Max2026 Pick attach glitch? Attaches multiple objects

[MichalSpencer]

Hello,

Upgraded from 2023 to 26, so skipped 24 and 25.

In 26, I am having the same issue on two separate computers. Editable Poly Pick attach (so not attach from list) sometimes, not always, attaches multiple objects with a single click. There does not appear to be a clear way to set it up so that its does it every time, so very hard to replicate and it attaches some other random object in the scene, sometimes even 2 (so total of 3 objects get attached to the selected one with a single "pick" click)

This behaviour is the same whether I pick an object in viewport or in layer Scene explorer.

Does not happen at all when attaching from list.

When you undo the attach and repeat the exact same action, it happens the same way everytime until you break the chain and give in to use Attach from list. Happens in all of my max files, even the ones that I saved in 23.

What is going on with it? I've never had any issue of such sort in any other 3dsMax version I've worked with, and I'm dating back to 3dsMax 9.

[anmol.singhESA9C]

Hello @MichalSpencer,
I understand that this happens at random and that there is no clear way to setup this up.
Allow me some time to test and research this on my side and I will get back to you soon. 

[anmol.singhESA9C]

Hello @MichalSpencer, 
I have not been able to reproduce this behaviour on my side. I have also not been able to find any other reports of this issue.  

I have some suggestions and question that may help to further investigate this, 

1. Have you tried to reset 3ds Max user preference settings back to default yet? 
2. Are you using any thirdparty plugins that could be influencing this? 
3. 3dsMax 2026.1 is available, are you able to test if you get the same behaviour there? 
4. Is it possible that it has something to do with the mouse since attach stays enabled? 
5. When it gets stuck with attaching multiple objects, if you save and relaunch the project does it showcase the same behaviour?  

Let me know if any of these help with the issue. I look forward to your reply.  

[joaquim.moral]

HI @MichalSpencer,

Can you please answer and share the info our colleague @anmol.singhESA9C is requesting so we can assist you with your problem?

Thank you both!

[MichalSpencer]

Hello,

Thank you for you reply, I apprecite the issue is being looked into.

I am currently out of office, so won't be able to check the suggestions until tomorrow. 

Regards

Mike

[MichalSpencer]

Hello, thank you for your suggestions and apologies for the late reply.

1. I have not, but since I use quite a lot of hotkeys and custom tool bars, I would very much like to avoid this.

2. To the best of my knowledge, I am not using any 3rd party plugins that could be influencing this.

3, I am on 2026.1

4. It is possible, but this issue is not present in 2023, nor it was on any other 3dsMax version.

5. I have been having a real hard time to force it to happen, and this issue has been forcing me to use Attach by List exclusively lately, so It's been a while since last occurrence.  I will revert back to using Attach by Picking and see if I can test that.

I appreciate this is not the best way to report an issue, if I knew how to reliably reproduce it, I would let you know.

I will keep keeping an eye for this and let you know my findings as soon as I know more.

M.

[joaquim.moral]

Hi again @MichalSpencer,

Thanks a lot for your answers and the level of detail, it really helps.

We’ll take a look together with our colleague @anmol.singhESA9C and get back to you soon!

[MichalSpencer]

Hello,

I've now done several days without this issue happening again. To the best of my knowledge nothing changed, so I am very cautious to say its no longer an issue.

I would probably suggest holding on with spending any more time looking into this until I can see any more occurrences. It is rather confusing to me.

I think best if I keep working for another week or so and if it does not occur again by then, with my great confusion, this ticket could be closed.

M.

[MichalSpencer]

Hello again,

I am writing this post from a different PC than I used to write the original post, and I can confirm that the issue still exists here, using 2026.1 as well. Using a different mouse and I am not remoting, this is a completely independent PC.

It is very difficult to set up, I am attaching by picking tens of objects together and occasionally it attaches more than 1, and it even attaches objects that are hidden. Even though I am picking in the viewport, not the scene/layer explorer, so there is no way for me to pick a hidden object.

