Tool Shelf - Mesh - Edit Mode

In Edit mode with a mesh object you will find some polygon tools in the tool shelf.

Tweak, Select, 3D Cursor, Transform, Annotate and Measure

The tweak, select and transform tools and the annotation and measure tool is already described in the chapter Object Mode. So we won't cover it here again. And start directly with the polygon tools.

Primitives Add Tools Group

This chapter is already explained in the Editors - 3D View - Tool Shelf - Object Mode chapter. Please have a look in this chapter.

The only difference is that the created primitive will be part of the mesh that you are in edit mode with. And not an independent object.

Extrude tools group

This group contains some extrude tools. A few more exotic ones can be found in the mesh menu.

There are some general settings, since they all have some move settings We will cover them all here for all of the tools.

Header Values

When you move your object then you will see some values in the header, which defines the current position of the object.

The value m stands for the default metric system. Meters. You can change the units in the Properties editor in the Scene properties in the Units panel. When you choose kilometers here then you will see a km instead m.

The value D stands for the distance of the current selected axis. This can also be two axis. Then you have two d values. The value in the brackets is then the direct distance to the starting point.

These values are always relative to the starting point. You always start with zero, regardless of the real world position.

Move without Widget

You don't have to use the widget to move the object. You can also click aside of it, and drag the object around. The mouse turns into a move cursor. The standard behavior then is to move in screen space. When you want to move into a specific axis, then press X or Y or Z to limit the movement to this axis.

Limit Axis

When you want to move along a specific axis, then press X or Y or Z to limit the movement to this axis. You usually start in global orientation. But you can change this in the Orientation settings.

By holding down the mouse button and pressing the X, Y or Z key twice you can toggle this to local. But also to other orientations. This depends in what orientation you start. With normal you can toggle that way between Normal and Global.

Extrude Region

The Extrude Region tool extrudes by default along the vertex normals of the current selection. When it's more than one vertex, edge or face, then the middle will be used.

The method works the same in all Mesh select modes. Vertice, Edge and Face Mode.

When you activate the tool, then you will by default see a yellow widget at the selection. Drag it to extrude the selection.

Tool Settings

Axis Type

You can choose between the regular axis type. That's the yellow widget with just one handler. It always points in the direction of the muddled normals of the selection.

Or you can use the XYZ axis type. That's a handler with three axis. This widget can be aligned with the transform orientation methods.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Extrude Region and Move

Orientation

The widget can have different orientations. The menu items should be self explaining.

Mirror Editing

Enable mirror editing.

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Extrude Manifold

Extrude, dissolve Edges whose faces form a flat surface, and intersect new edges.

The method works the same in all Mesh select modes. Vertice, Edge and Face Mode.

Header Value

The extrude amount.

Tool Settings

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Extrude Manifold

Orientation

The widget can have different orientations. The menu items should be self explaining.

Mirror Editing

Enable mirror editing.

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Extrude Along Normals

Extrudes the selection along local normals. You won't see a widget here. Simply drag.

The method works the same in all Mesh select modes. Vertice, Edge and Face Mode.

Header Value

This tool works like a shrink fatten extrude. And so you will see a corresponding set of values in the header.

Tool Settings

Offset Even

Scales the offset to give more even thickness. Without this checked the farer away faces will have a bigger extrude amount.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Extrude Region and Shrink/Fatten

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Extrude Individual

Extrudes the selection along local normals of each individual face. You won't see a widget here. Simply drag.

The method works the same in all Mesh select modes. Vertice, Edge and Face Mode.

Header Value

This tool works like a shrink fatten extrude. And so you will see a corresponding set of values in the header.

Tool Settings

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Extrude Individual Faces and Move

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Extrude to cursor

Extrudes the selection towards the mouse cursor by clicking at the target position. The extruded geometry will rotate towards the mouse pointer.

Tool Settings

Rotate Source

In theory this setting should rotate the source geometry too to achieve a better result. In practice this setting does nothing.

Inset Faces

Inset insets edges into the selected faces. Think of it as an extrude inwards the face.

Activate the tool, drag the mouse. But carefully. The control is not the best. You better adjust the amount in the last operator.

Tool Settings

Outset

With outset ticked the Inset will not extrude inwards but outwards.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Inset Faces

Boundary

With Boundary ticked you will get the connect edges in the corners. Without the edges ends straight.

Bevel

The Bevel Tool adds a bevel to the selected geometry.

Usage: first select the geometry that you want to bevel. Then activate the tool. Don't wonder that the mouse movement does nothing until you move the mouse really really far away. That's by design. Best is to adjust the amount in the Last Operator Bevel panel.

