Its purpose is to make working with groups of objects syntactically clearer.

Remarks

This is almost identical to an Object3D

Example

const geometry = new THREE.BoxGeometry(1, 1, 1);
const material = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({
color: 0x00ff00
});
const cubeA = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material);
cubeA.position.set(100, 100, 0);
const cubeB = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material);
cubeB.position.set(-100, -100, 0);
//create a {@link Group} and add the two cubes
//These cubes can now be rotated / scaled etc as a {@link Group} * const {@link Group} = new THREE.Group();
group.add(cubeA);
group.add(cubeB);
scene.add(group);

See

Type Parameters

Hierarchy (view full)

Constructors

Properties

animations: AnimationClip[]

Array with object's animation clips.

Default Value

[]

castShadow: boolean

Whether the object gets rendered into shadow map.

Default Value

false

Array with object's children.

See

THREE.Object3DGroup | Group for info on manually grouping objects.

Default Value

[]

customDepthMaterial?: Material

Custom depth material to be used when rendering to the depth map.

Remarks

Can only be used in context of meshes.

Default Value

undefined

customDistanceMaterial?: Material

Same as customDepthMaterial, but used with THREE.Object3DPointLight | PointLight.

Default Value

undefined

frustumCulled: boolean

When this is set, it checks every frame if the object is in the frustum of the camera before rendering the object. If set to false the object gets rendered every frame even if it is not in the frustum of the camera.

Default Value

true

id: number

Unique number for this Object3D instance.

Remarks

Note that ids are assigned in chronological order: 1, 2, 3, ..., incrementing by one for each new object.

isGroup: true

Read-only flag to check if a given object is of type Group.

Remarks

This is a constant value

Default Value

true

isObject3D: true

Flag to check if a given object is of type Object3D.

Remarks

This is a constant value

Default Value

true

layers: Layers

The layer membership of the object.

Remarks

The object is only visible if it has at least one layer in common with the THREE.Object3DCamera | Camera in use.

Default Value

new THREE.Layers()

matrix: Matrix4

The local transform matrix.

Default Value

new THREE.Matrix4()

matrixAutoUpdate: boolean

When this is set, it calculates the matrix of position, (rotation or quaternion) and scale every frame and also recalculates the matrixWorld property.

Default Value

DEFAULT_MATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE - that is (true).

matrixWorld: Matrix4

The global transform of the object.

Remarks

If the Object3D has no parent, then it's identical to the local transform .matrix.

Default Value

new THREE.Matrix4()

matrixWorldAutoUpdate: boolean

If set, then the renderer checks every frame if the object and its children need matrix updates. When it isn't, then you have to maintain all matrices in the object and its children yourself.

Default Value

DEFAULT_MATRIX_WORLD_AUTO_UPDATE - that is (true).

matrixWorldNeedsUpdate: boolean

When this is set, it calculates the matrixWorld in that frame and resets this property to false.

Default Value

false

modelViewMatrix: Matrix4

Default Value

new THREE.Matrix4()

name: string

Optional name of the object

Remarks

(doesn't need to be unique).

Default Value

""

normalMatrix: Matrix3

Default Value

new THREE.Matrix3()

parent: null | Object3D<Object3DEventMap>

Object's parent in the scene graph.

Remarks

An object can have at most one parent.

Default Value

null

position: Vector3

Object's local position.

Default Value

new THREE.Vector3() - that is (0, 0, 0).

quaternion: Quaternion

Object's local rotation as a Quaternion.

Default Value

new THREE.Quaternion() - that is (0, 0, 0, 1).

receiveShadow: boolean

Whether the material receives shadows.

Default Value

false

renderOrder: number

This value allows the default rendering order of scene graph objects to be overridden although opaque and transparent objects remain sorted independently.

Remarks

When this property is set for an instance of Group, all descendants objects will be sorted and rendered together.

Default Value

0

rotation: Euler

Object's local rotation (Euler angles), in radians.

Default Value

new THREE.Euler() - that is (0, 0, 0, Euler.DEFAULT_ORDER).

scale: Vector3

The object's local scale.

Default Value

new THREE.Vector3( 1, 1, 1 )

type: string

Default Value

Group

This is used by the lookAt method, for example, to determine the orientation of the result.

Default Value

Object3D.DEFAULT_UP - that is (0, 1, 0).

userData: Record<string, any>

An object that can be used to store custom data about the Object3D.

Remarks

It should not hold references to functions as these will not be cloned.

Default

{}

uuid: string

UUID of this object instance.