So I can confirm this issue still presists and has not gone away by itself. I am afraid I can't be any more helpful about this at this time. I can't even share the max file as its subject to data protection contract with our customer. But I am not doing anything out of the ordinary compared to what I've been doing for many years and many versions of max, having never had this issue until 2026.

The objects I am attaching range between 500-150 000 tris.

[MartinBeh]

Could you try to enable/disable hardware hit testing to see whether that makes any difference?

See https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/3ds-max-modeling-forum/select-object-in-vilewport-bug-3ds-max-2025/m-...

[yannick.bombardier]

Hi
It's a known issue, The issue happen If you change the visibility of an object in the Scene Explorer, this object will be added while performing a Pick operation on another object
there is no workaround at the moment

Sorry for the inconvenient

Yannick 

[MichalSpencer]

Hello again, so I tried the point no.5 now:

I was attaching by picking an object, just as I do a lot, and noticed that even though I am attaching two objects that use the same multi-sub material (mat ball), Max was asking me if I want to merge the materials too, which gave me an indication that yet again, its merging some other object in the scene, hidden or not, additionally to the one I am picking. 

If I press Ok and CTRL+Z the attach, and try again the same way, it happens every time. But when I CTRL+Z and Save the file and reload it, and do the exact same attaching the exact same way, it does not happen again. 

It really does appear to be ever so difficult to reproduce because of this behaviour.

[MichalSpencer]

Hello,

Are you sure this is correct? for 3dsMax? I've not been able to replicate that behaviour as your described it.

M

[yannick.bombardier]

Hi, yes, I'm sure

Steps to reproduce
1. Create 3 objects, with 2 of the objects intersected 
2. From the scene explorer <--Important , Select and change the visibility of the object that is separated
3. Select one of the 2 intersected objects and do a Boolean to the second object
4. Notice that there 2 objects added in the Boolean stack

or with Editable Poly /Edit Poly modifier

1. Create 3 primitives, Select 1 and convert to Editable poly

2. From the scene explorer <--Important , Select and change the visibility of the second object 

3. Select the Editable Poly object, Click the Attach option and select the third object 

Notice that the object that is hidden appears in your "attach" action

Hope that help

Yannick 

SR. QA Analyst 3ds max

[anmol.singhESA9C]

@MichalSpencer, Yannicks's comment is correct. I was able to reproduce on my side as well. For reference this bug is logged with development team as,

MAXX-81562 - Extra object added with the Pick operation if that object was hidden

Thank you for sharing this issue and increasing its importance. I am part of the support team and therefore unable to provide the following: 

• Assurances it will be fixed in the next release.
• Any timelines/roadmaps.
• Any guarantees a fix would be retro-patched. 

This post has been bought to the attention of the team working on the internal log. I regret we cannot provide any more help at this time.
Where possible we try to mark threads with a convenient or accurate solution. It helps tracking to focus efforts on open threads.   

[Casey_H_]

Hiding only from the Scene Explorer?

I wonder if hiding objects with hotkeys or right-click quad menu rather than the Scene Explorer would be a workaround.

Or, ditch 26 and go for 25. 😉

[MichalSpencer]

Hello,

Thanks.

I want to stress that the issue regarding hidden objects is only part of the problem and not the entire reported issue, as the attaching of multiple objects also happens on objects that are not hidden nor has their visibility been changed. It feels somewhat related, but I have no way of saying if it is.

I am going to continue to keep a close eye on this and observe the behaviour, now armed with this additional knowledge about objects that had their visibility changed in recent actions.

M

[MichalSpencer]

Hello, just wanted to update this report.

I can confirm this issue is now being reported to me from multiple people in my team. So I think its fair to say it is not just an individual issue.  Attaching seemingly random, even hidden objects from within the scene when using Attach by Pick is a serious issue that can cause a lot of trouble. I wanted to ask if this is being investigated?

Thank you.

M