zbrush 3.1
Hiding part of the main mesh with cntrl+shft+click polygroup with it as the only eye icon switched on (I think) removes a subtool (eyes mesh for example) from the list and merges it locked in the main mesh subtool layer. Sometimes it comes back in its own layer, sometimes not.
Am I doing a wierd key combo thing, this happens quite a bit.
Cheers and thanx in advance
Chris
I have been unable to duplicate this.
Try launching ZBrush with plugins disabled to see if the problem goes away. If it does, then one of your plugins is creating the problem. To do this, double-click on ZBrush’s icon to launch it, then immediately hold Shift until it finishes launching.
Thanx aurick!
Will do.
Reopened the file this afternoon and the subtool is back. It is at the top of the list and I cant budge it from there to put the main tool at the top. I semm to remember this happens when other subtools are hidden and on the main tool I try to hide a polygroup. BTW I did a search and I am the only one with this problem so far.
Cheerio Chris
Actually Polyhertz posted with the same problem:
>>PolyHertz]Hey,
I just switched over to xp64 a few days ago, and have sense run into an issue in zb that’s never happened to me before. Whenever I ctrl+shift+lmb on a polygroup instead of it hiding all the other groups the top subtool gets deleted. If I do this on a subtool that’s not the top one, the top will still be deleted from the list, but will remane visible in the viewport.<<
I’ve had this happen, too. In my case, it seems to help if I hide all the other subtools.
Hmmmm, my comp is xppro sp2 32bit.
Havent had a chance to knock out the plugins yet to see where the problem is only I noticed it is intermitant and it does help to isolate the tool that you are hiding polygroups on.
I had a similar issue.
One subtool is merged into the main mesh and is gone from the tool list.
If the main mesh is active the subtool is still in darker shading. 
funny thing 
Klaus
The disappearing subtool problem is happening to me too. If I control-shift click on a polygroup on one of my subtools, the whole subtool disappears from the list and I have to reload it. Both subtools were visible at the time I tried to hide the polygroup.
I’m using 3.1 on Windows XP Pro SP 2, 32-bit. The only extra ZPlugs I have loaded are ZSphere Tweaks, Transpose Master, Subtool Master, and Image Plane, but they weren’t in use at the time. I’ll try the disable plugins tip and see if it works.
EDIT: As Polyhertz mentioned above, it’s always the subtool at the top of the list that disappears for me, even if it’s not the one i’m trying to hide groups on.
OK, I just tried it again with plug-ins disabled and I still have the problem, so I don’t think it’s the plug-ins. Sometimes, hiding polygroups worked correctly and sometimes the subtool disappeared. However, the problem is so intermittent it’s hard to pin down what’s causing this.
I also tried it with the other subtool hidden and it seemed to work better that way, but again, it’s intermittent.
Hi PixelDust.
Or it happens when there are quite a few subtools, or when those tools are high resolution. I did notice the subtool returned when the whole tool was reloaded, even after saving it with it dissapeared. Well it doesn’t dissapear so much as become a nonselectable mesh who’s visability is tied to the main tool. Upon reappearing it sits at the top of the list where it is unmovable in the list order.
Like you for me this intermittant and as yet I haven’t lost any work so it seems a kind of quirk instead of a bug:). Thanx for the info and if I find anything I will be sure to post it here.
Chris
Oh yeah forgot to mention it doesn’t happen when there are only 2 meshes, like a head sculpt with eyeball subtool.
QUCIK FIX – I read this thread and I am assuming I am understanding what is happening. (you shift click on a subtool to select it. then it shows up as the only tool in the subtool drop down).
When this happens, the other subtools are still there, you just can’t scroll up and down anymore. You need to click the “UP ARROW” that is at the bottom of the subtool list. keep clicking it until you get to the actual top of the list.
goast666, when you talk about shift-clicking on the subtool, do you mean shift-clicking on the tool itself in the document, or shift-clicking on the item in the subtools palette?
Also, do you mean that clicking on the up arrow on the subtool palette is supposed to make the subtool visible again? When I control-shift clicked on a polygroup on a subtool, the whole subtool disappeared from both the document and the subtools palette.
So I’m not sure I’m understanding this correctly. Even so, thanks for the information! 
By the way, Kanga, in my case, I had just two subtools, and I’m not sure whether the resolution mattered or not. This is kinda puzzling! I hope Pixologic can figure this out for the next version…
EDIT: OK, I found out a couple more things. If I hide the mesh one of these two ways, I don’t lose the subtools.
While not in polyframe display mode:
Mask part of the mesh and click “Hide points” on the Masking palette.
Hide the mesh the standard way by shift-control drag or lasso.
(I hope I’m explaining this right - I’m just getting back into ZBrush after a long time not using it.)