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Is it possible to add a modifier to more than one mesh at once?

I have a lot of unique objects, and I want to set a subdivide modifier to them, would I have to do each one individually?

I have tried selecting all the objects and then adding a modifier, but as I expected, it only added it to the active object.

Trying to add modifier to more than one object at once.

Stephen
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3 Answers3

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You cannot use the modifier panel to apply a modifier to multiple objects, it only applies it to the active object. However, you can use Ctrl + L to copy the modifier on one mesh to all the other selected ones. You select the object(s) to apply the modifier to then the one that has the modifier.

enter image description here

For 2.8+ the menu will read Link/Transfer > Copy Modifiers.

Cool trick thanks to Greg Zaal

enter image description here

If you Alt + Left Click on a property, it’ll work on all the selected objects at once, not just the active object. This works on most properties, including modifiers (as long as all the modifiers have the same name, which they do by default).

Duarte Farrajota Ramos
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iKlsR
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    Is there a way to make the link continually update? I linked the modifier to the objects as you said, but when I changed the modifier properties on the original object, the other ones stayed the same as they were when I first linked them. – Stephen May 25 '13 at 02:33
  • @Stephen IIRC, it has something to do with Object Data, I am not entirely sure it is possible tho. Linking an objects data can have the material update but I don't think it works with modifiers. – iKlsR May 25 '13 at 02:37
  • Okay, thanks. That is best for me for the most part. Of ten I want to apply the same effect to all the objects, and then modify a few of them relative to that. – Stephen May 25 '13 at 02:42
  • @Stephen great, it is also a good idea to keep them as unique objects. – iKlsR May 25 '13 at 02:43
  • What exactly do you mean by keeping them unique? – Stephen May 25 '13 at 02:46
  • @Stephen Every object in Blender has an identifier behind it, we call this its data, this makes them unique in a sense meaning that they are separate, they are their own entities. Normally you wouldn't want several objects all sharing that same information for obvious reasons. – iKlsR May 25 '13 at 02:50
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    How to apply the modifier to all selected objects? – Alessandro Pezzato Jun 14 '13 at 16:34
  • @AlessandroPezzato did you read the answer? You cannot do this out of the box with Blender, you could probably with a script. – iKlsR Jun 14 '13 at 16:43
  • Sorry, but I don't understand where this is specified, as you've used the word apply to describe the CTRL+L, which works fine to copy modifiers to all objects. – Alessandro Pezzato Jun 14 '13 at 16:48
  • @AlessandroPezzato just minor terminology, since we usually say apply in Blender when talking about modifiers. I changed it. – iKlsR Jun 14 '13 at 16:49
  • Ok, this sounds better, apply was ambiguous. Thank you :) – Alessandro Pezzato Jun 14 '13 at 16:57
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    @AlessandroPezzato With Alt+C on multiple objects you can Apply multiple modifiers to them, see https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/8766/8282 – Manu Järvinen Sep 07 '18 at 19:03
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    "you can use Ctrl + L to copy the modifier on one mesh to all the other selected ones" I believe the above statement is inaccurate, because you copy All the modifiers from one to the other object and also because the target object looses all Other modifiers it may have. So The modifier is not copied from active to target, but rather the selected target(s) inherit all the exact same modifiers as the active source. – Christos Dec 13 '18 at 12:40
  • But this will not work on objects to REENABLE a disabled "Selectable" or "show in Viewports", including if you try to muti-select via the Outliner. – james_t Jan 16 '21 at 18:20
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The Copy Attributes add-on is an excellent tool for copying all modifiers. You also have the ability to copy only selected modifiers (apart from other attributes)

This add-on is not enabled by default. So you have to enable it from the User Preferences Editor. Once enabled it is available as a hotkey CTRL + C.

To use it, select the objects that need the modifiers and then the source object with a set of modifiers (active object) and press the hotkey to invoke the menu.

https://en.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/3D_interaction/Copy_Attributes_Menu

Note: It is also worth noting that by setting up drivers we can simultaneously edit properties on similar modifiers on different objects.

satishgoda
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  • Thanks satishgoda! I did not know about the Copy Attributes Add-on with the ability to copy only selected modifiers. This was exactly what I needed, as I had to find a way to copy a boolean modifier to multiple objects without overriding the individual settings in some build modifiers. Being able to copy only the boolean modifier was super useful... if only the new Alt-click feature worked to re-order modifiers in multiple objects; but for now I will have to manually re-order them. :-) – Copperplate Jan 11 '18 at 16:42
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    In 2.79b this addon is available, pre-installed. However this addon not only copies from the source but overrides the modifiers in the targets. So I don't understand Copperplate's comment: it doesn't work that way for me. – Christos Dec 13 '18 at 12:57
  • Unfortunately this does not work to copy the selectable or Viewport-Display attributes, when trying to REENABLE these attributes. If they are off, there is little hope of selecting multiple objects and allowing them all to be selectable or viewport-displayable again. – james_t Jan 16 '21 at 18:17
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Download Smart Join Addon

Select the mesh (wheel) and click on smart join (it temporary join all the selected mesh). You can now move all the join mesh and add any modifier to all the join mesh. If you want to separate the mesh just click the separate s. join

If you want to edit the join mesh click on the expand smart join and after finishing the editing click on collapse smart join.

enter image description here

atek
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