{"id":1822,"date":"2019-09-11T07:24:02","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T06:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/?p=1822"},"modified":"2023-09-07T15:54:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T14:54:56","slug":"join-meshes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/join-meshes\/","title":{"rendered":"Join Mesh Objects"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a08ef8f0d5a9\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a08ef8f0d5a9\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/join-meshes\/#join-objects\" >Join Objects<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/join-meshes\/#separate-joined-objects\" >Separate Joined Objects<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/join-meshes\/#un-join-objects\" >Un-join Objects<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>Depending on the context, attaching multiple mesh Objects may be required to further editing a selection. In Blender 2.8+\/2.9+ and newer versions this can be done using <b>Join<\/b>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>Design note<\/b>: as an alternative to Join it&#8217;s now possible to edit multiple objects at the same time using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/multi-object-editing\/\">multi-object editing<\/a> &#8211; each object remains distinct but can be edited as part of a broader group selection.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/join\/multi-object-edit.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 98.5%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/join\/multi-object-edit.jpg\" alt=\"Two separate objects being edited\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Multi-object editing allows separate objects to be edited at the same time negating the need to always join meshes together for simultaneous modification.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"join-objects\"><\/span>Join Objects<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Like most aspects of Blender, Join is selection based. To attach multiple objects together first they must be selected &#8211; in <b>Object Mode<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/left-click-select\/\">select<\/a> an initial object then <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Shift<\/span> + L\/R to select and include additional items. Once a collection of mesh objects is available, from the <b>Object<\/b> menu top-left of the 3D View, select <b>Join<\/b> from the options available &#8211; <b><i>Object \u00bb Join<\/i><\/b>. Alternatively press <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Ctrl<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">J<\/span>). The selected items will join together into a single, editable mesh (<b>Edit Mode<\/b>\/<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Tab<\/span>).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>Design note<\/b>: generally speaking Join is only applicable to mesh objects and <b>Object Mode<\/b>. To join elements together in <b>Edit Mode<\/b>, e.g. joining vertices together, use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/merge\/\">Merge<\/a> (or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/remove-doubles\/\">Remove Doubles<\/a>).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/join\/object-menu.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/join\/object-menu.jpg\" alt=\"Joining Objects together in Blender 2.8\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Attaching separate objects into a single editable mesh using <b>Join<\/b> &#8211; select the objects to be joined (in Object Mode) then use <b>Object \u00bb Join<\/b> to complete.<\/i><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"separate-joined-objects\"><\/span>Separate Joined Objects<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Once objects are joined together the result is a single unified object which typically means they cannot be easily re-separated &#8211; beyond a certain point Undo (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Ctrl<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Z<\/span>) will be no longer practical. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/separate\/\">Separation<\/a> in this instance would require manual selection of parts belonging to each object joined. To do this make a selection and click <b>Object \u00bb Separate \u00bb [option]<\/b> (or press <span class=\"shortcutkey\">P<\/span>).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>Design note<\/b>: making gross selections can be done using the various <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/select\/\">select tools<\/a> (loop, lasso, circle, box), or where suitably assigned, Material selection &#8211; in <b>Material<\/b> properties, select the appropriate material and click the Select button.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/join\/material-selection.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 98.5%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/join\/material-selection.jpg\" alt=\"Selection based on Material assignment\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>If objects are joined together and need to be re-separated this can be done manually selecting each element belonging to formerly separate objects, or using Material assignment selection.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/join\/separate-mesh.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 98.5%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/join\/separate-mesh.jpg\" alt=\"Separating mesh selections\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Separating joined meshes typically requires selecting elements formerly belonging to each object prior to being attached and then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/separate\/\">separating<\/a> them as units.<\/i><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"un-join-objects\"><\/span>Un-join Objects<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Once objects have been joined they generally cannot be un-joined or separated in a way that would otherwise undo the operation as a tool function because they have become a single unified mesh. In other words, unless the objects joined together had been identified in some manner beforehand Blender has no way to differentiate one section from another.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>Design note<\/b>: in this context <b>Undo\/Redo<\/b>, <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Ctrl<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Z<\/span>\/<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Ctrl<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Shift<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Z<\/span>, may not suffice, especially where further editing has taken place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To address this problem, whilst it may not always be practical, before joining objects together give each a unique <b>Material<\/b> and\/or Vertex Group assignment to each element, when joined they will then be identifiable and independently selectable and detachable using <b>Separate<\/b> &#8211; <b><i>Mesh \u00bb Separate \u00bb [option]<\/i><\/b> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">P<\/span>), if required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,230],"tags":[571,572,346,570,573,294,423,427],"class_list":["post-1822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blender","category-tutorials","tag-attach","tag-connect","tag-edit-mode","tag-join","tag-material-selection","tag-meshes","tag-object-mode","tag-selection"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1822"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5136,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822\/revisions\/5136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}