Canvas > Subtool Palette (simplified)
There are two locations to access the Subtools palette.
Subtools palette instance vs Tool > Subtools
1. The Subtools palette lives here within the Tool Palette.
2. The "quick access" Subtools palette is another instance of the Subtools palette noted above.
Learn more in this guide's Tool Palette section provided in this guide.
Subtools Visibility & Paint
Subtools Palette (quick access)
1. Subtool Visibility
Tap to toggle a subtool's visibility.
A subtool remains visible when selected, regardless of its visibility setting.
2. Polypaint Visibility
Tap to toggle a subtool's Polypaint visibility.
If a subtool has no Polypaint, tapping the paint visibility icon automatically fills the model with solid white.
Learn how to use Polypaint and FillObject in this guide's Painting Essentials section.
Toggle All Subtools' Visibility
ZBrush offers the ability to toggle all models' subtool visibility or Polypaint visibility with a single click.
Quick Steps:
1.) Press and hold the Ctrl/Cmd + Shift modifier.
2.) Tap a model's Subtools visibility icon or Polypaint visibility icon to toggle visibility for all in each group.
Subtools >Toggle Paint Visibility
When Polypaint visibility is off, the displayed color assigned to the model defaults to the currently selected primary color. The above example highlights the current selected color as white, indicating the color assigned to all subtools with disabled Polypaint visibility.
Subtools Palette Quick Actions
Subtools Palette Quick Actions
1. Insert and Append
Insert and Append Menus
Insert
Selecting 3D models from this menu adds the selected 3D mesh to the Subtools list below the currently selected subtool.
Append
Selecting 3D models from this menu adds the selected 3D mesh to the Subtools list at the bottom of the Subtools list.
2 . Duplicate
Duplicates the selected subtool.
3. New Folder
Creates a new folder and places the currently selected subtool inside that folder.
Folder Title Dialog Window
Creating a new folder delivers a folder title prompt. ZBrush for iPad supports Apple Pencil's Scribble feature to write a label by hand. Learn more in this guide's Apple Pencil > Scribble section.
4. Subtools Actions Menu
A collection of additional subtool actions.
Subtool Actions Menu
Rename
Renames the selected subtool.
All Low
Sets all subtools to their lowest subdivision level.
If a subtool has no subdivisions, no action is applied.
All High
Sets all subtools to their highest subdivision level.
If a subtool has no subdivisions, no action is applied.
All To Home
Sends all subtools to a previously stored home stage position, which is stored by using ZBrush's Stager features.
All to Target
Sends all subtools to a previously stored target stage position, which is stored by using ZBrush's Stager features.
Learn more about this feature in our Geometry > Stager section.
Append
A secondary option to add a new subtool from the Tool library and place it at the bottom of the Subtools list.
Insert
A secondary option to add a new subtool from the Tool library and place it below the currently selected subtool.
Delete All
Deletes all subtools within the selected tool.
A PolyMesh3D star is added to the tool after applying Delete All.
This action cannot be undone.
Apply Last Action to All Subtools
Applies the last action applied to one subtool to all visible subtools.
This feature applies color information and any other undo-able operations to all visible subtools.
ZBrush for iPad subtool actions function just as they do in ZBrush desktop. Learn more about this feature in external ZBrush Subtools documentation.
A select group of essential subtool actions are offered via a long press on a selected subtool.
See the section below on Selected Subtool Touch Actions for more information.
Selected Subtool Touch Actions
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Tap
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Long Press
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Long Press & Drag
Select a subtool by tapping it with touch or pencil.
Selected Subtool (highlighted)
Subtool Long Press Actions Menu
With touch or pencil, a long press on the selected subtool reveals available actions.
Release your touch or pencil once the menu displays.
Selected subtool (highlighted)
Rename
Tap to rename the selected subtool.
Copy
Tap to copy the selected subtool.
Paste
Tap to paste a previously copied subtool.
This can be pasted into any ZTool selected in the Tool library.
If no subtool was previously copied during an active session, this option is disabled.
Duplicate
Tap to duplicate the selected subtool.
Bring to Top
Tap to move the selected subtool to the top of the list.
