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delete tools/objects from screen

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi, new to zbrush and I was working on a character I’ve been making in zbrush the last couple of days, just to get a feel of zbrush.

but sometimes I would hit the wrong hotkey combo and add a clone or duplicate of my character onto the screen. the new character is also the new active char on the screen. I usually go for ctrl-Z when it happens

my question is, How do I get rid of the new char and go back to editing the old one? currently I’ve been just closing zbrush and opening and hope I saved the tool recently. all the logical thoughts are useless when it comes to this. I tried Del, backspace, rightClicking, going to clear screen (which clears the old tool), even alt-click like it was a Zsphere. nothing except restarting will get rif of that clone. and I don’t really know how to explain it simply enough to search for a answer.

so I’ll post a question.

thanks
bubs

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#2

Not sure exactly what you are running into, but I had a similar problem when I was first trying out ZB. I think the key may involve whether you are in EDIT mode or not. You can see this icon on the bar directly above the canvas, to the left of “draw” “move” “scale” etc.

You can toggle EDIT mode by pressing “T”

When in edit mode, you will not be able to delete the current model, even if you press all the keys you listed. You first have to hit “T” to get out of edit mode, which drops the model to the canvas. Then hit Ctrl+N to clear the canvas, or use the Erase Brush or go to Layers–> Clear.

If you are placing models on the canvas and don’t want to lose them, you have to use MARKERS. Or you can place different models within one tool as SUBTOOLS.

The good news is that as you edit your model, the tool is being updated in real time. So if you hit “T” to exit EDIT mode, and wipe the canvas, you can still immediately redraw your model exactly as it last was by clicking and dragging on the canvas. (You can find the tool representing your most recent model in the TOOLS panel, but it is most likely still your selected tool). Ctrl+Z will NOT reselect a dropped model once it is deselected, so that won’t help you I’m afraid.

The bad news is that once you exit EDIT mode and drop your model on the canvas, if you take any other action on the screen, or deselect the dropped model, you will not be able to reselect it and edit it again. It is now part of the 2.5D “painting” that is the canvas. Your only option is to redraw it using the tool that represents the most recent modeling you did.

So what it sounds like is happening is you are hitting some combination of keys/mouse actions that are 1) exiting the EDIT mode and dropping the model on the canvas and 2) immediately drawing the same model again elsewhere on the canvas (because it’s the current tool) this 3) makes it impossible to go back and select / edit the previous model that was dropped (even with Ctrl+Z) because you’ve already taken some other action and deselected it.

At that point, check the EDIT mode for this “clone”, make sure it is OFF (hit “T” to toggle), then hit Ctrl+N and then click and drag on the canvas to redraw your tool where you want it. Now press “T” to go back into EDIT mode and continue working on your model.

Hope that long-winded explanation is useful for you!

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#3

man my net connection is slow! It took forever for the message box to load!

but anyway that sounds like it would be my problem. I’ll check in the morning cause I’m bout to hit the sack right now :smiley:

but what happens is the current model I’m working on get dropped down and when I go to sculpt it some more (not knowing it’s been dropped) I end up drawing a new version of waht I was just editing. so I have two characters on the screen and only one is editable.

but I’ll check your solution in the morning and post if I have any more questions.

Thanks
BuBs

#4

You do not have to return to Draw mode to clear the layer. Pressing Ctrl+N while in Edit mode will clear everything except the currently editable model.

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#5

Oops! Right you are, aurick.

bubs, it looks like you may be hiiting the “T” key by accident while editing. Just keep an eye on the Edit icon on the shelf and remember that you can always restore the most recent version of the model using the tool for it.
Or, if you catch it fast enough, just hit “T” a second time to jump back into edit mode before you draw something else.

#6

My question is similar to this one…

When you start a new document with a new tool and no longer need the tools loaded in the previous session how would you clear the field?

It appears that quiting Z and restarting is the only way to get a clean slate.

How can you do it otherwise?

#7

That is correct. The tools remain throughout a session.

#8

Ok…

Starting a “New Document” from the document window is not the same as starting a new session…? (or a totally new project)

This is fine. Just unconventional.
Every software I have used, a new document resulted in purging everything not saved… don’t recall any exceptions to this. Seems a little extreme to have to quit the program altogether in order to begin work on a new project.

A quit and a restart certainly isn’t hard to do.:wink:

#9

You don’t need to quit, simply press Preferences:Init ZBrush, although this will not clear the Texture and Alpha palettes of loaded files.

To clear just the Tool palette you could use this:

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showpost.php?p=384053&postcount=2

HTH,

#10

Thanks Marcus

I just downloaded this and will give it a try.
Looks like what I was looking for.