UV Tools

UV Tools is a new panel in 5.2.3.0 with helpers for UV editing. It contains two tools: Align UV Edges to Target and Find Shortest Seam Path.

Where to find it

• The full panel lives in the UV / Image Editor side panel (N-panel), under the CATS tab. Open a UV Editor to see it.
• Find Shortest Seam Path is also mirrored in the 3D View CATS tab (under "UV Tools"), because that's where you actually select the vertices.

Align UV Edges is UV-editor only, it needs the UV editor's 2D cursor and selection.

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Align UV Edges to Target

Reshapes a selected line of UV points on each selected mesh so it follows the line of selected UV points on the active mesh. This is great for kitbashing, matching one model's UV layout to another so their textures line up.

The 2D cursor marks which end of each line is the "start", so all lines are walked in the same direction before the points are interpolated along the target.

How to use

1. In the UV editor, turn UV Sync Selection OFF.
2. Select all the meshes involved the active one is the target.
3. Enter Edit Mode and select a matching UV edge line on each mesh.
4. Place the 2D cursor near the start end of the lines.
5. Press Align UV Edges to Target.

Each selected mesh needs exactly one clean line of selected UV points. If a selection branches or isn't a single line, Cats will warn you.

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Find Shortest Seam Path

Selects the shortest run of seam edges connecting two selected vertices. Handy for quickly selecting a seam loop to work with.

It walks only along edges marked as seams (a breadth-first search), so the result is always the fewest-edges path between your two points.

How to use

1. Enter Edit Mode on your mesh.
2. Select exactly two vertices, each lying on a seam.
3. Press Find Shortest Seam Path (available in both the UV editor and 3D View CATS tabs).

The path edges are selected and the mode switches to edge select. If the two vertices aren't connected through seams, Cats tells you no path was found.

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Related Pages:

• Optimization - Atlas generation and material tools
• Mesh Tools - General mesh preparation
• Troubleshooting - Common issues

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Last Updated: July 28, 2026 | Plugin Version: 5.2.3.0 | Blender: 5.1 & 5.2 (5.2 LTS recommended)