In Lightwave, I can pick on any surface in the vpr viewport, and it will select corresponding surface to edit.
I thought this is something that should be easy to do the same in blender (2,83)
But I can´t find any info on it, and Ivé be trying to select with various ctrl right click, left click and so one, but nothing picks and marks the surface in the properties materials panel.
So is there a way to pick the surface by clicking on cycles viewport on some surface, or isn´t there?
I’m unsure if there is a difference in the terminology between Blender and Lightwave, but in the 3D Viewport when Rendered display mode is turned on and Cycles is selected as the renderer, you should be able to select objects with the same selection method you would use with Wireframe or Solid mode turned on.
Now, if you mean in the Render Window after pressing F12, then no.
I’m guessing that the “surface” term you used is synonymous with object (although, I know there are objects within Blender that aren’t surfaces). But if you meant something different, please let us know.
Surface selection…not object or segment selection.
correct, I am talking about cycles viewport interactive renderer and no F12.
But it´s not about selecting objects or segments in objects, when you click on the objects surface it should highlight and select the surface you clicked on in the properties panel for surfaces, in lightwave when you click on a face of a daz studio object, it will open up the surface editor and have the surface selected, if you click on the lips or torso, it will select those respective surfaces…in blender that doesnt work, you can get some sort of object selection, but it fails to properly select the exact surface, so if I click on lips, which is a seperate surface on the daz object, you may just get eyelashes or face surface selected.
You may argue, why not use surface editor? that is alright if your surfaces is all tuned up initially…but not if not, and not very efficient if you have varios many surfaces you need to know exactly what is assigned to various segments.
Theres a reason Lightwave had this implemenented and I use it daily everytime .
You don´t have to scroll down a list and read the names to select any surface or guess what surface truly is assigned once you start tweaking the surfaces.
But blender doesn´t seem capable of doing this., there are so many former lightwave users here that has been using blender longer than me, they should know about this.
So, in Blender terms, this would be picking the material that’s under mouse pointer and automatically activating it in material properties and shader editor? I.e. what the guy was making here?
Exactly,
thanks for the link, will have to check those scripts if there´s something easy to install and working for 2.83.
Just thought it was hardcoded in the development already:)
If you select a face, in edit mode (face selection mode naturally), it will automatically select the material assigned to that face. (I think by “surface”, “surface editor” you’re talking about materials?)
Is that what you’re after?
No. It should work across objects. Picking faces in edit mode won’t cut it 
It can work across objects, if you’re in edit mode for a lot of different objects. (Note that if you’ve got deforming modifiers on them, you’d want to enable cage display.)
No 
You don’t want to enable anything. It should work between meshes, curves, text… (can’t multi-edit that anyway). You don’t want to see wireframe and selection overlay. None of that. Just click and see the material settings.
In LightWave, “Surface” is equivalent to Blender’s “Material”.
LW “Polygon” = B “Face”
This is only apparent if the Shader window is open? Or maybe in the Properties/Material tab?
It happens regardless of what’s visible. But sure, if you don’t have anything to indicate what material is currently selected, then no, I guess it won’t be immediately apparent that Blender’s doing that.
No…it´s not, just click on the viewport on any object and it should select and highlight the corresponding surface, Lightwave does this very well.
Ugh, it SORTA works in Object Mode, but definitely not in an actually useful way.
I can definitely get it to switch Materials to ones exclusive to the Object, but not particularly the one Material under the cursor. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. I think it’s whatever last material you had current when last that Object was being edited.
IOW, it’s useless, and really a piece of crap. It’s all about the incredibly rigid modal structure of Blender.
Exactly like that.
I think a Blender developer would say “Duhh! You’re not in Edit mode, so offff courrrrrsseee you can’t see Face data!!! G’ahhh!”.
I think when the asset browser actually lands, adding such functionality would be just a natural extension. Blender is getting more visual. Granted, in a roundabout bureaucratic sort of way, but it’s getting there.