Tool Settings

Affect

What geometry to bevel. Vertices or Edges.

Note that with Vertices some options are not available.

Width type

Which measure type to choose for the bevel action. Offset, Width, Depth or Percent.

Segments

How many segments gets created.

Shape

Controls the profile shape strength. A value close to 0 bends the roundness to inside. A value towards 1 bends the curve to outside. A value of 0.5 defines a radius around the center point of the bevel.

Miter outer

How the outer miter is set. Miter is how the bevel rounding at a corner is done.

Sharp

Creates a sharp miter.

Patch

This replaces the outside vertex of a miter with 3 vertices. And uses a patch pattern there.

Arc

This replaces the vertex of a miter with 2 vertices, joined by an arc. A separate Spread parameter says how far to move the vertices away from their original position.

Miter Inner

How the inner miter is set. Miter is how the bevel rounding at a corner is done.

Sharp

Creates a sharp miter.

Arc

This replaces the vertex of a miter with 2 vertices, joined by an arc. A separate Spread parameter says how far to move the vertices away from their original position.

Spread

Belongs to inner miter method Arc. Adjust how strong the inner radius is bent.

Intersections

The method to use to create meshes at intersections. Bevel can create self intersecting geometry.

Face Strength Mode

Set Face Strength on the faces involved in the bevel, according to the specified mode. This can be used in conjunction with a Weight Normals Modifier (with the Face Influence option checked).

Profile Type

Which profile type to use. Super ellipse or Custom.

Custom Profile

Choose and adjust a custom bevel profile. This feature needs more than one segment to work.

Preset

Choose some profile presets.

Tools

Reset View

Resets the zoom factor of the curve view.

Reset Curve

Resets the curve to the defaults. This means when you choose a curve preset to reset it to the values of the latest chosen preset.

Curve view

Adjust the profile curve.

Left click where no point is adds a new point. Left click at a point allows you to move it.

Holding down Shift while moving a node point activates precision movement.

Holding down ctrl while moving activates temporary snapping.

When a point is selected then the curve view reveals a sub menu at the bottom.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Bevel

Shape

Controls the profile shape strength. A value close to 0 bends the roundness to inside. A value towards 1 bends the curve to outside. A value of 0.5 defines a radius around the center point of the bevel.

Outer Miter

How the outer miter is set. Miter is how the bevel rounding at a corner is done.

Sharp

Creates a sharp miter.

Patch

This replaces the outside vertex of a miter with 3 vertices. And uses a patch pattern there.

Arc

This replaces the vertex of a miter with 2 vertices, joined by an arc. A separate Spread parameter says how far to move the vertices away from their original position.

Inner Miter

How the inner miter is set. Miter is how the bevel rounding at a corner is done.

Sharp

Creates a sharp miter.

Arc

This replaces the vertex of a miter with 2 vertices, joined by an arc. A separate Spread parameter says how far to move the vertices away from their original position.

Spread

Belongs to inner miter method Arc. Adjust how strong the inner radius is bent.

Intersections

The method to use to create meshes at intersections. Bevel can create self intersecting geometry.

Face Strength Mode

Set Face Strength on the faces involved in the bevel, according to the specified mode. This can be used in conjunction with a Weight Normals Modifier (with the Face Influence option checked).

Profile Type

Which profile type to use. Super ellipse or Custom.

Profile Type Custom

Choose and adjust a custom bevel profile. This feature needs more than one segment to work.

Preset

Choose some profile presets.

Tools

Reset View

Resets the zoom factor of the curve view.

Reset Curve

Resets the curve to the defaults. This means when you choose a curve preset to reset it to the values of the latest chosen preset.

Reverse Path

The path gets reversed. The first point becomes the last and vice versa.

Toggle Profile Clipping

Toggles the profile clipping.

Curve view

Adjust the profile curve.

Left click where no point is adds a new point. Left click at a point allows you to move it.

Holding down Shift while moving a node point activates precision movement.

Holding down ctrl while moving activates temporary snapping.

When a point is selected then the curve view reveals a sub menu at the bottom.

Loop Cut tools group

Loop Cut

Loop Cut adds edge loops. When you hover with the mouse over the geometry then you will see a yellow line in the exact middle of the face(s). This is what will be the new cutted edge.

When you click once, then this edge gets created. When you click and hold, then you can move this edge to a new location.

Loop cut ignores selections. It will try to divide the face under the mouse, and continue the loop until it is closed, or until it cannot continue. At poles for example.

Tool Settings

Number of Cuts

You can with one cut add more than one edge. Adjust the amount.

