Functions
Last updated
Last updated
The Preselect add-on is primarily made to be a support tool for the Random Flow add-on. This makes it easier to select groups of faces in flat areas of the mesh to use the randomization operators.
There are no menus but you can engage with the add-on using the hotkeys for the 3 select/deselect functionality.
The add-on can work both in edit and object mode and will briefly display drawing overlays in object mode to show you what faces are selected or deselected.
Read this article completely as the different nuances of the add-on is spread over the different commands listed below.
Use the latest official Blender version as this add-on is not guaranteed to work with older versions and will have no back version support.
Can be activated using the Shift F hotkey.
This functionality copies Blender's native Linked Flat Faces operator. It selects all faces connected to the currently selected face(s) and expands the selection until it encounters an edge where a sharpness threshold will determine if the selection should continue.
In the case of the add-on, it utilizes ray tracing to determine the active face by detecting a face located beneath the mouse cursor. Once acquired, the script uses this face as the active face.
In Figure 1, the mesh is shown in edit mode with no selection then in object mode where the add-on is used using the Shift F hotkey. A brief drawing overlay was shown with the wireframes in blue showing you what faces were selected whereupon the mesh is switched back to edit mode to display the selection.
Just a reminder, the add-on works for both edit and object mode. The example shown in Figure 1 is just to demo the add-on functionality in object mode.
This operator has two redo properties you can access by using the F9 hotkey right after using one of the add-on's functionality.
Please, for the love of God, if you are new to Blender or the 3D world in general read this first for information about the redo panels in Blender before telling me I've put this weakness in the add-ons, I can transform it to a modifier or I can turn it to a geonode: Redo Panels
The Sharpness property lets you modify the sharpness angle threshold so the selection can expand into sharper face angles in edges.
The Use Xray toggle let's you see the selected/deselected faces overlay from behind the mesh.
If the face detected under the mouse cursor is selected, the operation deselects the faces instead using the hotkey algorithm and will show you a red overlay as shown in Figure 3.
The deselect behaviour is the same for all hotkey activated functionality in the add-on.
Can be activated using the Ctrl Shift F hotkey.
This functionality copies the native Linked operator in Blender. It selects all faces connected to the active face or selected faces and compared to Linked Flat Faces is only delimited by boundary or terminator edges. This makes it easier to select individual face groups or islands in the mesh.
Deselecting should run the same way as stated earlier. If the face obtained underneath the mouse cursor is selected, then the function will deselect the faces using its specific algorithm.
The drawing overlay in object mode will show your currently selected faces in blue and deselected faces in red.
It's only redo panel property is Use Xray which lets see the drawing overlays from behind the mesh.
Can be activated using the Ctrl Shift Alt F hotkey.
This copies the Select Similar: Coplanar command in Blender that can be accessed using the Shift G hotkey. It selects all the faces that lie on the same plane as the active face.
You can use the F9 hotkey to show the redo panel right after using this functionality to show the redo properties.
Changing the threshold value will change the width of the plane where the faces can be selected.
Can be activated using the Ctrl Shift A hotkey.
This deselects all the faces in the mesh. You do not to hover the mouse cursor over any faces for this one. It will just simple deselect all the faces in the active object.
Using this functionality first before selecting anything using the earlier select operators ensures that there are no stray or unwanted selections when you finally use Random Flow.
Can be activated using the Ctrl Shift Alt A hotkey.
This is the inverse of the above operator and will select every face in the mesh instead.
The raytracing used to detect faces under the mouse will only work on the active mesh and not on others.
You can use this add-on even if don't have Random Flow but remember that it is primarily created for this add-on so do not send me reports about it not working on other stuff that it is not supposed to be working with.
It will be updated constantly and the updates will be in my Patreon where you have to be a free member to have access to this post.