Remarks

This gets automatically assigned and shouldn't be edited.

visible: boolean

Object gets rendered if true.

Default Value

true

DEFAULT_MATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE: boolean

The default setting for matrixAutoUpdate for newly created Object3Ds.

Default Value

true

DEFAULT_MATRIX_WORLD_AUTO_UPDATE: boolean

The default setting for matrixWorldAutoUpdate for newly created Object3Ds.

Default Value

true

DEFAULT_UP: Vector3

The default up direction for objects, also used as the default position for DirectionalLight, HemisphereLight and THREE.Spotlight | Spotlight (which creates lights shining from the top down).

Default Value

new THREE.Vector3( 0, 1, 0)

Methods

  • Adds another Object3D as child of this Object3D.

    Parameters

    Returns this

    Remarks

    An arbitrary number of objects may be added

    See

  • Adds a listener to an event type.

    Type Parameters

    • T extends string

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • Type Parameters

    • T extends string

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • Applies the matrix transform to the object and updates the object's position, rotation and scale.

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • Applies the rotation represented by the quaternion to the object.

    Parameters

    Returns this

  • Adds a Object3D as a child of this, while maintaining the object's world transform.

    Parameters

    Returns this

    Remarks

    Note: This method does not support scene graphs having non-uniformly-scaled nodes(s).

    See

    add

  • Removes all child objects.

    Returns this

  • Returns a clone of this object and optionally all descendants.

    Parameters

    • Optional recursive: boolean

      If true, descendants of the object are also cloned. Default true

    Returns this

  • Copy the given object into this object

    Parameters

    • source: this
    • Optional recursive: boolean

      If true, descendants of the object are also copied. Default true

    Returns this

    Remarks

    Note: event listeners and user-defined callbacks (.onAfterRender and .onBeforeRender) are not copied.

  • Fire an event type.

    Type Parameters

    • T extends string

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • Searches through an object and its children, starting with the object itself, and returns the first with a matching id.

    Parameters

    • id: number

      Unique number of the object instance. Expects a Integer

    Returns undefined | Object3D<Object3DEventMap>

    Remarks

    Note that ids are assigned in chronological order: 1, 2, 3, ..., incrementing by one for each new object.

    See

    id

  • Searches through an object and its children, starting with the object itself, and returns the first with a matching name.

    Parameters

    • name: string

      String to match to the children's Object3D.name property.

    Returns undefined | Object3D<Object3DEventMap>

    Remarks

    Note that for most objects the name is an empty string by default

  • Searches through an object and its children, starting with the object itself, and returns the first with a property that matches the value given.

    Parameters

    • name: string

      the property name to search for.

    • value: any

      value of the given property.

    Returns undefined | Object3D<Object3DEventMap>

  • Searches through an object and its children, starting with the object itself, and returns the first with a property that matches the value given.

    Parameters

    • name: string

      The property name to search for.

    • value: any

      Value of the given property.

    • Optional optionalTarget: Object3D<Object3DEventMap>[]

      target to set the result. Otherwise a new Array is instantiated. If set, you must clear this array prior to each call (i.e., array.length = 0;).

    Returns Object3D<Object3DEventMap>[]

  • Returns a vector representing the direction of object's positive z-axis in world space.

    Parameters

    • target: Vector3

      The result will be copied into this Vector3.

    Returns Vector3

  • Returns a vector representing the position of the object in world space.

    Parameters

    • target: Vector3

      The result will be copied into this Vector3.

    Returns Vector3

  • Returns a quaternion representing the rotation of the object in world space.

    Parameters

    • target: Quaternion

      The result will be copied into this Quaternion.

    Returns Quaternion

  • Returns a vector of the scaling factors applied to the object for each axis in world space.

    Parameters

    • target: Vector3

      The result will be copied into this Vector3.

    Returns Vector3

  • Checks if listener is added to an event type.

    Type Parameters

    • T extends string

    Parameters

    Returns boolean

  • Type Parameters

    • T extends string

    Parameters

    Returns boolean

  • Converts the vector from this object's local space to world space.

    Parameters

    • vector: Vector3

      A vector representing a position in this object's local space.

    Returns Vector3

  • Rotates the object to face a point in world space.

    Parameters

    • vector: Vector3

      A vector representing a position in world space to look at.

    Returns void

    Remarks

    This method does not support objects having non-uniformly-scaled parent(s).

  • Rotates the object to face a point in world space.

    Parameters

    • x: number

      Expects a Float

    • y: number

      Expects a Float

    • z: number

      Expects a Float

    Returns void

    Remarks

    This method does not support objects having non-uniformly-scaled parent(s).

