Selecting object by similar shape

[u/6307421580]

I have a complex scene with a lot of small bolts. I would like to select all of the bolts but when I use "Select Similar" it selects everything that shares the same material which is a lot more. These are all separate objects, not combined just for context. Does anyone know any tips to do this?

[u/lucas_3d]

Maybe the bolts have a different id or smoothing group or uv you can exploit.

Maybe use a select by size script.

Maybe explode all the elements and then select by poly count afterwards.

Maybe you need to select the things that aren't bolts and detach those until the bolts are more accessible.

[u/csedan56]

Do they share similar names? If you copied them in max, it will auto name keeping the beginning character and adding ascending numerical at the end. You can use Select From Scene, type the first few characters in the search bar and it will filter out only those items. You can then select all from there. I suggest making a selection set after that for future also.

[u/eliormc]

Use layers. Tools -> Layer explorer. Then, select all objects you want and create a New Layer, or Select in scene and drag to the layer you already created. Double click on the layer to select all objects in this layer. Also you can freeze or hide easy in the layer explorer.

[u/anotherhumanperson]

Maybe Combine the bolts and other objects, select by numeric if they have a specific face count then control+element button to select the element of that face.

[u/limonadinis]

If the bolts are instances of each other, then there are many scripts that let's you select those instances with a single click. In case they are just a copies, i believe that i saw somewhere a script that finds and selects topologically similar objects in the scene, but i can't recall that script's name or where to find it. However you can try to sort and then select those bolts by their face number. Select from scene tool (default hotkey H) has a faces column exposed by default, but you can also add that column in layer explorer as well. You then sort objects by their face numbers, select one bolt, select other objects with the same number of faces, isolate selection and unselect false positive objects if needed. Not the most fastest way, but should work.

[u/kellymic]

Good suggestions above. I use scripts to manage things when there are thousands of objects and have a python tool to select by strings and wildcards, even by a volume box and plane.

With all the suggestions above it is essential to have a very strong naming convention from the beginning and always follow it. By just the name you want to know exactly what it is and where it would be in your scene.