Note that here you need to adjust this setting before adding the loop. Note also that the yellow preview line will not show all added loops. But just the yellow line.

The settings remains its values as long as you don't close Bforartists and restart it.

Correct UV's

Correct the UV's when transforming the new added loop.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Loop Cut and Slide

Note that all settings here just changes the latest added loop. Not all added loops in the current session.

Number of Cuts

The number of cuts that gets added. It can be more than one loop at once.

Smoothness

This value defines how smooth the loop cut gets added. From flat to bent.

Falloff

Adjust the Falloff type for smoothness.

Factor

Change the center of the added loop.

Offset Edge Loop Cut

Slides the selected edge(s)

Usage: select the edges that you want to slide. Click to confirm.

You can adjust the sliding amount in the Last Operator Offset Edge Slide.

Last Operator Offset Edge Slide

Cap Endpoint

Cap Endpoint caps the loose edges.

Knife Tool Group

Knife tool

The Knife tool cuts the geometry, and adds edges. When it crosses existing geometry then it adds a vertice at the crossing point.

Usage: activate the tool, left click to define the starting point. This can also be a point in the middle of a face. But ideally you choose an existing vertice or an edge as the start and endpoints. The knife tool tries to snap to them when you get close with the mouse cursor.

When done press Enter or Spacebar to confirm. Right click abandons the operation.

When you create a vertice in the middle of a face, then the knife tool will try to connect this vertice by an existing vertice of this face when you confirm with spacebar.

The Knife tool can now cut through multiple objects in edit mode. You need to enter edit mode with these objects. Hold down shift to select the other objects ...

Hotkey functionality in the footer text

Have a look at the footer when you work with this tool. Here you will find further instructions and hotkeys.

Enter, Pad Enter, Spacebar - confirm

Esc key, RMB - cancel the operation

LMB start the cut

Double LMB - close the cut

E - create new cut

Ctrl or Shift while dragging - Snap to the middle of an edge

Z - cut through the whole geometry, also the backfaces.

MMB - pan the view.

Alt MMB - rotate the view.

S - activate the measure tools. Holding down S will cycle through the three measure modes. Only Distance, Only Angles and both distance and angle measurement.

A - activate the angle constraint.

Tool Settings

Measurements

The measurements modes. The names should be self explaining.

Angle Snapping

Activate snap to angles. When active then the knife cut snaps to an angle either aligned to the screen or relative to the object.

Angle Snapping Increment

The snapping angle in case the angle snappping tool is active.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Bisect

Bisect cuts geometry along a plane. This description is a bit misleading though. You simply cut through the whole geometry by defining a line. And the cut goes through the geometry from the current view.

When you have set your cut and release the mouse then you reveal a widget with which you can move and rotate the cut. Clicking at the arrow and drag moves the cut. Clicking at the circle and drag rotates the cut.

Tool Settings

Fill

Fills the cut.

Last Operator Bisect

Poly Build

This tool extrudes out edges and faces from the border of existing open geometry.

The tool will not work at a cube, since here it cannot extrude out an existing polygon from a border. There is no border since the geometry is closed.

Usage:

Move the mouse over an edge until it turns blue. Then you can left click and drag to extrude it out.

Holding ctrl and clicking will extrude the last selected element to the mouse cursor. To extrude out an edge from a vertice don't click with left mouse. This would create a polygon. But with right mouse button.

Holding down shift allows you to mark vertices, edges or polygons that you want to remove. By clicking the selected geometry will be deleted.

You can just work at one edge at a time.

Tool Settings

Create Quads

Create quad or tri geometry.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator

We have two last operators here, dependent of which method we use. Dragging out edges will reveal the Extrude At Cursor Move panel. Holding down Ctrl will reveal the Face at Cursor Move panel.

Extrude At Cursor Move panel

Orientation

The widget can have different orientations. The menu items should be self explaining.

Mirror Editing

Enable Mirror Editing.

Face at Cursor Move panel

Move X, Y Z

The position of the new created element. Attention, the actual world orientation and rotation does not matter here. It always starts with a value of zero, and moves relative to this zero then. For the actual location values have a look in the sidebar in the transform panel.

Orientation

The widget can have different orientations. The menu items should be self explaining.

Mirror Editing

Enable Mirror Editing.

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Spin

The Spin tool extrudes the selection and spins it by a defined amount and segments. This amount and number of segments can be adjusted.

When you activate the tool then you reveal some widgets with various handlers.

You can spin vertices, edges and faces. And even whole closed objects.