  • An optional callback that is executed immediately after a 3D object is rendered to a shadow map.

    Parameters

    Returns void

    Remarks

    This function is called with the following parameters: renderer, scene, camera, shadowCamera, geometry, depthMaterial, group.

  • An optional callback that is executed immediately before a 3D object is rendered to a shadow map.

    Parameters

    Returns void

    Remarks

    This function is called with the following parameters: renderer, scene, camera, shadowCamera, geometry, depthMaterial, group.

  • Abstract (empty) method to get intersections between a casted ray and this object

    Parameters

    Returns void

    Remarks

    Subclasses such as Mesh, Line, and Points implement this method in order to use raycasting.

    See

    Raycaster

    Default Value

    () => {}

  • Removes a Object3D as child of this Object3D.

    Parameters

    Returns this

    Remarks

    An arbitrary number of objects may be removed.

    See

    Group for info on manually grouping objects.

  • Removes a listener from an event type.

    Type Parameters

    • T extends string

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • Type Parameters

    • T extends string

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • Removes this object from its current parent.

    Returns this

  • Rotate an object along an axis in object space.

    Parameters

    • axis: Vector3

      A normalized vector in object space.

    • angle: number

      The angle in radians. Expects a Float

    Returns this

    Remarks

    The axis is assumed to be normalized.

  • Rotate an object along an axis in world space.

    Parameters

    • axis: Vector3

      A normalized vector in world space.

    • angle: number

      The angle in radians. Expects a Float

    Returns this

    Remarks

    The axis is assumed to be normalized

  • Rotates the object around x axis in local space.

    Parameters

    • angle: number

    Returns this

  • Rotates the object around y axis in local space.

    Parameters

    • angle: number

    Returns this

  • Rotates the object around z axis in local space.

    Parameters

    • angle: number

    Returns this

  • Calls setFromAxisAngle(axis, angle) on the .quaternion.

    Parameters

    • axis: Vector3

      A normalized vector in object space.

    • angle: number

      Angle in radians. Expects a Float

    Returns void

  • Parameters

    • m: Matrix4

      Rotate the quaternion by the rotation component of the matrix.

    Returns void

    Remarks

    Note that this assumes that the upper 3x3 of m is a pure rotation matrix (i.e, unscaled).

  • Convert the object to three.js JSON Object/Scene format.

    Parameters

    • Optional meta: {
          geometries: any;
          images: any;
          materials: any;
          textures: any;
      }

      Object containing metadata such as materials, textures or images for the object.

      • geometries: any
      • images: any
      • materials: any
      • textures: any

    Returns any

  • Translate an object by distance along an axis in object space

    Parameters

    • axis: Vector3

      A normalized vector in object space.

    • distance: number

      The distance to translate. Expects a Float

    Returns this

    Remarks

    The axis is assumed to be normalized.

  • Translates object along x axis in object space by distance units.

    Parameters

    • distance: number

      Expects a Float

    Returns this

  • Translates object along y axis in object space by distance units.

    Parameters

    • distance: number

      Expects a Float

    Returns this

  • Translates object along z axis in object space by distance units.

    Parameters

    • distance: number

      Expects a Float

    Returns this

  • Executes the callback on this object and all descendants.

    Parameters

    Returns void

    Remarks

    Note: Modifying the scene graph inside the callback is discouraged.

  • Executes the callback on all ancestors.

    Parameters

    Returns void

    Remarks

    Note: Modifying the scene graph inside the callback is discouraged.

  • Like traverse, but the callback will only be executed for visible objects

    Parameters

    Returns void

    Remarks

    Descendants of invisible objects are not traversed.

  • Updates local transform.

    Returns void

  • Updates the global transform of the object. And will update the object descendants if .matrixWorldNeedsUpdate is set to true or if the force parameter is set to true.

    Parameters

    • Optional force: boolean

      A boolean that can be used to bypass .matrixWorldAutoUpdate, to recalculate the world matrix of the object and descendants on the current frame. Useful if you cannot wait for the renderer to update it on the next frame, assuming .matrixWorldAutoUpdate set to true.

    Returns void

  • Updates the global transform of the object.

    Parameters

    • updateParents: boolean

      Recursively updates global transform of ancestors.

    • updateChildren: boolean

      Recursively updates global transform of descendants.

    Returns void

  • Converts the vector from world space to this object's local space.

    Parameters

    • vector: Vector3

      A vector representing a position in world space.

    Returns Vector3