Cinema 4D Program Documentation Reference Cinema 4D Basic Features Attribute Manager
Function available in CINEMA 4D Prime, Visualize, Broadcast, Studio & BodyPaint 3D

Mode

Lock Element

The lock feature is most useful when a single parameter of many objects must be changed frequently.

By default, the Attribute Manager displays the parameters of the currently selected elements (objects, tags or materials etc.). If your scene has an object that you frequently need to edit, create a new Attribute Manager and lock it to always show the object’s parameters no matter which elements are currently selected. You will then be able to edit the object’s parameters without first having to select it, saving you time.

New Attribute Manager

To create a new Attribute Manager, choose New Attribute Manager.

To lock the new Attribute Manager to a specific object (or objects), in the Object Manager select the desired object to load its settings into the new Attribute Manager. Then, in the new Attribute Manager, choose Lock Element. The new Attribute Manager now displays the parameters of the object permanently, even when other objects are selected in the Object Manager.

To unlock the Attribute Manager so that it once again shows the parameters of the currently selected elements, choose Lock Element again.

You can also create a new Attribute Manager or lock/unlock the Attribute Manager using the two icons in the top-right corner of the Attribute Manager. Click the lock icon to lock/unlock. Click the icon to the right of the lock to create a new Attribute Manager.

Lock Mode

Activating this option (or clicking on the icon with the two circles at the top right of the Manager) will ensure that only the modes / parameters currently open will continue to be displayed, regardless of which tools are subsequently selected.

Choosing the display mode

Suppose an object and the Knife tool are currently selected. The Attribute Manager can only display one type of settings at a time, so how does it know whether to display the object’s settings or the knife’s settings?

This is precisely what the display mode allows you to control. You can switch which element is displayed using the Mode menu. Returning to the example, if the object’s settings are currently displayed, you can display the knife’s settings instead by choosing Mode / Tool.

The Attribute Manager will switch modes automatically when you select a new element in order to display that element’s settings.

Note that the View Settings mode refers to the viewport settings (viewport: Edit / Configure).

Camera

Each editor view has its own Default Camera. This camera’s parameters can now be accessed when in Default Camera mode. Click on the respective view (or its menu bar) to display the camera settings.

Render Settings

Displays the selected Render Settings.

Configure Modes

Choose this command to open the Select Modes dialog. In this dialog, enable or disable the various options to choose which element types the Attribute Manager is able to display. For example, if you want the Attribute Manager to show object parameters only, disable all options apart from Object. Using the settings in the image above only the object and tag properties will be displayed. If you were to select a material the Attribute Manager would not display its properties.