> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.intangible.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.intangible.ai/build/working-with-objects.md).

# Working with objects

Click any object in the viewport and the contextual menu opens above it. Most of what you'd do to a single object lives in that menu: swap its model, change its color, edit transforms, attach details, lock it, frame it, delete it.

## Watch

{% embed url="<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvUcN8G6KrU>" %}

![Build mode with a greyboxed SUV selected on a highway. The contextual menu floats below the object: from the left, a swap-model cube, a color swatch, a transform control, a details control, and a three-dot more-options menu; then a divider; then the move gizmo, the snapping magnet with its mode dropdown, and the parent tool](/files/q9mc2Brxvy3hU4fhcsRK)

## What it does

In a typical 3D pipeline you'd dig through right-click menus or property inspectors to act on an object. Intangible collapses the most common per-object actions into one contextual toolbar that opens on click and closes on deselect. It's the canonical reach point for everything that doesn't require a full panel.

## How to use it

Click the object. The menu appears. From left to right, the contents are:

1. **Swap model.** Opens the [Swap Model](#swap-model) dialog scoped to similar assets (e.g. swapping a Lambo opens "Vehicles > Land Vehicles" with hierarchical category breadcrumbs).
2. **Color / material swatches.** A row of round swatches showing available color variants. Not all assets have swatches – most library assets ship in gray. Imported objects don't expose swatches.
3. **Transform.** Opens the Transform popover with numeric Position (X, Y, Z) and Rotation (X, Y, Z) fields. Use when dragging the gizmo is too coarse.
4. **Details.** Opens the [Details panel](/build/object-details.md) on the left side of the workspace – Name, Description, Reference images.
5. **More options.** Three-dot menu with secondary actions. See [More options menu](#more-options-menu).
6. **Gizmo coordinate space.** Small toggle popover with **Global** and **Local** options – the same toggle the keyboard shortcut `T` triggers.
7. **Snapping.** A magnet button plus a mode dropdown in the properties bar. The dropdown picks what snapping does – **Surface** snaps position to surfaces, **Surface + parent** snaps and also parents the object to whatever it lands on, **off** disables it. Selecting a mode turns snapping on; the magnet button then toggles that mode on or off. See [Snapping modes](#snapping-modes).

Parenting lives in the bottom toolbar, not in this menu – see [Parenting](#parenting) below.

## Parenting

Parenting makes one object follow another. The child keeps its own offset from the parent; move the parent and the child rides along. Use it to attach a prop to a vehicle, a camera to a rig, or to group set dressing that should travel together.

![The parent tool in the bottom toolbar with its Set Parent tooltip, waiting for a click on the target object](/files/pM1CCxWq0435yJVI5cr8)

Parenting is an explicit mode, entered from the parent tool in the bottom toolbar:

1. Select the object (or objects) that should be the child.
2. Click the **Parent** tool. The app waits for your next click. Clicks in parent mode don't change the selection.
3. Click the object that should be the parent. The relationship applies and the mode exits.

To clear a parent, enter parent mode and click the floor or the backdrop. The object returns to the floor.

![Selecting an object, entering parent mode from the bottom toolbar, and clicking the parent target to apply the relationship](/files/jTtjfWXLhu24Mk6bLAMD)

The mode also exits on `Esc` or when you switch editor modes. You can't parent an object to itself or to one of its own children – the tool blocks cycles.

Parenting is independent of snapping: snapping an object to a surface doesn't parent it unless the snapping mode is set to **Surface + parent** – see below.

## Snapping modes

The snapping dropdown next to the magnet button has three modes:

![The snapping mode dropdown open next to the magnet button, showing the Surface and Surface + parent options](/files/bRQOfzeUl6yIxPgJYEac)

| Mode                 | What it does                                                                                              |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Surface**          | Snaps the object's position to surfaces it intersects. Position only – no parent relationship is created. |
| **Surface + parent** | Snaps position and parents the object to the surface it lands on.                                         |
| **Off**              | No snapping.                                                                                              |

Selecting a mode from the dropdown turns snapping on; the magnet button then toggles that mode on or off without losing your choice. When you drag an asset in from the library, snap-and-parent is active for that drag, then snapping resets to off.

One spline-specific behavior: when snapping is on, splines snap to surfaces only – they never parent, regardless of mode.

## More options menu

The three-dot icon in the contextual menu opens secondary actions:

| Action                | What it does                                                                                                                                              |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Save as Set           | Group this object with the current selection into a reusable set. See [Sets](/build/sets.md).                                                             |
| Lock                  | Block the object from selection until unlocked. Lock terrain and large props you've placed.                                                               |
| Frame                 | Camera moves to fill the frame with the object. Same as pressing `F`.                                                                                     |
| Delete                | Remove the object from the scene. Doesn't go to a recycle bin – be sure.                                                                                  |
| Edit Populator Target | Adjust how this object interacts with an active populator – masks, surface climbing, exclusion zones. See [Populators](/overview/concepts/populators.md). |
| Add LoRA              | Attach a fine-tuned LoRA to this object. See [LoRAs](/build/loras.md).                                                                                    |

![More options popover open over a selected Lambo, showing Save as Set / Lock / Frame / Delete / Edit Populator Target / Add LoRA actions](/files/MGTdYq1Xsb5RCQtWbRD5)

## Swap Model

The Swap Model dialog opens scoped to the asset's category. The header carries a breadcrumb (e.g. **Vehicles > Land Vehicles**) plus a search bar and a grid of compatible thumbnails.

![Swap Model dialog open with the Vehicles > Land Vehicles breadcrumb, a search bar, and a thumbnail grid of compatible vehicles (truck, sports car, forklift, semi-truck)](/files/KPfvbaanQyGD5SmlPPRn)

Click a swap target; the new asset inherits position and rotation. The dialog opens scoped to the asset's category, but you can search across all categories using the search bar – swapping a car for a tree is possible if you search for it.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Swapping a model doesn't clear its image reference.** If the original object had image reference attached, that reference stays on the new object after the swap. A car with Porsche image reference swapped to an ambulance will render as an ambulance that looks like a Porsche. Remove or replace the image reference after swapping if that's not what you want.
{% endhint %}

## Selecting multiple objects

The default click is single-selection. Marquee select is in the toolbar – click the marquee icon, then drag a box to select every object the box touches. The marquee button deactivates after each use; click it again for each new marquee selection. See [Selection and grouping](/build/selection-and-grouping.md) for group-level actions.

## Limits and known issues

{% hint style="warning" %}
**All assets are gray by default.** Library assets and imported models alike arrive without color or texture. Use color swatches if available on the specific asset, or attach [image reference](/overview/concepts/image-reference.md) to apply surface treatment at render time. Imported models are stripped of their source materials on import and don't preserve textures from the original file.
{% endhint %}

* **Delete is immediate.** No confirmation, no undo beyond `Cmd+Z`. If you delete something you wanted to keep, undo right away.
* **Swap stays inside the asset's category.** The Swap Model dialog opens scoped to the asset's category breadcrumb (e.g. Vehicles > Land Vehicles). Swapping across categories isn't a path the dialog offers.

## Related

* [Asset library](/build/asset-library.md)
* [Transform](/build/transform.md)
* [Object details](/build/object-details.md)
* [Selection and grouping](/build/selection-and-grouping.md)
* [Sets](/build/sets.md)
* [Scene Outliner](/build/scene-outliner.md)


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