Cut Environment

  • Updated on Oct 24, 2024
  • 2 minute(s) read

The mesh cutting tool allows you to extract any part of your space easily. You can later export these parts to use in another software, or move these extracted parts elsewhere in the environment for virtual staging purposes.

Basic cut with hole filling

To easily extract an object and fill the blank left by the extraction:

  1. Select the mesh cutting tool in the toolbar

  2. Place points at the base of the object you want to extract. Once you formed the base you can close it pressing Enter or by clicking on the first point

  3. Extrude the base by placing your mouse cursor at the top of the object, then press Enter

  4. Adjust the height of the selection box

  5. Fill the name of the extracted object then validate, the cutting process will start

Note

  • You may adjust the height of the selection box with the handles surrounding the box or by using the slider in the validation window

  • If you choose the option Save extracted object, the object will be kept in the environment and saved in the library. The extracted object is totally detached from the cut itself

    Like any tool, you may cancel the tool by pressing on Escape.

Manual hole filling

Hole filling only works well in plane surfaces and right angles surfaces (a floor and a wall for example). If you wish to do the hole filling manually, you can disable the auto-generated hole filling using the object panel and use the 3D shape tool to fill up the left blank space with a textured plane.

Exporting the extracted objects

You may export the extracted object as a mesh or a pointcloud file with colors/textures by selecting them and choosing a destination for the file to be exported to via File > Export selected object or by choosing the Export option in the property panel or the object's contextual menu.

Removing a cut

Once your environment has been cut, you may want to undo the cut. Performing this operation may take a while because the whole environment will need to be restored and re-cut. As a consequence, a warning may show up if you try to remove a cut.

If you wish to remove all of the cuts of the environment, it is recommended do so via File > Clear layout, which is much faster than removing all the cuts one by one.

Performances and limitations

Although the mesh cutting tool is heavily optimized, it might take some time for big objects to be extracted and exported. Mesh cutting might not work properly if you select huge areas or if you use it on a PC that only meets the minimum requirements.