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Say I have a set of objects parented to another object, for the sake of this example say they are parented to an empty. If I have the empty selected, is there a way of quickly selecting all the objects parented to it?

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1 Answer 1

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Method 1:

Select the parent object, then Shift G > Children.

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Note : To keep the parent selected, immediately after calling the operator, press F9 or click on the foldout in the lower-left of the 3D viewport and check "Extend". This setting will be remembered the next time you call the operator, until you close Blender.

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Or, if you want to select all children at the same level, you can first select one child, then choose Slibings in the same menu.

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Method 2:

Go to Outliner, Ctrl LMB on the parent object icon, which will select all children and itself, then Shift LMB on it again to deselect the parent.

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Method 3:

First Select parent, then press ] to select object in the next level. Shift + ] one or more times will select more levels.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for the answer. This is almost what I am looking for, but ideally I'd like to keep the parent selected (I usually want to do this to duplicate the whole set of objects). Method 2 (though I'd prefer a keyboard shortcut as I don't usually have the outliner open) looks good, but it doesn't work for me, it just thinks I want to rename the object. $\endgroup$
    – PGmath
    Dec 1, 2015 at 14:50
  • $\begingroup$ @PGmath for method 1, aftert operation, you can press F6 to toggle Extend. Luckily Blender will remember your change there, which means you don't have to toggle it on every time. For method 2, it does work, but you really need to hit on the icon, NOT on the name. $\endgroup$
    – Leon Cheung
    Dec 1, 2015 at 14:55
  • $\begingroup$ @LeonCheung Got it, thanks! I also just figured out that I can use the 3rd method and press shift the first time and it will work as I want too. $\endgroup$
    – PGmath
    Dec 1, 2015 at 14:58
  • $\begingroup$ Yep, more tricks are hiding in User Preferences > Input Check it out. :) $\endgroup$
    – Leon Cheung
    Dec 1, 2015 at 15:00
  • $\begingroup$ How dare you write an answer on parenting? </joke> Very nice answer, UVed. $\endgroup$
    – David
    Dec 9, 2015 at 23:08

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