How do you cut, copy and paste in edit mode please?

Support Basics & Interface
#1

Hi,

All I have found is this script

https://raw.github.com/dairin0d/cut-copy-paste/master/space_view3d_cut_copy_paste.py

Which creates a copy paste bar in the Object mode toolbar, not the Edit mode. And it errors as soon as you even try it in object mode!

I also found a few older threads with the most counter intuitive, bizarre series of commands, I could not get them to work right. Didn’t spend a lot of time there, hoping there is a simple way now?

Can anyone clue me in on this basic editing task?

Many thanks

#2

With SHIFT+D you can simply duplicate what is selected in Edit Mode

#3

Right, I did that, but then I lose the original vertices’s I had selected, and would have to go back and carefully reselect the exact same ones again.

I must be missing the last step - please let me know.

Thanks!

#4

I’m not entirely sure why “losing” the original selection is an issue. Your new duplicate is selected, if you need multiple copies, just Shift+D again. The copy of the copy is the same as the original.

If you have some other reason for wanting to quickly and easily select that particular set of vertices, add a Vertex Group in the mesh properties tab, and assign them (in edit mode). This will allow you to go back whenever you want and select these verts, or to deselect them if you need to do that.

Perhaps what you want to do is move a part of your mesh somewhere else? If this is the case, then you would ‘Separate’ that part (it becomes a new object), move the part to where ever you want it, and ‘Join’ the two objects again. If you place it precisely enough (and the mesh has verts in the correct place to receive it) you can reconnect it to the main mesh using ‘Remove Doubles’. Normally, though, you’ll have to connect it up with normal modeling tools.

#5

OK that helped, thank you. I’ll bookmark this thread and take a few notes here:

Copy+Paste: In Edit mode, select Vertices, press Duplicate and place where needed.

Cut+Paste: In Edit mode, Separate by selecting vertexes, press P, select “Selected”, move where you like.

Many thanks. I am sure as I work through all the tutorials things like this should all become clearer.

#6

Best of luck to you. I think you might be better served to not try to map 3d modeling tools onto 2d modeling tools. It will work, after a fashion, but you may get stuck trying to do things that are simple and obvious in a paint program that just don’t work in 3D space.