Make proxy with modifiers

Question

I often use Link to import objects from external .blend files into my scenes. However, in order to position a linked object within a scene, it's obviously necessary to use Make Proxy in order to position the linked object(s). Unfortunately, creating a proxy object does not create copies of any modifiers that were on the source object, meaning that I then have to manually recreate them on the linked object to match the source object.

Is there some way to get Make Proxy to copy modifiers to the newly created proxy?

UPDATE: It appears that Duplicate Linked is what I want (unless anyone can tell me why this doesn't do what it appears to do). I want to ensure that the created object is as "shallow" a copy as possible; any changes to mesh data or materials made in the source .blend file should be reflected in the linking .blend.

Answer 1

Have you tried the Make Local operator?

Select your object(s) then press L > Make Local > Selected Objects should keep object data linked to the original but allow changing modifiers locally.

From Blender 2.8+ forward these can be found under Object > Relations > Make local... from there pick either Selected Objects, Selected Objects and Data, Selected Objects, Data and Materials, or All.

Answer 2

With characters that have modifiers and armatures for posing, you keep all of the parts in a group with the armature as the main parent and then once linked, you make the armature the proxy - and the modifiers should be there for the mesh objects.

Answer 3

From some testing I just did, I believe you can do what you want (and what I want too) by placing the original object in a group (a group of one) in the file that object was modeled in and making the link in the other file to that group and not to the object. The version of the object in the destination file has all the modifiers applied, cannot be edited in the destination file, but can be re-positioned with no need to do a Make Proxy. Changes to the object made in the original file reflect in the destination file.

In my testing I had some Boolean Modifiers on the original object and this solution does mean that the objects associated with those Booleans end up in the destination file too (also non-modifiable). You can't delete them in the destination file without losing those Booleans but you can tuck them away out of sight (I am just moving them to a layer reserved for them).