Finding an Object in the Tree

You can locate one or many objects in the tree.

This task shows you how to:

Use the Contextual Command

You can run the Center tree command in contextual mode.

  1. In the 3D area, select an object.
  2. Right-click then select Center tree.
    The tree is expanded down to the selected object's node and is located at the center of the screen. The object is also highlighted in the 3D area and in the tree.
    Notes:
    • The command uses the HSO (Highlighting of Selected Objects) and not the CSO (Currently Selected Objects). In general, these two sets are identical but in some cases, the HSO might be a superset of the CSO (for example, cross highlight). Therefore, an object might be selected but not highlighted.
    • When multiple objects are selected, the command applies to the last selected object.
    Important: Some nodes are virtual (there is no matching object in the 3D area). To reach their children and be able to center on one of them, these nodes must be expanded. In that case, there may a price to pay in performance.

    The number of expanded tree nodes is defined through the Expand tree depth option in Me > Preferences> Common Preferences > General > Cache and Performance > PCS. If the node on which the Center tree command is run is deeper than the defined depth, then the node is not centered.

Use the Command from the Customize Dialog Box

You can run the Center Tree command by dragging it from the Customize dialog box to the action bar.

  1. Add the Center tree command to the action bar.

    This command is not available by default. To add it to the action bar, select Me > Preferences > Customize > Commands, and drag and drop the command onto a section.

  2. In the 3D area, select two objects using the Ctrl key.
  3. Click Center tree in the action bar.
    The tree is expanded down to the first selected object's node and is located at the center of the screen. The object is also highlighted in the 3D area and in the tree.
  4. Click Center tree again.
    This time, the tree is expanded down to the second selected object's node and is located at the center of the screen. The object is also highlighted in the 3D area and in the tree.
    Important:
    • When multiple objects are selected, the command starts with the first element in the HSO. Each object is found one by one each time the command is run until the last selected object is found. Then, if the command is run again, it restarts from the first element. This means that the cycling order depends on the selection order and not on the order in the tree.
    • If the selection has been made through a command or a selection trap, the cycling order is not predictable.
    • The cycling order always goes forward, never backward.
    • The number of tree nodes expanded depends on the value defined for the Expand tree depth preference in Me > Preferences> Common Preferences > General > Cache and Performance > PCS.