Mirror reflects the selected objects across a plane. Use it to make the left part from the right one, to complete a symmetric part from its half, or to fix a model that was exported as a mirror image. It works with meshes, point clouds and polylines.
Mirror changes the selected objects themselves; it does not make a copy. To keep the original, make a copy first with Clone (see Clone and Multi Clone) and mirror the copy.
How to mirror an object
- Select one or more objects in the Scene tree. Objects nested in them are mirrored too.
- Click Transform › Mirror. The same tool is also on the Mesh Edit tab.
- Choose a plane with one of the four buttons at the top of the panel. Until you choose one, the panel shows only these buttons.
- Check the plane in the viewport and, if needed, move it with Shift or turn it with Normal.
- Click Mirror objects.
MeshInspector reflects the objects at once; the panel stays open, so you can mirror again. To go back, use Undo (Ctrl+Z, or Cmd+Z on macOS).
Choose the plane
| Button | Plane | Normal |
|---|---|---|
| Plane YZ | Reflects along the X axis | 1, 0, 0 |
| Plane XZ | Reflects along the Y axis | 0, 1, 0 |
| Plane XY | Reflects along the Z axis | 0, 0, 1 |
| Import Plane | Takes the position of a plane object from the scene | Copied from that plane |
A coordinate plane is first placed at the edge of the selected objects: on the side of their bounding box with the smallest coordinate, slightly inside it. If you mirror right away, the object flips over this edge and ends up beside its old place. To mirror the object in place, move the plane to its middle with Shift: for Plane YZ, Shift is the X coordinate of the plane, so enter the X of the centre of the object.
To use Import Plane, the scene needs a plane object, for example one made with Inspect › Plane (see features). Click Import Plane; the panel says Click on the plane object in scene to import its parameters. Then click the plane in the viewport.
Plane settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Normal | The X, Y and Z of the plane direction. Type other values to tilt the plane |
| Arrow buttons | Move the plane a small step back or forward along its normal; hold a button to keep moving |
| Shift | The position of the plane along its normal, measured from the origin of the scene, in model units. Drag the value or enter a number. Hold Shift while dragging to change it faster, or Alt (Option on macOS) to change it more finely |
| Flip | Reverses the normal of the plane. The plane stays in the same place, so the result of mirroring does not change |
| Show Plane | Shows or hides the plane in the viewport |
Mirror objects
When the plane is in place, click Mirror objects. MeshInspector moves every point of the selected objects to the other side of the plane:
The normals stay correct after mirroring: a mirrored mesh keeps its outside facing outwards, and the normals of a point cloud are mirrored together with its points.
To make a whole symmetric part from its half: clone the half, mirror the copy across the cut face, and join the two halves with Combine or Union (see Combine and Union).
