Linking and proxy help

I’ve been having pretty good success with linking on this project so far but have hit a snag.

I’ve build some trees. Each tree is a separate blend file, with foliage bunches linked in from a separate blend, proxified and duplicated a few times.

The trunk and the foliage are then grouped. All paths are relative btw.

If I then try to link in the tree group into my scenery .blend all is well, though normally at this stage I would have to make a proxy, and I don’t for some reason with the linked-in tree. I can just translate/scale the group straight away.

Then I have a separate blend for each shot that uses that scenery, linking in the land, clouds, skydome etc. When I try to link the tree instance (if that’s the right word) from the scenery .blend, it comes in ok, but this time won’t transform etc. When I try to proxify the tree then (ctrl-alt-p) I get a menu of all the subobjects: trunk, foliage. I can proxify each of them separately but not the tree as a whole…

You’re probably just as confused as I am now right?

Can anyone help?

If the tree you are trying to proxy is a group of separate objects, then yes, you have to proxy each part individually. Easier then is to have a version that you can join in one object and then only have to proxy as one object.

Thanks Craig, Yeah I figured something like that. I’ve just made a copy with the group joined into one. This linking stuff messes with my mind :-S