Object name-driven names for mesh datablocks
This is one of a pair of proposals intended to reduce the amount of typing involved in naming objects. The other is Collection-based namespaces for objects .
What it is
Sometimes a mesh datablock is only used by one unique object. It would be convenient if the mesh datablock's name could be automatically derived from the name of the single object that uses it.
A mesh datablock's name should be derived in this way by default. The derivation should be broken if the user either manually renames the mesh datablock, or the mesh datablock becomes used by more than one object.
Why it's useful
If a unique object with a unique mesh datablock is renamed, then the user has to rename it in two places: the object, and mesh. This feature would eliminate needless typing in this case.
3 Comments
In simplest version. To ignore .001 in names (instances case, etc.) need few more rows.
I tend to use this python snipped a lot: for ob in C.selected_objects: ob.data.name = ob.name I don't think the proposal is complete: data name is made on creation and it does match; changing willy nilly as the object name could break a lot of things as that name is a reference not just for object linking, it might be nicer to have an option when renaming objects to also rename the data, so a user can decide when to do it?
yes. it is miserable that I have to rename 3d objects twice. and if I use the blend file in Unity and create prefabs, but then later need to change the mesh name in Blender, it breaks the prefabs, which now can't find a mesh with the original name, so I have to re assign the newly renamed but same mesh to the mesh renderers of each object in Unity. what this means is that all my 3d models have to be TOTALLY finished, at least in terms of naming every object TWICE, before I can even start working with them in Unity, which hampers my iterative and multi-aspect workflow, especially since I make huge blend files with hundreds of 3d props and want to test before that's all done with. There should be a preference in Blender that says "always instantly set mesh name to its object's name" because I NEVER want them to be different.