Why can't I switch out of object mode?

Question

I seem to be locked into Object Mode. When I hit Tab, Blender won't switch into Edit Mode.

Why is this happening? And how do I fix it?

I copied and pasted an object from a different Blend. Maybe that's why it was locked. But why is that? — Thomas Bricker, Feb 16 '15 at 14:04
As you can see, this could be caused by several things. It would be great if you could upload you Blend-file. Use this link: http://www.pasteall.org/blend/ — Humilton, Feb 16 '15 at 14:46
Once I selected the object and hit the Tab key, then it switched to edit mode. After I did that, then Blender let me switch from Object to Edit mode without the object being selected. Curious behavior. — Thomas Bricker, Feb 16 '15 at 15:20
That is normal, it uses the last selected object. Is your issue resolved? — J Sargent, Feb 16 '15 at 15:38
Maybe your curserposition is in another view. 1) Click inside the viewwindow and 2 ) then press tab to toggle between object and edit mode. — Noli-me, Feb 16 '15 at 13:41

score 9 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 16 '15 at 15:39

I copied and pasted an object from a different Blend. Maybe that's why it was locked. But why is that?

If you link an object from another file, it can only be edited in that file, not the one you have added it to. What Blender is doing is making an exact copy of a portion of another .blend file, and reverse connections are not currently supported (being able to update the linked .blend). You will need to Import the mesh in order to edit it.

Changes to the source .blend file will not be automatically visible in the linked mesh, you will need to re-link or update the mesh.

How do I import from another .blend file? – Aaron Franke Sep 27 '19 at 22:46 — Aaron Franke, Sep 27 '19 at 22:46

score 7 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 08 '15 at 13:21

7

Make your object local:
Object > Make Local > All
or CtrlL

Or unlock in the outliner

edited Apr 08 '15 at 13:21

David

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answered Apr 08 '15 at 10:38

Espagnet

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what is "unlock the outliner" ? – jsbueno Feb 19 '19 at 20:01
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Where is "Make Local" in Blender 2.8? – Aaron Franke Sep 27 '19 at 22:47
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Select the object, then Object -> Relations -> Make Local (and choose one of the options under that). – Sean Robertson Sep 09 '20 at 04:01
Thank you @SeanRobertson – Benjamin Ashbaugh Dec 12 '20 at 00:40

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 30 '15 at 16:40

The object might be linked in another scene within the same file. Switch to the proper scene prior to editing the object.

For instance, in the Barcelona Pavillion demo file from https://www.blender.org/download/demo-files/ There is a chair object. In a regular scene (midday/sunset/night in this dataset), edit mode won't be available for the chair.

You have to switch to the "assets" scene and the proper layer, then RMB to select the chair for edit mode to be available.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 01 '19 at 21:19

If you have no object selected, Edit mode is not available, even if your scene contains only one object! The workaround is to select the object by clicking on it with your Select mouse button. The purpose of Edit mode is to edit the mesh (components) of an object, so one must be selected. Then Edit mode applies only to that selected object.

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Nov 26 '19 at 09:02

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In Blender 2.8 make the object local going to Object > Relations > Make Local > All

edited Nov 26 '19 at 09:02

Lukasz-40sth

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answered Nov 25 '19 at 19:52

RogueSheep

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score 1 · Answer 6 · edited May 25 '20 at 22:31

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Under Edit there is a button called Lock Object Modes. I just unticked that and it worked.

edited May 25 '20 at 22:31

Duarte Farrajota Ramos

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answered May 25 '20 at 13:38

Sebastian

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 02 '20 at 18:26

In Blender 2.8, make sure you're in the Modeling workspace. You may have inadvertently switched to one of the other workspaces such as Layout. The workspaces are selected using the buttons in the menu bar along the top edge of the screen, or by pressing Ctrl+PgDn or Ctrl+PgUp

Why can't I switch out of object mode?

7 Answers7