---
title: "Selection Sets"
url: "https://help.maxon.net/zbr/en-us/Content/html/user-guide/selection-sets/selection-sets.html"
section_path: "User Guide > 3D Modeling > Selection Sets"
description: "Selection Sets store several versions of a SubTool's Polygroups, masks, polypaint, UVs, and morph targets. Each version is a set, much like a preset …"
---

# Selection Sets

**Tool > Selection Sets**

Selection Sets store several versions of a SubTool's Polygroups, masks, polypaint, UVs, and morph targets. Each version is a set, much like a preset configuration for a given model. Store as many sets as you please and switch between them at any time.

In many 3D applications, a “selection set” saves a selection of faces or points. ZBrush uses the same nomenclature and extends the idea. A ZBrush selection set stores the data itself. For example, you can keep a Polygroup layout for posing and another for UV work, several masks, or two color schemes for a client review. When needed, bring any stored set back with one click.

The Tool > Selection Sets sub-palette sits directly below Geometry. The sub-palette has one row for each kind of data, in this order: Polygroups, Masking, Polypainting, UVs, and MorphTargets. The buttons at the bottom of the sub-palette manage the stored sets.

![The Selection Sets sub-palette, directly below Geometry in the Tool palette](https://help.maxon.net/zbr/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/ZBrush_Selection_Sets_menu.png)

Sets work on any subdivision level, but sets depend on the SubTool's topology. DynaMesh, ZRemesher, and Sculptris Pro change the topology and break the sets stored before. See When Selection Sets Break (below).

## Storing and Recalling Sets

Every row in the Selection Sets sub-palette works the same way. The steps below use a mask as the example.

1. Open the Tool > **Selection Sets** sub-palette.
2. Mask the part of the model you want to store.
3. Click the **+** icon on the Masking row.
4. Type a name for the set.

To recall a set, click the set name in its row and choose the set from the list. The arrow icons at the left of the row step through the stored sets.

![Clicking the set name on the Masking row opens the list of stored masks](https://help.maxon.net/zbr/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/ZBrush_Selection_Sets_recall.png)

Clicking a row's set list makes that row active, and the sub-palette highlights the active row. The set shown in an orange field is the selected set. In the image above, **Masking** is the active row and **Mask-Tail** is the selected set. Every row shares the buttons at the bottom of the sub-palette. **Update**, **Rename**, **Paste**, and the delete and copy options act on the selected set. **Delete Active Sets** and **Copy Active Sets** work on every set in the active row.

### Row icons

Each row has icons at the right that run the matching ZBrush action on the selected SubTool, so you don't have to open the **Polygroups**, **Masking**, or **Polypaint** sub-palettes. The icons don't store or delete sets. The number before the icons is the number of sets stored in that row.

![The set count and icons on the Masking row](https://help.maxon.net/zbr/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/ZBrush_Selection_Sets_icons.png)

| Row | Icon | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Polygroups** | Circle with an X | Clears all Polygroups on the SubTool and leaves one Polygroup, since a mesh in ZBrush always has at least one. |
| **Polygroups** | Eye | Turns Polygroup display (polyframe) on or off, the same as the **PolyF** button. |
| **Masking** | Circle with an X | Clears the mask. |
| **Masking** | Two arrows | Inverts the mask, the same as **Inverse** in the Tool > Masking sub-palette. |
| **Masking** | Eye | Hides or shows the mask. A hidden mask stays active. Same as **ViewMask** in the Tool > Masking sub-palette. |
| **Polypainting** | Paint bucket | Fills the SubTool with the color selected in the color picker. |
| **Polypainting** | Eye | Turns polypaint display on or off, the same as the brush icon on a SubTool in the Tool > SubTool sub-palette. |
| **UVs** | Circle with an X | Deletes the UVs on the SubTool. Stored UV sets are not affected. |

## Managing Sets

The buttons at the bottom of the sub-palette, below **Morph Target Options**, work on the selected set or on the active row.

