Selecting objects in the outliner?

Hi folks,

Could anyone confirm if this is correct?:

If you want to select an item in the outliner, you need to do ctrl + click.

Now, if you want to select a different item, you first need to do ctrl + click to turn off the first selection.

Now, with nothing selected, you can do ctrl + click on the new object?

Or is there an easier way, without having to first turn off the first selection, before making the new selection?

Thanks!

Hi,

BLENDER 2.81.a

To select in the Outliner ==> A click in the Outliner (without CTRL) is enough to select an element.

If you click on another element, the first is deactivated and the new selection is active.

If you want to select SEVERAL elements, you use CTRL + Click.

Outliner

Thanks…

Hmmmm, nope, that doesn’t work for me, see the vid below, i’m frantically clicking on the various objects!

Also on 2.81a over here!

:thinking: It’s strange…

With BLENDER 2.81a (WIN 10), this is what the Outliner Keymap looks like …

If that doesn’t work, try installing a clean version in a new directory:

  • Download a version of BLENDER (ZIP version)
  • Unzip the files in a new directory.
  • In the folder “2.81” add a folder that you name “config”

Here a link which explains the innovations in the Outliner of version 2.81…
10 New or hidden features in Blenders outliner

Thanks, so i changed some stuff in the keymap config and now it’s working! (i just set all “select” mappings to left mouse click)

Just a couple more questions: in the outliner, when i click on an item, then click on another one, the previous one stays sort of lightly selected (light blue instead of unselected grey), what is the meaning / functionality of this?

And in the keymap, you have four “select” check boxes. Is this just because Blender wants to give you a total of four different key command mappings to achieve the same thing? (if so, why?)

Like most other actions in Blender, Outliner’s ‘Select’ is an operator that takes various options, so different key combos can all map to the same operator and just set the options. So single selection and range selection can all map to the same operator.
In the default ‘Blender’ keymap, left click is bound to ‘Select’ with ‘Extend’ explicitly unchecked and ‘Deselect on Nothing’ explicitly checked, meaning that it will only select one item and deselect everything else (no ‘Extend’), and deselect when clicked on empty space.
When the checkbox is gray (not set explicitly), the operator may use whatever option was used last through a different invocation (and so behave inconsistently). So if you want specific behavior for specific mapping, you need to explicitly set the options in that mapping.

Hi,

Stan_Pancakes has perfectly described the different possibilities of the SELECT of the Outliner :+1:

A picture describes (sometimes) better than a thousand words …

** This solution also exists: Box select with click and drag.

Do not hesitate to read the information contained in the various links of my previous posts … :wink:

If you have issues with this, the easiest thing is to go to File > Defaults > Load Factory Settings.

This will erase your custom keymap and go back to the default, in which case all these sorts of things should work properly. If you want to keep using a custom keymap, you will have to add new features and capabilities yourself.

The easiest way to do this, is if you open up the keymaps as a text file so you can copy/paste between them, or you can do it via the keymap editor in Preferences.

Thanks, i turned of “extend” and now i don’t have that annoying “stays lightly selected after selecting something else” behaviour.

Because i’m a beginner with Blender (and also new to VFX in general) i really can’t process Stan’s explanation, could someone give me a very simple, “toy” example of why you’d need the “stays lightly selected after selecting something else” (extend) behaviour?

How useful is selecting more than one object at a time? Very. Transforming multiple objects. Linking objects together. Changing properties en-masse. Moving objects between collections. Parenting or snapping a bunch of objects to one. Baking (from n selected to one active object). Deleting.

Working in a busy scene it’s easier to select objects via Outliner than hunting for objects in 3D viewport. Extend is what’s by default mapped to ctrl+click, and ‘Extend Range’ - to shift+click (refer to @FreeAccess’s screenshot above). The idea was to have the outliner selection behave similar to a file browser, where typically ctrl adds to selection one item at a time, and shift adds a range.

Note that, at least at the moment, Extend Range does not change the active object, while Extend does. The developer who made the 2.81 Outliner had some reasons to do it that way, although it’s not very intuitive. This may or may not change in the future.

Hi guys,

I feel like i must be the stupidest person alive, but i simply can’t get the Outliner to act in the most basic way that i would expect any other file browser to do.

What i want it this:

  • click selects
  • ctrl + click makes a new selection (while keeping the old selection)
  • click on an unselected item (without ctrl) will select that new one and deselect the rest.
  • ctrl + click on an already selected item will unselect only that item.

Could someone pleeeeeese tell me what settings i need to make to achieve this most basic of functionality?

in the keymap, the Outliner has two different tabs for “select”, i really don’t understand why it needs two and what settings i need to make to achieve the above described functionality!

I also don’t understand why there’s no “deselect” option anywhere, only a “deselect on nothing”. Is it not possible to deselect an item after you’ve selected it?

And also the number of “select” tabs in the keymap changes. A few minutes there was only one, now all of a sudden there are three tabs, it makes no sense to me!

Please help, this is driving me crazy, i almost feel like giving up on Blender if such a basic thing is so hard!

Maybe someone could send me a keymap config file with it set up correctly so i can study the correct settings? - i’ve got 10 euros via paypal here for the person who can help me set this up so it repeatedly will give me the above described behaviour!

This is how the default keymap is set up. It behaves exactly like that. @FreeAccess has already shown you the screenshot. I’m really not sure why would you be having issues with it, unless you somehow ruined it manually, in which case @William’s advice from above should help.

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Thanks, i re-installed Blender and it’s almost working properly, but still requires two shift clicks to deselect an item.

I think they should add a “select” option to the Keymap which is called “use standard behaviour” and hide the rest of the options in an advanced tab, because i really think 99.82% of people will just want it to work like any standard browser, and would never need to tweak it!

Hi,

CAUTION: Reinstalling BLENDER does not mean that you are returning to a “blank” version …

Except in the case where you have installed a “portable” version of BLENDER, the configuration files remain the same as long as you are on the same major version of Blender.

To avoid any conflict with the old configuration files, I “advise” you to make a “portable” installation of Blender . . . :wink: as I said in one of my previous post:
“Portable” version

Thanks, do you mean you suggest one ONLY uses a portable version of Blender?

If so, that will still work with the custom hotkeys i’ve set up, right?!

You have two choices:

  • Reset the keymap to the default, and enjoy the fact that the Outliner works correctly. You could then re-add your custom keys
  • Keep your custom keymap and then port over the Outliner keymap to your keymap
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