5 Ways to Straighten Edges in Blender [That I know of]

  • 1.25 speed is recommended. 1.5 is also ok.

Edit 2: Again, I’ve been made aware of another tool, GStretch from LoopTools. This is as good as Edge Unbend - multiple options, works with multiple loops at a time, redoable, PLUS comes with Blender.

Edit 1: I’ve been told about Curve Stretch from Mira Tools, and I tested it. The result is the same as Edge Unbend(Unbend mode). It’s added to the list below. Quick explanation of how it works:
Call the operator - Curve Stretch
Scroll Mouse wheel all the way down - Value = 2
LMB or Enter
RMB to confirm

When I transitioned from 3ds Max to Blender a couple months ago, one of the first things I searched for was a Straighten tool, only to find out that there wasn’t (still isn’t) a dedicated operator for that. After a long time of asking in forums, groups; doing my own research, and a few happy accidents, I’ve found 5 ways to straighten edges in Blender.

  1. Edge Unbend - 0:14 - an operator in Align Tools in CTools by Chromoly. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OePppEPYWtkoZZg_GnaUOPLsTnlmLYVR/view?usp=sharing
  2. Line Up - 2:55 - from Zaloopok addon. https://www.blendernation.com/2016/06/15/addon-zaloopok/
  3. Vertex Align - 4:39 - from Vertex Tools. http://samoloty.wjaworski.pl/downloads/scripts/25/mesh-vertex-tools.zip
  4. Relax - 6:15 - from LoopTools (built-in).
  5. Zero Scaling on Custom Orientation - 8:05 - Manual way to straighten.
    6 . Curve Strech - from Mira Tools.
    https://github.com/mifth/mifthtools/wiki/Mira-Tools
  6. GStretch - from LoopTools - (built-in) - I think this is just as good as Edge Unbend, plus it comes with Blender.
  • Thanks to the authors of the addons for sharing them with us for free.

Note:
_ Sorry for the crap audio. I will get a better mic as I get more into making videos. Also, I’m pretty shy and English is my second language, but hopefully you can understand what I’m saying in the video.
_ My Interface and hotkeys are probably vastly different from yours, but you should be able to find the operators with the Search Menu. I also highly recommend customizing your own interface and hotkeys. I’m thinking about making a video on how to customize the interface and hotkeys in Blender. Let me know if you would like to see that.
_ This is not necessarily a “tutorial”. More like sharing with you the options available.
_ If you have a different solution for straightening edges, please let me know.

Ctools leads to a 404 page

The owner of that repository must have taken everything down recently. I have uploaded it to Google Drive. Here’s the link:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OePppEPYWtkoZZg_GnaUOPLsTnlmLYVR/view?usp=sharing

I’ve edited the download link for CTools/ Edge Unbend. I’ve also added Curve Stretch to the list, and a brief explanation of how to use it for straightening in the description. Chromoly discontinued CTools a while a ago, I think; and the owner of the repository from which I got CTools from, also took everything down. Hopefully, in the future, Blender will have a dedicated Straighten Tool, or someone will write a new addon for that if the addons in this list stop working.

I don’t want to see that. If one is new to Blender, they shouldn’t customize to learn it properly, and if the user is advanced enough to need a custom setup to speed up their workflow, they don’t need a tutorial to do it.

Edit: if you would like to showcase your setup and tell the reasons you use it in your workflow(s), that’s a bit different and doesn’t have to be a tutorial.

1 Like

If someone is new to 3D, I agree with you that they shouldn’t customize to learn Blender properly. But people that got experience with other 3D packages already but unfamiliar with Blender and just want to know how to customize certain things to their liking quickly, would like to see it, I think. I learned Blender by customizing it. I guess if I’m gonna make the videos, they’re gonna be geared toward those people.

Ah. I have to disagree for two reasons. Blender is very different from anything else and if one starts changing it after opening it, they’re not really learning Blender but trying to make it behave like what they’re used to, instead of changing their workflows to suit the tools. The other reason is because these guys say otherwise

http://nimblecollective.com/learning-blender-why/

Blender is probably the most customizable (3d) software I’ve used, and I love it. If not for that, if I weren’t able to change many of the default behaviours to the degree that I have, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. And I believe many feel the same. At the end of the day, the basic theories and workflows are about the same. If someone already know how to do something, and is used to a certain setup/ interface/ hotkeys, etc, I don’t see anything wrong about making Blender works for them. For unique features like the 3D Cursor(real differences from other apps that are worth changing workflows to suit Blender), I think changing the interface and hotkeys is a way for people to adapt to and adopt its workflows.
I don’t think anyone is gonna start changing things super drastically right after opening Blender. In order to change things, they gotta learn where things are, terminology, etc. I just want to speed that up for them. So, as I said, customizing stuff is a way to learn.