blenderVfxMaster
Outliner Follow
Selected an object, but can’t find it in the Outliner? Turn on Follow Active to bring the hierarchy back to your selection. There’s also a manual jump button for when you’ve scrolled somewhere else and want to find the active object again.
Cover illustration. The screenshots and previews below are labelled separately.
See the selected object in the tree
The viewport and Outliner side by side, so you can find the selected item.
RESULT · View full size ↗
Find the selection in the tree
The room scene shows the selected object beside the Outliner. Look for the corresponding highlighted item in the hierarchy.
Two ways to find your object
Here’s what you can do with it.
Follow your selection
Enable Follow Active, then select a different object in the viewport. The Outliner follows the new active object.
Jump back when you need to
Use Outliner Jump to Active to reveal the selected object after you’ve browsed another part of the hierarchy.
Turn following on or off
The follow toggle and manual jump are together in the sidebar. Turn automatic follow off when you want to browse the hierarchy without it moving to your selection.
Find objects in a busy scene
It can be easy to spot a chair in the viewport and still lose it in a long object list. The room example shows the selected object and the Outliner in the same workspace.
The sidebar and setup
BLENDER PREFERENCES · View full size ↗
The add-on in Preferences
This is the installed entry in Blender Preferences. The other images show the navigation controls and result.
CONTROLS · View full size ↗
Follow automatically, or jump manually
The sidebar holds the Follow Active toggle and jump action next to the viewport and Outliner.
Try it in a busy scene
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01
Keep a viewport and Outliner visible.
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02
Turn on Follow Active in the sidebar.
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Select another object and find its highlighted item in the tree.
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If you scroll away, use the manual jump to reveal it again.
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Turn automatic follow off when you want to browse independently.
What you need
- Blender 3.0 or newer on Windows, macOS or Linux.
- An active object and an Outliner area in the workspace.
- The shown controls are automatic follow and manual jump.
- The result is a change in Outliner navigation; it does not change your rendered scene.
Can I jump to the object without leaving follow on?
Use Outliner Jump to Active whenever you want to reveal the current selection manually.
What triggers automatic follow?
With Follow Active enabled, changing the active object makes the Outliner follow that selection.