Select an editable patch, editable mesh, editable poly, editable spline, an object that has an Edit Mesh, Edit Patch, or Edit Spline modifier applied to it, or an object that has a comparable Select modifier applied to it. > Modify panel > Choose a sub-object level. > Soft Selection rollout
The Soft Selection controls allow you to partially select sub-objects in the vicinity of an explicit selection. This causes the explicit selection to behave as if surrounded by a "magnetic field." Partially selected sub-objects within the field are drawn along smoothly as you transform the sub-object selection; the effect diminishes with distance or the “strength” of the partial selection.
This falloff is visible in the viewports as a color gradient surrounding the selection, conforming to the first part of the standard color spectrum: ROYGB (red, orange, yellow, green, blue). Red sub-objects are those you select explicitly. The highest-value soft-selected sub-objects are reddish-orange; they have the same selection value as red sub-objects, and respond the same way to manipulation. Orange sub-objects have a slightly lower selection value, and respond to manipulation a bit less strongly than do red and reddish-orange vertices. Yellow-orange sub-objects have an even lower selection value, and then yellow, green-yellow, and so on. Blue sub-objects are effectively unselected and don't respond to manipulation, except as required by neighboring soft-selected sub-objects.
Normally, you designate a soft selection procedurally, by setting parameters and then selecting sub-objects. You can also “paint” a soft selection explicitly on poly objects. See Paint Soft Selection group.
By default, the soft-selection region is spherical without regard to geometric structure. Alternatively, you can use the Edge Distance option to limit the selection to vertices in contiguous faces.
If a sub-object selection is passed up the modifier stack, and Use Soft Selection is on, the results of modifiers that deform the object, such as Bend and XForm, are affected by the Soft Selection parameter values.
The controls in this dialog let you modify Soft Selection parameters. All sub-object levels share the same Soft Selection parameter values. Soft Selection is available for NURBS, mesh, poly, patch, and spline objects.
Use Soft Selection—Affects the action of Move, Rotate, and Scale functions at sub-object levels of the editable object or Edit modifier, as well as the action of deformation modifiers applied to the object if they are operating on a sub-object selection (the latter also applies to the Select modifiers). When on, the software applies a spline curve deformation to the unselected sub-objects surrounding the selection you transform. To take effect, this check box must be on before transforming or modifying the selection.
Edge Distance—When on, limits the soft-selection region to the specified number of edges between where you select and the maximum extent of the soft selection. The affected region is measured in terms of "edge-distance" space, along the surface, rather than real space.
This option is useful in cases where you want to select only contiguous sections of geometry. For example, if a bird's wing is folded back against its body, selecting the wing tip with Soft Selection would affect body vertices as well. But if you turn on Edge Distance, set the numeric value to the distance (in edges) along the wing that you wish to affect, and then set Falloff to an appropriate value, selecting and then moving the wing tip would move only the wing geometry.
Affect Backfacing—When on, deselected faces whose normals face in the opposite direction to the average normal of the selected sub-objects are affected by the soft-selection influence. In the case of vertices and edges, this applies to the normals of faces to which they're attached. Turn off Affect Backfacing when you want to manipulate faces of a thin object, such as a thin box, but don't want to affect faces on the other side of the object.
Note: Affect Backfacing is not available when editing splines.
Falloff—Distance in current units from the center to the edge of a sphere defining the affected region. Use higher falloff settings to achieve more gradual slopes, depending on the scale of your geometry. Default=20.
Note: The region specified by the Falloff setting is depicted graphically in the viewports as a color gradient in vertices and/or edges (or, with editable polys and patches, optionally in faces). The gradient ranges from the selection color (normally red) to the non-selected sub-object color (normally blue). In addition, this gradient is updated in real time as you change the Falloff setting.
Note: If Edge Distance is on, the Edge Distance setting limits the maximum falloff amount.
Pinch—Raises and lowers the top point of the curve along the vertical axis. Sets the relative "pointedness" of the region. When negative, a crater is produced instead of a point. At a setting of 0, Pinch produces a smooth transition across this axis. Default=0.
Bubble—Expands and contracts the curve along the vertical axis. Sets the relative "fullness" of the region. Limited by Pinch, which sets a fixed starting point for Bubble. A setting of 0 for Pinch and 1.0 for Bubble produces the smoothest bulge. Negative values for Bubble move the bottom of the curve below the surface, creating a "valley" around the base of the region. Default=0.
(soft selection curve)—Graphically displays how Soft Selection will work. You can experiment with a curve setting, undo it, and try another setting with the same selection.
Shaded Face Toggle—Displays a color gradient corresponding to the soft selection weights on faces within the soft selection range. Available only when editing patch and poly objects.
If the Vertex Color display property of an editable poly or editable patch object is off, clicking the Shaded Face Toggle button will turn on Soft Selection Color shading. If the object already has an active Vertex Color setting, clicking the Shaded Face Toggle overrides the previous setting and changes it to Soft Selection Color.
Note: Use the Undo command if you do not want to change your vertex color shading properties.
Lock Soft Selection—Locks the soft selection in order to prevent changes to the procedural selection.
Using Paint Soft Selection (see following) turns on Lock Soft Selection automatically. If you turn it off after using Paint Soft Selection, the painted soft selection is lost. You can restore it with Undo.
Paint Soft Selection lets you specify a soft selection explicitly by dragging the mouse over the selection. The Paint Soft Selection functionality is available at sub-object levels with Editable Poly objects, as well as with objects with the Edit Poly or Poly Select modifier applied. You can work in one of three painting modes: Paint, Revert, and Blur.
Tip: You can streamline the painting process by using the Brush Presets tools.
Paint—Lets you paint a soft selection on the active object using the current settings. Drag the mouse cursor over the object surface to paint the selection.
Blur—Lets you paint to soften the outlines of an existing painted soft selection.
Revert—Lets you paint to reverse a soft selection on the active object using the current settings. Drag the mouse cursor over the object surface to reverse the selection.
Note: Revert affects only a painted soft selection, not a soft selection made by normal means. Also, Revert uses only the Brush Size and Brush Strength settings, not the Selection Value setting.
Selection Value—The maximum relative selection of the painted or reverted soft selection. The values of surrounding vertices within the brush radius fall off towards a value of 0. Default=1.0.
Brush Size—The radius of the circular brush used for painting the selection.
Brush Strength—The rate at which painting a soft selection sets the painted sub-objects to the maximum value. A high Strength value reaches the full value quickly, while a low value requires repeated applications to reach full value.
Brush Options—Opens the Painter Options dialog, with settings for brush-related properties.