Usage

Select the geometry that you want to spin out. In our case we choose a face at a cube.

The first thing that you need to is to activate the correct Axis widget, which can be done in the Tool Settings. The ones with the big + buttons at the end defines in which direction the extrusion happens. And when you touch them then you start the spin extrusion. The rest of the widget functionality should be self explaining. You have handlers to pull and to rotate.

Hint, you activate all three axis widgets by holding down shift, and clicking at the axis buttons in the tool settings.

The second step is then to move the center of the spin to the desired location to get the rotation that you want. This can be done by the move handler. Or you click into the middle of the widget, at the white circle there, and drag it around.

For an accurate rotation around a single axis you should work in one of the orthographic views.

Tool Settings

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Spin

Steps

Steps is the number of segments.

Smooth / Randomize Tools group

Smooth

Smoothens the selected vertices.

Usage

Activate the tool, move the mouse.

Tool Settings

Repeat

How often the smoothing should be applied.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Smooth Vertices

Randomize

Randomizes the selected vertices.

Usage

Activate the tool, move the mouse.

Tool Settings

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Smooth Vertices

Edge and Vertex Slide Tools Group

Edge Slide

Edge Slide slides the selected edge along the face that it is part of. This is for the edge at a cube into two possible directions.

This tool requires to have at least one edge selected.

Header Values

The header values shows you the current transformation. But also hints towards a hotkey.

Holding down Alt will allow you to slide the edges behind the limits of the guide edge. Yellow infinite guide lines appears.

Tool Settings

Correct UV's

Correct UV's corrects the UV's while editing the geometry.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Edge Slide

Vertex Slide

Vertex Slide slides the selected vertice along the edge that it is part of. This is for the corner vertice at a cube into three possible directions.

Header Values

The header values shows you the current transformation. But also hints towards a hotkey.

Holding down Alt will allow you to slide the edges behind the limits of the guide edge. Yellow infinite guide lines appears.

Tool Settings

Correct UV's

Correct UV's corrects the UV's while editing the geometry.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Vertex Slide

Shrink/Fatten / Push/Pull Tools Group

Shrink / Fatten

Shrink / Fatten shrinks or fattens the selection. The faces moves along the normals of the faces.

Header Values

The header values shows you the current transformation. But also hints towards a hotkey. Holding down Alt will turn off Even Thickness.

Tool Settings

Offset Even

Scales the offset to give more even thickness. Without this checked the farer away faces will have a bigger extrude amount.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Shrink/Fatten

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Push/Pull

It pushes or pulls the selection relative to the center of the selection.

Header Values

The header values shows you the current transformation.

Tool Settings

Offset Even

Scales the offset to give more even thickness. Without this checked the farer away faces will have a bigger extrude amount.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Push/Pull

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Shear and To Sphere Tools Group

Shear

Shear shears the selection. When you activate the tool then you will reveal a widget. This widget allows you to shear the selection in all possible axis.

Tool Settings

Orientation

Choose the orientation for the shear action.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Shear

Orientation

Choose the orientation for the shear action.

Mirror Editing

Enables Mirror Editing.

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

To Sphere

Shapes a selection of objects into the shape of a sphere. The calculation happens with the object origins.

In Object mode this tools requires to have more than one object selected.

Usage

Select the vertices, activate the tool, then drag the mouse in the 3D viewport. In the header you will read the current factor then. Which tells you how close you are towards the sphere shape.

Last Operator To Sphere

Factor

The factor to transform the selection into a shape form.

Mirror Editing

Enables Mirror Editing.

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Rip Tools Group

Rip Vertices

Rip splits the edges between the selected vertices. It creates two edges out of one.

This tool works similar to the Edge Split tool. It also selects the outer edges so that you immediately move them. Right click will snap them back to the initial space.

Tool Settings

Fill

Fills the gap between the new edges when you move the geometry.

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Rip

Move X , Y , Z

Adjust the position.

Constraint Axis

Limit the position relative to the source object.

Orientation

Orientation is a drop-down box. Choose the type of orientation for the mirroring action.

Mirror Editing

Enables Mirror Editing.

Proportional editing

Enables proportional editing. Activating proportional editing reveals further settings.

Proportional Falloff

Adjust the falloff methods.

Rip Edge

Rip Edge extrudes out the selected vertices. When you do this operation at an edge then you will create N-Gons that way.

Tool Settings

Drag

When you click at the widget of the active tool, then you perform the tool action. Adjust what should happen when you click outside of the widget, in the empty area.

Last Operator Extend Vertices

Orientation

Orientation is a drop-down box. Choose the type of orientation for the mirroring action.