<cat>Hammer.Advanced</cat> <title>Instances</title> # What are instances? Instances are slightly different than prefabs and have their own merits. It's worth noting that it too can contain both models, geometry, and/or entities. The biggest difference is that it cannot be referenced from any other map but the one it is created within. It is local to the current VMAP. ⤶ One of the benefits to instances is rendering. Much like models, where if the same model is repeated over and over again it will be batched up into a single rendering pass, instances are handled the same way. Geometric detail that is instanced and repeated is batched together for rendering purposes.⤶ ⤶ #Benefits⤶ One of the benefits to instances is rendering. Much like models, where if the same model is repeated over and over again it will be batched up into a single rendering pass, instances are handled the same way. Geometric detail that is instanced and repeated is batched together for rendering purposes.⤶ Another benefit is that when editing instances the changes can be seen immediately to all the surrounding same instances. If a house is an instance and a window is added that change is instantly duplicated to all the other instances. #Creating Instances 1. Select a number of objects and/or meshes 2. Right click to bring up the context menu and `Selected Objects` -> `Create Instance` You could press the hotkey <key>CTRL</key> + <key>Shift</key> + <key>G</key> to quickly create an Instance. <upload src="b0065/8dafa3f7a21d3a7.png" size="442316" name="creatinginstances.png" /> ##Editing Instances **Double click** on an **instance** to edit it. Any changes to the instance will be reflected live to all other instances inside the map. ##Collapsing Instances Right click on an instance `Selected Objects` -> `Collapse Instances`. Similar to collapsing a prefab the collapsed instance will leave behind all the individual objects and meshes.