Blender: How do I unpack a linked instance to make changes to it?

Question

Sorry, but I'm not too sure what the process is called. I basically created an exterior scene full of linked instances by going to:

File>Link>Selecting Blend File>Collections>Selecting the Collection

So basically I'm linking collections from another blend file that I use as a library of models I'm using for this project.

I copied that scene which will be for an interior shot. Now what I want to do is tell Blender, to unpack one or two of those linked collections back into the current scene, so I can edit them for that scene only.

I need to make changes to the glass shader of the windows for example, and delete parts of the land that isn't going to be seen out the window.

How do I do that?

I've tried a few things. First thought, was to right click the object and select "unlink" but that deletes the object from the scene. Looking online, I thought I had it figured out and that the process was to make it local. So I've tried going to Object>Relations>Make Local, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

Any help is appreciated! I've been working on this project for so long, didn't realize it would get so tricky!

Thanks!

Answer 1

If you have imported a linked collection, you need first to select it and CtrlA > Make Instances Real, then select one of its objects and in the header menu > Object > Relations > Make Local > Object & Data.