2.80 - 1 modifier linked to several geometries?

#1

multiple objects in scene need subDiv. Can 1 subDiv Mod control multiple objects or does each object need the mod?
Outliner “Select all objects” is only effecting 1 of all the supposed selected objects.

#2

Not that I’m aware of. You could set up a driver for it I guess, but then all the driven modifiers would have the same subsurf level set. Also you have to set up drivers for each modifier, though they could all take one and the same input so you can drive all the values from the same source.

#3

Make Links might be what your looking for.

Example:
You have three objects in the scene: Object A, Object B and Object C. Object A has the modifiers you’d like to apply to the other objects. Select Objects B and C. Lastly, select Object A so that it is the active object (this is similar to parenting). Use either the Ctrl+L shortcut or Make Links under the Object menu and select Modifiers from the list. This will do what you want ,but it does apply the modifiers to all non-actively selected meshes (Objects B and C). It does not create a link from Object A that controls the other objects.

You can, however, repeat this as much as you want to the same objects if you change something. Also, Make Links isn’t limited to just Modifiers.

#4

Thank you all for the suggestions!

#5

An addendum to the subject of linking. I hesitated to include this before because it’s more advanced (plus, more typing for me :)) but it does address the subject better. Also, others may find this useful.

You can use the method of Linking from another blend file into a current blend file. This will allow you to create multiple objects that are linked to a single object. Including the data related to it.

Two linking methods:

  • Link the object: This will import a linked copy of the original cube and all of its attributes. You will not be able to move, rotate, scale or otherwise edit the cube.
  • Link the collection: This will import a linked copy of the original cube and all of its attributes but you will be able to use move, rotate and scale. Other editing is still not allowed.

Both of these methods allow you the ability to make Link Duplicates that are still linked to the original object using alt+D. These copies, however, behave differently to changes made to the original object. The copies of the linked object won’t follow the original object’s changes completely. For example, modifiers won’t carry over.
The copied objects Linked from a collection will follow the original object fully. All depends on what your intent is. For now, I’ll use the collection method for this example.

Example:

  1. Create a scene with a cube. Delete everything in the scene but the cube (not necessary but it makes this easier to see). Also, make sure the cube is inside a collection (becomes useful in a bit). Save this file as Linked_From.blend.

  2. Create a new file and delete everything in the scene (again, not necessary but it makes this easier to see). Save this file as Linked_To.

  3. From the file menu select Link..., navigate to the Linked_From.blend file, select Collections and select the collection with the cube in it. Accept Link From Library at the top right. You should now have a cube in the scene. In the Collections panel; find the Display Mode toggle in the header and select Blender File. This will show data from both the current file and the file being linked from. At the bottom of the collections panel list you will see Link from blend. You will need this in a bit. You’ll notice that you can move, rotate and scale the linked cube but not enter edit mode. Make a copy with alt+d and place it somewhere.

  4. You can have multiple instances of Blender open at the same time, so open another Blender to do some tests. In the new Blender instance open the Linked_From.blend that contains the original cube. Make an edit to the cube (anything you want) and save the file.

  5. Return to the Blender instance with the Linked_To.blend loaded. In step 3 I mentioned Link from blend. Right click on it and select Reload. The cubes will update with any changes you made in the original.

You can also drag and drop files but I’ll let you discover that. https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/files/linked_libraries.html