I would like to separate bodies in components easily and quickly

[demetrisktorides]

Sometimes I receive STP models (from other software) and these are not separated into components. It usually has hundreds of bodies in a file. 

The task of organizing the model into components is super slow. The only available solution I know is to find the body in the browser and then drag and drop it into a new component. I could also select multiple bodies in this way. But, many times the drag-drop doesn't function (I think this is a glitch that happens every now and then). If that happens, I need to copy and then paste the bodies into a new component. These are 2,3 extra steps for a simple task..

Ideally: 

1. I could select bodies and say: you belong to component x. (Blender has a nice system where you press a button and a properties window pops up to either *create a new component* from the selected bodies, or, allocate them in an existing one).

2. On the 'create component' properties window in Fusion, I can see that you can create an internal component from bodies. This allows you to select many bodies at once - but - it creates a component for each body, where, most times you'd want a lot of bodies into one component. 

Please let me know if there's already a smarter way to do this that I've missed. 

Best,

Demetris

[jhackney1972]

You did not supply an example of a STEP containing just bodies so I had to use one of my STEP that contains both Components and Bodies.  In the video I demonstrate how to create a new Component and then drag one or more bodies into that component.  I had to sort through my components to select the bodies but you seem to indicate you will not have this in your models.  If you want to sent along one of your STEP files, I will be happy to demonstrate but it will be the same process.  I find this process quick and easy.

[demetrisktorides]

Hi John, 

Thanks for your response! Yes, I am using the drag-and-drop method too - unfortunately sometimes unexpectedly it stops functioning - wondering if you've noticed that happening to you also?

I usually receive models from friends that are using Rhino. The layer system doesn't translate into components during the step import and everything becomes one pile of bodies. Sometimes these are architectural components models where a door might carry 50 bodies alone. To make a component all 'doors', it's a hassle as you might need to go through 1500 bodies that are on the list. The order in which bodies are in the list seems random, so one needs to go through the whole list of bodies to locate the right bodies and then drag and drop them(which again, might fail). I am attaching a screenshot of such a file for reference.

Of course, this becomes an issue for models with a very long list of bodies, rather than small models, but I wonder if there could be a quicker way to separate bodies into components by mouse selection when confronted by a large cluster of bodies.

best, 

d