> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://luw-ai.gitbook.io/luw.ai-studio/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://luw-ai.gitbook.io/luw.ai-studio/building/blocks.md). # Blocks Model the shapes that aren't walls, slabs or roofs by placing a solid and reshaping its corners, edges and faces directly in 3D. Not everything in a building is a wall, a floor or a roof. Think of a reception counter, a built-in bench along a window, a raised planter, a chunky entrance canopy, or a rough volume standing in for the house next door. For shapes like these, Luw\.ai Studio has the **Block**: a solid that starts as a box and that you then push, pull, cut and bevel right in the 3D view. A block is real geometry, not a box with a few size sliders. Every corner you drag and every face you extrude stays where you left it, and the finished shape is stored in your project along with everything else. ## Place a block 1. Open the **Build** tab and expand the **Advanced** group (its hint reads "Slab, ceiling, column…"). 2. Click **Block**. The canvas switches to the 3D view if it isn't there already. 3. Click where the block should stand. It arrives on the active level as a box 2 m wide, 2 m deep and 2.4 m tall, and it can sit on top of other objects too. Press `Esc` to back out before you click. If the preview shows that the spot is blocked by something on the floor, `Alt` + click places it anyway. After one placement the new block is selected and the tool switches off, unless you've set the helper panel's continuation chip to **Place multiple**. ## Switch to mesh editing All shaping happens in mesh editing. Select the block, then press `Tab` or click **Edit mesh** in the small menu that floats above it. A toolbar appears over the block, face selection is active and the top face is already picked, so you can start extruding straight away. To leave, press `Tab` again, click the check mark on the toolbar (**Finish edit mode (Tab)**), or press `Esc` once nothing else is in progress. ## Pick vertices, edges or faces | Key | Toolbar button | You select | | --- | --------------------- | ------------------- | | `1` | **Vertex select (1)** | Corner points | | `2` | **Edge select (2)** | Edges between faces | | `3` | **Face select (3)** | Whole faces | A click picks one component. `Shift` + click adds another one, and `Shift` + click on something already selected drops it again. Clicking empty space clears the selection. The toolbar always tells you what you have, for example **2 EDGES** or **4 VERTICES**. The **…** menu on the toolbar holds the bulk commands: **Select all** (`A`), **Invert selection** (`Ctrl + I`), **Clear selection** (`Alt + A`), **X-ray selection** for picking through to the back of the block, and **Delete components** (`X` or `Delete`). {% hint style="info" %} `1`, `2` and `3` only pick component types while you're in mesh editing. Outside it, `1` jumps to the Site and `2` back to the Building. See [Keyboard shortcuts](/luw.ai-studio/getting-started/keyboard-shortcuts.md). {% endhint %} ## Move, rotate and scale a selection With something selected, press `G` to move it, `R` to rotate it or `S` to scale it. Then: * adjust with the mouse, then click or press `Enter` to apply it; * right-click or press `Esc` to cancel; * press `X`, `Y` or `Z` to lock the change to one axis (when moving, `Shift` + `X`, `Y` or `Z` locks it to a plane instead); * type a number for an exact amount: a distance in metres, an angle in degrees or a scale factor; * hold `Alt` to ignore snapping. You can also drag the gizmo's arrows, arcs and handles instead of using keys. A gizmo drag is applied when you let go of the mouse. ## Reshape it with operations The toolbar's **Operations** menu lists every mesh operation with its shortcut. The ones that change the shape: | Operation | Shortcut | Works on | How to use it | | -------------------------- | -------------- | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Extrude selected faces** | `E` | Faces | Pull the faces outwards (or push them in) along their direction. Type a value for an exact depth, then click or press `Enter`. | | **Inset selected faces** | `I` | Faces | Move the pointer towards the middle of the face to create a smaller face inside it, handy as a starting point for a recess or a window-like cut. | | **Bevel selected edges** | `Ctrl/Cmd + B` | Edges | Press on an edge and drag to set the bevel width. The mouse wheel sets how many segments it has (1 to 12). Release to apply. | | **Loop Cut and Slide** | `Ctrl/Cmd + R` | Edges | Hover an edge to preview a ring of new edges running around the block. Scroll, or use **Loop cut count**, for several cuts at once. Press the edge, slide the ring to where you want it, then click to commit. Right-click commits it centred. Sliding works with a single cut; several cuts are spaced evenly. | | **Merge vertices** | `M` | Two or more vertices | Fuses the selected corners into one point. | | **Dissolve selection** | `D` | Edges, or two or more faces | Removes the selected edges and joins the faces on either side into one. | The same menu also has **Move selection** (`G`) and **Rotate selection** (`R`). Every operation counts as one step in your history, so `Ctrl/Cmd + Z` takes back a whole extrude in one go. Right after an operation you can press `F9` to adjust its settings without adding another step, or `Shift + R` to repeat it. {% hint style="warning" %} A loop cut can only travel around an unbroken ring of quads (faces with four sides). If the toolbar shows "Loop cut requires a connected ring of quad faces", the faces around that edge have been split into triangles or many-sided shapes. Try an edge elsewhere on the block, or make the loop cut before you extrude. {% endhint %} ## Give faces different materials A block's faces are grouped into material **slots**. A new block has a single slot, **Body**, so painting any face repaints the whole block. To give part of it its own material, for example a stone top on a timber bench: 1. Enter mesh editing and press `3` for face selection. 2. Select the faces that should look different. 3. In the block's properties panel, open **Slots** and click **Add slot**. The selected faces move to a new slot and get a temporary accent colour. 4. Paint that slot with the Paint tool (`P`). See [Materials and paint](/luw.ai-studio/items-and-paint/materials-and-paint.md). Every slot in the list shows its swatch, a name you can edit, its material and how many faces use it. You can delete any slot except **Body**. ## How blocks work with the rest of the project * **Things sit on blocks.** Floor items rest on faces that point up, wall-mounted items go on upright faces and ceiling items hang from faces that point down. If an edit would leave an item with nothing under it, the Studio refuses the edit. See [Placing and arranging](/luw.ai-studio/items-and-paint/placing-and-arranging.md). * **Blocks show in 2D.** The floor plan draws a block's footprint, so a counter or plinth appears in plan view and on plan exports as well. Blocks that start more than 1.2 m above the floor are left off exported plan sheets. * **Blocks export.** They're included in GLB, USDZ, OBJ and STL exports, and an IFC export carries them as generic building elements. See [Export](/luw.ai-studio/import-and-export/export.md). ## Move or delete a block Outside mesh editing, the block's properties panel has **Position** sliders (X, Y and Z) and, under **Actions**, **Move** and **Delete**. The floating menu above a selected block offers the same. You can also select the block and press `Delete` or `Backspace`. There are no width or height sliders: to change a block's size, scale or move its faces in mesh editing.