UV Editor

UV Editor#

Cut UV Tool#

The UV Editor has its own Cut UV tool in its toolbar. Where the 3D View version marks and clears seams on the mesh, this one splits and stitches UV islands directly.

Cutting#

  • Left Mouse Button (LMB): Cut the hovered edge apart

  • Drag LMB: Draw a cut path along edges

  • Double LMB: Cut an edge loop, stopping at island borders and seams

  • Shift + Double LMB: Select the edge loop without cutting

  • Hold Ctrl: Preview the shortest path from your last click and cut it with each LMB click

Cuts open a small gap so you can see and grab the result. The gap size is controlled by the Cutter Slide Gap setting in the tool header.

The area around a cut or stitch can be automatically cleaned up. Influence controls how many faces away from the affected edges are included in this step. With Unwrap enabled, the influenced faces are re-unwrapped while the surrounding UVs stay pinned in place. With Refine Steps above zero, each face moves toward its 3D angles and proportions for that many iterations.

Tip: While drawing a cut, use the dots on neighboring vertices as targets. You can erase by dragging backward toward the highlighted previous vertex.

Stitching#

Hold the inverse modifier (Alt by default) to stitch islands back together instead of cutting.

  • Alt + LMB: Stitch the hovered island-boundary edge

  • Alt + Drag LMB: Stitch along a drawn path

  • Alt + Double LMB: Stitch a whole boundary loop

  • Holding Alt during a Ctrl shortest-path session stitches instead of cuts

Selecting#

  • LMB on a face: Select the hovered face (Shift toggles)

  • Double LMB on a face: Select the whole island

  • Shift + LMB on a point or edge: Toggle selection for that component

Seams#

Cut UV keeps mesh seams in sync with the islands by default. Turn off Mark Seams in the tool settings if you want your seams to intentionally differ from the island borders.

Editor Toggle#

The UV Editor is readily accessible while working with the Cut UV tool. To open the UV Editor, click the button labeled UV Editor in the tool settings. Click the button again to close it.

You can configure the UV Editor’s position in the add-on preferences, choosing to open it to the left, bottom, or in a new window.

Framing Selected UVs#

Double clicking a face in the 3D View will frame the selected island in the UV Editor. This is optional and can be disabled in the add-on preferences if desired.

Operators#

You will find a couple new operators in the UV Editor.

Smart Straighten UV Islands is the same as the operator that is outlined in the section on straightening and is available at the bottom of the UV menu of the UV Editor as well as the context menu.

Select UV Island Boundary selects the boundary edges of selected UV islands.

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