2023.1.116.1 Grouping Tool

Overview

The Grouping Tool is used to group meshes together. Combining the meshes can improve performance and helps manage scenes with many objects.

The current scene should be saved in order to use the Grouping Tool.

This video shows an example of grouping.

The Grouping tool can be found under Utilities > Scene/Hierarchy > Grouping Tool

This will open the following window:

The GroupMeshScript can be found by selecting any group in the hierarchy or scene view.

The following inspector appears:

The image below shows the complete feature layout of the Grouping Tool.

Create New Group

Create New Group
Group Name	The name of the group.
Group Selection	Creates a new group with all selected objects. Button is only enabled when there is an active selection in the scene/hierarchy.
Manage Group Contents
Loaded Group	Displays the currently loaded group. Another GroupMeshScript can be dragged in the field to manage its contents.
Add Selected Objects To Group	Adds selected objects to the group. Button is only enabled when there is an active selection in the scene/hierarchy.
Remove Selected Objects From Group	Removes selected objects from the group. Button is only enabled when there is an active selection in the scene/hierarchy.
Hide Group	Hides the loaded group.

The image below shows the complete feature layout of the GroupMeshScript inspector.

GroupMeshScript

GroupMeshScript
Directory path	Directory path for this groups data.
File name	Name for the file saved to the Directory path.
Vertex limit	Indicates the vertex limit for the closed group. Can improve performance if 16 bit is used on smaller groups. The following option are available: 16 bit 32 bit
Name of the packed mesh	Name used for the mesh when the group is closed.
Close/open group	Closes/opens the group.
Disband group	Restores the objects to their original position in the hierarchy and removes the group.
Reapply serialized data	Re-imports the stored data from the group from an external source.

Creating new groups:

The group will be made below the highest possible shared parent

The objects that are now empty because they lost their meshes below them will be removed

Modify existing groups:

Drag a group from the Hierarchy into the GroupMeshScript field or use the circle button and select a group from the list.

Closing, opening and disbanding groups:

In GroupMeshScript, press Close Group to pack the meshes into 1 mesh. Now the group can no longer be edited. It also generate a new Mesh In: Assets>Resources>Meshes>Group
To edit a closed group you have to open it again. Press Open Group. Now the group is ready to be edited again.
When you no longer need a group but want all the objects back to their original positions in the hierarchy press Disband Group

When reopening a group it does not remove the old closed group mesh. When closing it again creates a new mesh.