UV menu

Editors

UV Editor

Displays the UV Editor.

See UV Editor overview, UV Editor menu bar, and UV Editor marking menus.

UV Set Editor

Displays the UV Set Editor. See UV Set Editor.

Create

Assign Checker Shader

Assigns a shader with a checkerboard texture to the selected mesh as you project UV texture coordinates. This aids in determining the alignment of the UVs by providing a known visual reference. The default setting is off.

Automatic

Projects UV texture coordinates onto the selected object from multiple angles simultaneously. An Automatic Mapping Projection manipulator is displayed around the selected object to facilitate more accurate UV projection.

Select UV > Automatic > to set the Automatic Mapping options.

Best Plane Texturing Tool

Assigns UVs to the faces you select based on a plane computed from vertices you specify.

Note: It is important that you either select all faces before invoking the tool, or set the selection mask explicitly to Polygon. Otherwise selection problems can occur. Use the Best Plane Texturing Tool on shape at a time. You can still use vertices from a different shape to define the plane.
Camera-Based

Creates UV texture coordinates for the selected object based on the current camera view as a planar projection. That is, the camera view becomes the plane of projection.

Select UV > Camera-Based > to set the Camera-Based Mapping options.

Contour Stretch

Select UV > Contour Stretch > to set the Contour Stretch Mapping options.

Normal-Based

Places UVs based on the normals of associated vertices.

Cylindrical

Maps UV texture coordinates onto the selected objects by projecting them inward from an imaginary cylinder.

Select UV > Cylindrical > to set the Cylindrical Mapping options.

Planar

Maps UV texture coordinates onto the selected surface mesh by projecting them along one direction from an imaginary plane.

Select UV > Planar > to set the Planar Mapping options.

Spherical

Maps UVs onto the selected objects by projecting them inward from an imaginary sphere.

Select UV > Spherical > to set the Spherical Mapping options.

Cut/Sew

Auto Seams

Allows Maya to automatically select or cut edges on the selected object/UV shells to form appropriate seams. For more information, see Auto Seams options.

Cut UV Edges

Splits UVs along the selected edges creating new texture borders as a result. This feature is also available from the toolbar of the UV Editor. You can also click on the UV Editor toolbar to use this tool. See Cut UV Tool.

Sew UV Edges

Attaches UVs along the selected borders, but does not move them together in the UV Editor view. You can also click on the UV Editor toolbar to use this tool. See Sew UV Tool.

Split UVs

Separates UVs from each other along the edges connected to the selected UV points, creating borders.

Tip: Quickly separate UVs by clicking the Split UVs icon on the UV Editor toolbar.
Delete UVs

Removes the UVs from the selected face(s) on a mesh. If you want to map textures onto the areas of the surface mesh where the UVs have been deleted, you will need to re-map or re-project the UVs using the UV projection mapping features.

Merge UVs

Use Merge UVs to merge together separate UV shells. Merge UVs has a similar effect to Sew UVs. However, Merge UVs is better suited to merging shells when the polygon has non-manifold geometry. For example, when you have three UV shells that all share an edge because the geometry is nonmanifold, Merge UVs can combine two of the UV shells without affecting the other. If you used Sew UVs in this example, all shells would be combined because they all share an edge.

For more information, see Merge UVs options.

3D Cut and Sew UV Tool

Use this tool to cut and sew UV edges in your scene.

Drag over edges to cut them in the associated UV Shell, or Shift + drag to cut additional edges along the same edge loop.

Ctrl + drag to sew edges, or Ctrl + Shift + drag to sew additional edges along the same edge loop.
Note: Be careful not to use Ctrl + Shift + S, or you may accidentally toggle the Keyframe tangent marking menu off.

Select UV > 3D Cut and Sew UV Tool > to set the 3D Cut and Sew UV Tool options.

3D Grab UV Tool

Use this tool to manipulate UVs directly on a model in your scene.

Select UV > 3D Grab UV Tool > to set the 3D Grab UV Tool options.

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