| Button | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Update** | Replaces the selected set with the current state of the model, overwriting the old version. |
| **Reload** | Applies the selected set again, fitted to the current subdivision level. Use **Reload** to get a set back after you step through subdivision levels or change the model. |
| **Duplicate** | Makes a copy of the selected set. |
| **Switch** | Exchanges the selected set with the corresponding mesh attributes. |
| **Delete Selected Set** and its arrow | Deletes sets. Choose what the button deletes from the arrow next to the button. See Deleting sets. |
| **Rename** | Changes the selected set's name. |
| **Edit** | Changes the order of the sets in the row. See Reordering sets. |
| **Copy All Sets** and its arrow | Copies sets so you can paste the copied sets onto another SubTool with the same topology. Choose what the button copies from the arrow next to the button. See Copying and pasting sets. |
| **Paste** | Adds the copied sets to the current SubTool. |
| **Clear** | Empties the copy clipboard without pasting. |

### Reordering sets

Sets appear in each row in the order you stored them. To move a set, select the set and click the **Edit** button, then use the up/down arrows next to **Reorder** to establish the set's new position in the row.

### Deleting sets

The delete button (**Delete Selected Set** by default) works on the option you choose from its arrow. Click the arrow next to the button, choose an option to define the button's deletion functionality, then click the button.

![The delete options, opened from the arrow next to the delete button](https://help.maxon.net/zbr/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/ZBrush_Selection_Sets_delete.png)

| Option | What it deletes |
| --- | --- |
| **Delete Selected Set** | Only the selected set. |
| **Delete Active Sets** | Every set in the active row. With 10 polypaint sets and the Polypainting row active, the button deletes all 10. |
| **Delete Invalid Sets** | The sets in the active row that broke when the topology changed. Valid sets stay. |
| **Delete All Sets** | Every set in every row. |
| **Delete All Invalid Sets** | The broken sets in every row. Sets that still match the topology stay. |

### Copying and pasting sets

The copy button (**Copy All Sets** by default) also has an arrow with options. Click the arrow, choose an option, then click the button. The button takes the name of the option you choose.

![The copy options, opened from the arrow next to the copy button](https://help.maxon.net/zbr/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/ZBrush_Selection_Sets_copy.png)

| Option | What it copies |
| --- | --- |
| **Copy Selected Set** | Only the selected set. |
| **Copy Active Sets** | Every set in the active row. |
| **Copy All Sets** | Every set in every row. |

Click **Paste** to add the copied sets to another SubTool with the same topology, such as a duplicate of the model.

Pasting works only onto a mesh with the same topology. You can't paste sets onto a different model or onto a mesh with a different polygon count.

Copied sets wait in a clipboard that holds one copy at a time, and pasting empties the clipboard. Click **Clear** if you copied by mistake or decide not to paste. **Paste** and **Clear** in Selection Sets share the same clipboard as the sub-palettes. See Copy and Paste in the Polygroups, Masking, and Polypaint Sub-palettes.

## Working with Each Type of Set

### Polygroup sets

Polygroups work a little like selections in ZBrush. A Polygroup set lets you save a whole Polygroup layout, so you can switch to a different layout at any time. For instance, you could keep one layout for posing, one for masking, one for modeling, and one for UV work.

Polygroup sets also solve two problems:

- Polygroups you make at a high subdivision level change when you step down, because the lower levels have fewer polygons. Stepping back up doesn't restore the original Polygroups. Click **Reload** on the stored set at the high level to get the Polygroups back exactly as they were when you created them.
- Other 3D applications may not support Polygroups, so a model you export and bring back into ZBrush returns without its Polygroups. Import the model back onto the same SubTool and select the Polygroup set you want. The Polygroups appear on the SubTool, provided the mesh topology hasn't changed.

Selection Sets also use their own algorithm to reproject Polygroups onto lower subdivision levels. A lower level has fewer vertices, so the match can never be exact, but the Selection Sets algorithm keeps the borders much closer to the high-resolution version than ZBrush's standard behavior does.

### Mask sets

Without Selection Sets, saving a mask means sending the mask to a texture map, which needs UVs. A mask set needs neither, and you can store as many masks as you like. Store a mask, clear the mask, draw a new one with a lasso, and store the new mask too. Recall any stored mask later from the Masking row.

You can **Reload** any stored mask at any subdivision level. ZBrush fits the mask to that level.

### Polypaint sets

A polypaint set stores the colors on the model, so you don't need to save each color scheme as a texture map. You can try a new color scheme without losing the old one. For instance:

1. Store the current polypaint as a set named "Blue."
2. Fill the model with white, or repaint the model, and store the new colors as a new set.
3. Recall "Blue" at any time from the Polypainting row.

Polypaint sets also work with Adjust Colors. Change the hue, store the result as its own set, and you can show both versions in a review.

