Group vs. Component

[Mark J]

When is it best to organize loose geometry as a group and when is it best to make a component?

[wtnhighlander]

I doubt there is a hardline "best". I find components more useful, in general. Unless you are talking about groups of components.

[Denette]

There's not one which is categorically better, they just do different things. Groups are just a simple way to hold together lines and polygons, while components are linked to one another.

If you make a component and then make a copy of it, then edit any of the copies of that component, the change is reflected in all the copies of that component. So if you make a table leg then turn it into a component, then copy and paste it to make the other three table legs, you could add detail to just one leg and it would automatically be added to the other three as well. With groups you lose that feature.

Components are a great time saver if you are doing lots of identical parts. Let's say you have 20 slats on a bench seat, then have to make a slight modification to all of them. If you made each slat a group, you could edit them all individually, or edit one then copy and paste it into place. If you used components, however, you simply edit one and you're done in much less time.

Nothing is wrong with groups if you don't want that multi-editing functionality though. That function can get tricky if you aren't paying attention to what you're doing and the orientation of all your like components.

[TerryMcK]

+1 on Arrdenet's post.

I only use groups when I want to group a bunch of components together temporarily. Maybe for moving, rotating, mirroring or copying them en mass to a different location but keep their relative positions the same. After doing that operation I might (or might not) explode them back to their individual component parts.

The problem with grouping individual entities is that they are still that - individual. When for instance you hide them or place them on a different layer then draw something over the top that intersects you get a message "the entity will be merged with a hidden entity / on a different layer" which is really annoying. When you unhide or show that hidden entity/layer you find what you have drawn on there is not what it was originally. Try it out for yourself.

Get used to drawing and making components and you will no longer get into issues like that. Also as Arrdenet says you can copy one component multiple times. Then when you edit one of the components you find it is replicated on all copies of that component (unless you have right clicked "make component unique").

[Mark J]

16 hours ago, Arrdenet said:

There's not one which is categorically better, they just do different things. Groups are just a simple way to hold together lines and polygons, while components are linked to one another...

 

4 hours ago, TerryMcK said:

I only use groups when I want to group a bunch of components together temporarily...

Thanks very much for your responses.  That is what I was thinking, that Groups were a temporary expedient and that Components would be for the long term (and linked).