinder on to your scene. |
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| In the hierarchy move the group that contains the sphere to the
group that contains the
cylinder.
You have re-parented the sphere. It is now a child of the cylinder. If you move the
cylinder in the scene, the sphere will move. |
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| Click
on the Primary Toolbar to enter wireframe mode. Click on
the cylinder.
When you select an object the group location, represented as a small yellow box, become visible. In addition to the
location indicator being
displayed, an axis is also displayed. This axis shows the orientation of the
group.
If you need to adjust the position of an object within its group
rather than the group itself, you can do so using the Shift tool. This
tool is often used to produce objects that rotate about a point other than the object's
center.
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| To rename a scene component, click on the name of the component. |
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| Clicking on an Object, Light, or Camera in the scene hierarchy results in that item
being selected within the scene. Conversely, clicking on an item within the scene will
select that item in the Hierarchy. |
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| 3D Canvas' drag and drop features apply to the Scene Hierarchy as well as the Scene. If
you want, you can drag and drop a primitive, light, or other object directly on to the
Scene Hierarchy Panel. |
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