# How can I delete an edge without deleting faces? **URL:** \ **Category:** Modeling\ **Created:** [March 11, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331 "2009-03-11T15:16:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/3/a88e57/32.png) [@3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/u/3Dnut)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/1 "2009-03-11T15:16:39Z")
I would like to get rid of several edges by selecting them and hitting delete. I can assure you that if I deleted these edges I would be left with valid quads. What happens when I delete the edges is that it deletes the edges (but does not remove the vertices that I want gone also) and removes the faces that I want to keep. This is making my current work flow much slower. ---
**Author:** ![TheSambassador](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@TheSambassador](https://blenderartists.org/u/TheSambassador)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/2 "2009-03-11T15:26:12Z")
If the edge is a part of that face, the face is going to be deleted. Kinda just how it is. ---
**Author:** ![3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/3/a88e57/32.png) [@3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/u/3Dnut)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/3 "2009-03-11T15:52:23Z")
Seems the point of the delete edge only operation is to make only the edge no longer part of the face. Like I said, a valid quad would be remaining. Wish I knew how to write a tool that deleted the edge and then rebuilt the face to save me an extra step. Thanks for your help. It sounds like I have to deal with it and pray it gets added someday. ---
**Author:** ![Chimpstar](https://blenderartists.org/user_avatar/blenderartists.org/chimpstar/32/7210_2.png) [@Chimpstar](https://blenderartists.org/u/Chimpstar)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/4 "2009-03-11T16:48:50Z")
i believe the delete edge only function is to remove an edge and leave the verts behind. you can’t have a face without edges and you cant have an edge without verts. a quad has 4 verts and 4 edges the face is just the surface between it all. ---
**Author:** ![3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/3/a88e57/32.png) [@3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/u/3Dnut)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/5 "2009-03-11T17:19:00Z")
People keep saying “you can’t have a face without edges” so I must not be explaining things very clearly. I am not trying to do anything that would take away the edges or vertices that the face needs to be a face. here is a picture of an example of what I am talking about. If the edge highlighted in yellow were simply deleted (along with it’s no longer needed vertices) you would still have 3 valid quads. ![http://www.pda-concepts.com/Blender/delete_edge.jpg](http://www.pda-concepts.com/Blender/delete_edge.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![tatsuyame](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/f9ae1b/32.png) [@tatsuyame](https://blenderartists.org/u/tatsuyame)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/6 "2009-03-11T17:46:45Z")
You’re expecting a result that isn’t what is going to happen, because you ARE removing the edges that define those current quads, and you’re keeping the vertices. You are then expecting it to fill in those square shapes, but the problem is, they don’t consist of 4 vertices, rather 5 for the outer sqaures, and 6 for the middle one; and thus aren’t quads. (and as Blender doesn’t support N-gons, it can’t fill in those shapes with one polygon) In that example, you could just move the two vertices where that highlighted line intersects the horizontal lines to either side, so that they are on top of the vertices on the outer edges, then remove doubles. ---
**Author:** ![Vertex\_Pusher](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/e19b73/32.png) [@Vertex\_Pusher](https://blenderartists.org/u/Vertex_Pusher)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/7 "2009-03-11T18:02:36Z")
The operation you want to use is X -\> Erase -\> Edge Loops … and not Erase -\> Edge … And in the future you might post an image with the operation you want to use … saves on time and argument 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tatsuyame](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/f9ae1b/32.png) [@tatsuyame](https://blenderartists.org/u/tatsuyame)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/8 "2009-03-12T07:58:35Z")
Actually deleting the edge loop will delete the top and bottom vertices on the left side, resulting in a trapezoid. ---
**Author:** ![beefcalf](https://blenderartists.org/user_avatar/blenderartists.org/beefcalf/32/9732_2.png) [@beefcalf](https://blenderartists.org/u/beefcalf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 8:32am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/9 "2009-03-12T08:32:19Z")
In the example graphic given, 3Dnut can accomplish what he wants by selecting ONLY the middle edge, then hitting XKey \> Edge Loop. Blender will rebuild the faces back to 3 stacked quads (to make explicit what tatsuyame has implied). ---
**Author:** ![3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/3/a88e57/32.png) [@3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/u/3Dnut)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 10:49am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/10 "2009-03-12T10:49:21Z")
> [@tatsuyame](#): > > You’re expecting a result that isn’t what is going to happen, because you ARE removing the edges that define those current quads, and you’re keeping the vertices. You are then expecting it to fill in those square shapes, but the problem is, they don’t consist of 4 vertices, rather 5 for the outer sqaures, and 6 for the middle one; and thus aren’t quads. (and as Blender doesn’t support N-gons, it can’t fill in those shapes with one polygon) > In that example, you could just move the two vertices where that highlighted line intersects the horizontal lines to either side, so that they are on top of the vertices on the outer edges, then remove doubles. Sorry, in hindsight my question should have been this: “Is there anyway in Blender to delete extraneous vertices when deleting edges, so that undesired face deletion does not occur?” ---
**Author:** ![3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/3/a88e57/32.png) [@3Dnut](https://blenderartists.org/u/3Dnut)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 10:53am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/11 "2009-03-12T10:53:16Z")
> [@beefcalf](#): > > In the example graphic given, 3Dnut can accomplish what he wants by selecting ONLY the middle edge, then hitting XKey \> Edge Loop. Blender will rebuild the faces back to 3 stacked quads (to make explicit what tatsuyame has implied). Right on! That is a good workaround for the problem that I was facing. I really appreciate your help with that. I knew there had to be a way to delete an edge AND have the extraneous vertices get deleted without killing the face or deforming the mesh. ---
**Author:** ![dmi3ich](https://blenderartists.org/user_avatar/blenderartists.org/dmi3ich/32/728579_2.png) [@dmi3ich](https://blenderartists.org/u/dmi3ich)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-can-i-delete-an-edge-without-deleting-faces/442331/12 "2022-06-08T21:24:31Z")
Now it’s called X → Dissolve Edges …