### UV sets

Many studios keep more than one UV layout (a "UV set") per model. Make each layout in the UV Editor, apply the layout, and store the layout as a set on the UVs row. Switch between layouts from that row.

### Morph target sets

The MorphTargets row stores sculpting states. Each set is a snapshot of the model's shape. You could store the model untouched, after a **ClayBuildup** pass, and after a pass with the **Standard** brush, then switch between all three.

**Morph Target Options**, below the rows, let you work with two stored sculpting states at once. You store one set as the morph target, keep another set on the model, and blend between the two states with the **Morph** brush.

![Morph Target Options, open below the MorphTargets row](https://help.maxon.net/zbr/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/ZBrush_Selection_Sets_morph-options.png)

To use morph switching and blending:

1. Store the sculpting states you want on the MorphTargets row.
2. Select the state you want on the model.
3. Open **Morph Target Options** and click **Store**. Choose which set becomes the stored morph target.
4. Use **Switch** to swap between the model and the stored morph target.
5. Select the **Morph** brush and sculpt over the model to blend the stored morph target with the state selected on the MorphTargets row.

**Morph Target Options** has four sliders.

| Slider | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Morph** | Blends between the stored morph target and the current state of the SubTool. |
| **Width** | Adjusts the width of the selected SubTool to match the stored morph target. |
| **Height** | Adjusts the height of the selected SubTool to match the stored morph target. |
| **Project** | Projects the stored morph target into the current state of the SubTool. |

To mix in a third state, delete the stored morph target, store a different set in its place, and sculpt with the **Morph** brush again. When you have the mix you want, store the result as a new set. The earlier states stay available, so you can always go back to the untouched model or to any one pass.

## When Selection Sets Break

Selection Sets depend on the topology of the SubTool. A set stores data for every point of the mesh in the order ZBrush numbers those points. Every point on a lower subdivision level also exists on the higher levels. As a result, ZBrush can fit a stored set to any level. You can store a set on one level and recall the set on another.

However, when you use features like DynaMesh, ZRemesher, or Sculptris Pro to replace points and their order, the stored data no longer matches the current mesh. ZBrush doesn't carry sets through a topology change. Doing so would mean storing a new copy of every set each time you remesh, and an artist who moves between DynaMesh, ZRemesher, and Sculptris Pro would quickly run out of memory. Selection Sets support sculpting with subdivision levels, the core ZBrush workflow. Each stored set is close to a full copy of the SubTool's data, and ZBrush saves stored sets with the tool (ZTL) and the project (ZPR), so heavy use of Selection Sets makes those files larger.

> **Important:** **Important!**
>
> After a topology change, you can't recall the sets you stored before the change on that SubTool. If you plan to use DynaMesh, ZRemesh, or Sculptris Pro, finish the work that needs your stored sets first.

A broken set shows a broken polygon icon in its row. If you try to recall a broken set, ZBrush warns that the topology has changed and that you need to delete or overwrite the set.

![The broken polygon icon on sets that no longer match the topology](https://help.maxon.net/zbr/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/ZBrush_Selection_Sets_broken-topology.png)

Sets you store after the topology change work normally. To clean out the old ones, choose **Delete All Invalid Sets** from the delete button's arrow. **Delete All Invalid Sets** removes every set you can't use anymore and keeps the ones you stored since. See Deleting sets.

## Copy and Paste in the Polygroups, Masking, and Polypaint Sub-palettes

The **Polygroups**, **Masking**, and **Polypaint** sub-palettes each have **Copy**, **Paste**, **Clear**, and **Switch** buttons at the bottom. The **Copy** and **Paste** buttons let you copy Polygroups, a mask, or polypaint and paste the copied data back without opening **Selection Sets** while you work in that sub-palette.

Copied data waits in a clipboard until you paste the data, the way copied text does. There are two differences:

- The clipboard holds one copy at a time. A new copy replaces the old one.
- Pasting empties the clipboard.

**Clear** empties the clipboard without pasting. Use **Clear** when you copied by mistake or decide not to paste. Text on a clipboard takes a few kilobytes, but a copy from a 50 million polygon mesh can take a couple of hundred megabytes of memory. **Clear** gives that memory back.

**Switch** swaps the SubTool between the copied state and its current state. For example, create a mask on a SubTool, click **Copy**, clear the mask, and create a new mask. **Switch** then toggles between the new mask and the copied one.