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[edit] Object Mode and Edit Mode
Objects are things in Blender that you can select and edit. You've seen three types of objects so far: a mesh, a camera, and a lamp. Let's focus on the mesh, which currently looks like a cube.
- Select the cube with RMB
so the mesh has a pink outline.
- Hit TAB.
- You have now entered the cube's Edit Mode.
The small dots you see in Edit Mode are called vertices (singular is "vertex"). Selected vertices are yellow, and unselected vertices are dark pink. You can select vertices the same way you select objects, by using RMB 
. There are also other, quicker ways of selecting vertices too (see Selecting Vertices, below).
When Edit Mode won't work
If you try entering Edit Mode on the camera or the lamp, nothing will happen. That's because some Object types, like cameras and lamps, are not made up of vertices like a mesh is, so there's nothing to edit in Edit Mode. Later, you'll learn about other Objects that use Edit Mode: in addition to Meshes, there are Curves, Surfaces, Armatures, Lattices, and Metaballs. For now, though, a Mesh is the only object we'll be working on. |
Object and Edit Modes
- TAB - switch between Object and Edit Modes
- Use Object Mode any time you want to something to the entire Object as a whole.
- Use Edit Mode any time you want to edit the contents of an Object.
So when do you use Object Mode, and when do you use Edit Mode?
[edit] Use Object Mode . . .
- To move entire objects around in a scene
- To scale or rotate an entire object
- To group multiple objects together
- To parent multiple objects together
- Any time you want to do something to the entire Object as a whole.
[edit] Use Edit Mode . . .
- To sculpt the vertices making up an Object
- To add vertices to an Object
- To make groups of vertices within an Object
- To add materials to only part of an Object
- Any time you want to edit the contents of an Object
![[]](/skins/blender/open.png)
