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Clone

Creates a copy, instance, or reference of the selected object(s).

Reference

The Clone Options dialog appears when you choose Clone from the Edit menu or when you hold down the SHIFT key when transforming an object.

Object

Copy: Places a copy of the selected object at the specified position.

Instance: Places an instance of the selected object at the specified position.

Reference: Places a reference of the selected object at the specified position.

Controller

Makes either copies or instances of the original objects’ transform controllers. This option is only active when the selection you’re cloning includes two or more hierarchically linked objects.

Copy: Places a copy of the selected object's transform controllers at the specified position.

Instance: Places an instance of the selected object's transform controllers at the specified position.

The following option only appears when you SHIFT-clone an object.

Number of Copies: Specifies the number of cloned objects. If you SHIFT-move an object and specify two copies, the second copy will be offset from the first copy by the same distance that the first copy is offset from the original.

For rotate, two copies of the rotated object are created, with the second one rotated twice as far as the first. For scale, two copies of the scaled object appear, with the second copy twice (or half) the size of the first copy.

Name

Displays the name of the cloned object.

How To

To SHIFT-Clone an object

  1. Click a Move, Rotate, or Scale button and select the object or set you want to clone.

    2. You can select a single object, multiple objects, a group, or a sub-object.

  2. Hold down the SHIFT key and drag the selection to apply the transform.

    3. As you drag, a clone is created and selected; it is now the object being transformed. The original object is no longer selected and is unaffected by the transform.

    When you release the mouse button, the Clone Options dialog appears.

  3. Change settings in this dialog or accept the defaults, and then click OK.

To clone an object without transforming it

  1. Select the object, or set of objects, to clone.
  2. Choose Edit/Clone on the menu bar.

    3. The Copy Options dialog appears. You can't set a multiple number of clones.

  3. Change settings in this dialog or accept the defaults, and click OK.

    4. The cloned objects occupy the same space as the original. Select any of these clones by name to move or modify it.