Send to Bottom
Tap to move the selected subtool to the bottom of the list.
New Folder
Tap to place the selected subtool in a new folder.
Boolean Process
Tap this option to open the menu for Boolean actions that can be assigned to the selected subtool.
Boolean Process submenu
This menu is primarily for modeling with Live Booleans. Learn more in this guide's Live Booleans section.
Delete
Tap to delete the selected subtool.
Undo action is not supported with Subtool > Delete action.
Deleted subtools can be recovered from previously saved files. See this guide's Tool Management section.
Delete Other
Tap to delete other subtools excluding the selected subtool.
Unselected Subtool Long Press
Long press an unselected subtool to display Boolean Process settings for that subtool.
Boolean Process submenu
These options are primarily for modeling with Live Booleans. Learn more in this guide's Live Booleans section.
Folder Actions
Long press on a folder to display available actions that can be applied to it or the subtools within it.
Long press folder actions
Apply Last Action
Applies the last action assigned to the selected subtool to all subtools within the folder.
Transformations, sculpting, painting, and undo actions are not supported with the Apply Last Action command.
Transpose Set
Activates the Gizmo Transpose Selected Subtools feature and selects all visible subtools within the folder.
When this option is active, press and hold Ctrl/Cmd + Shift modifiers and tap on a model's surface to toggle selection status.
The example image above highlights how glove subtool model visibility is disabled and not available for selection with the Gizmo Transpose Selected Subtools feature.
This is commonly used to select all subtools in the folder for use with Gizmo3D to move, rotate, and scale the selections.
Transpose Add
Sets all visible subtools in the folder as selected within the active Gizmo Transpose Selected selection.
Learn more about Gizmo3D capabilities in this guide's Gizmo3D Essentials section.
Transpose Sub
Sets all visible subtools in the folder as unselected within the active Gizmo Transpose Selected Subtools selection.
Learn more about Gizmo3D capabilities in this guide's Gizmo3D Essentials section.
Duplicate
Duplicates the folder and subtools within it.
Merge Up
Merges the folder and subtools into another folder that sits directly above it.
The moved folder is deleted and the higher-level target folder is retained.
Where two folders are not indexed directly above or below each other, the Merge Up action is disabled.
Show Polypaint
A quick action to show Polypaint visibility for all subtools in the folder.
Hide Polypaint
A quick action to hide Polypaint visibility for all subtools in the folder.
Boolean Folder
Creates a new boolean model from subtools within the folder based on the additive, subtractive, intersection, and start group Boolean Process settings applied to the subtools within the folder.
This will create a new boolean labeled UMesh_Subtool Name and add it to the bottom of the Subtools list.
Boolean Folder action does include Dynamic Subdivisions. See Boolean with DSdiv below.
Learn how to use the Boolean Folder feature in our Live Boolean Essentials section.
Boolean with DSdiv
Creates a new boolean model from subtools within the folder based on the additive, subtractive, intersection, and start group Boolean Process settings applied to the subtools within the folder.
All subtools with active dynamic subdivisions are applied to the resulting models during the boolean process.
Applied dynamic subdivisions result in a higher resolution boolean mesh.
This will create a new boolean labeled UMesh_Subtool Name and add it to the bottom of the Subtools list.
Learn how to use the Boolean Folder feature in Live Boolean Essentials section provided in this guide.
Merge Folder
Generates a new mesh by merging all visible subtools within the folder.
The new mesh will be added to the bottom of the Subtools list outside the folder from which it was generated.
Rename Folder
Renames the target folder.
Delete Folder
Deletes the target folder.
The subtools within deleted folder are retained in the Subtools palette.
Delete All
Deletes the folder and all subtools within it.
This action cannot be undone.
Store Subtool Visibility
Offers up to eight unique subtool visibility states.
Quick Steps:
1. Tap V1 to select the group.
2. Toggle subtool visibility icons to show or hide desired subtools within V1 visibility group.
3. Tap V2 to select the group.
4. Toggle different subtool visibility icons to show or hide desired subtools within V2 visibility group.
5. Toggle between V1 and V2 groups.
6. Repeat to available visibility groups as desired.
The selected subtool is always visible regardless of visibility icon status.