What do you want to do?

Start with the result you want. Choose the selection mode first, select the geometry, and then open the tool. If the Actions panel only shows icons, cycle its header layout button to show names and descriptions.

Find a task

I want to…	Start with	Instructions
Center two objects	Object mode → Transform → Detail → Position	Align object centers
Resize or rotate a whole part	Object mode → Transform gizmo or Detail → Scale / Rotation	Transform controls
Move something an exact distance	Select objects or components → Offset	Offset
Make a window through a wall	Face mode → Knife → Apply Cut → Cut Through	Make a window
Make a raised or recessed panel	Face mode → Inset → Extrude	Raised-panel lesson
Change the height of an existing surface	Face mode → Push/Pull	Push/Pull
Round a sharp edge	Object, Edge, or Face mode → Bevel	Bevel a block
Give a thin surface thickness	Select the surface → Solidify	Solidify
Repeat parts at regular intervals	Object mode → Array	Make a row of parts
Mirror a part or make it symmetric	Object mode → Live Symmetry popover → Mirror or Sym	Mirror versus Symmetrize
Make a vase or turned shape	Lathe → draw a profile → Create Lathe	Lathe
Combine or organize parts	Join, Group, or Parent	Which kind of combination?
Smooth a model	Sub-D preview	Smoothing versus adding faces
Paint a freehand detail	Paint mode → Brush scope	Continuous brush painting
Color a whole face	Paint mode → Face scope	Paint one face
Prepare a texture layout	UV → seams/unwrap or projection → packing	First UV layout
Animate a moving assembly	Parent parts → Animation → transform keys	Animation
Export a model or render an image	Import and Export, or Studio/PBR → Renderer Options	Rendering and export

Join, Group, and Parent

Tool	What it does	Choose it when…
Join	Combines selected meshes into one mesh object	You want to edit several pieces as one mesh
Group	Adds an organizational container while keeping separate objects	You want to organize a collection of parts
Parent	Makes the active object the transform parent of the others	An axle should carry its wheel, or an arm should carry its hand
CSG Subtract	Removes the cutter's volume from the target	You need a solid cutout shaped by a second object

Join does not remove intersecting internal surfaces or automatically make a watertight union. Group is an organizational container; Parent uses an actual selected object as the parent. Make the intended parent active last and check the Outliner before applying Parent. Unparent keeps the child's current world placement.

Extrude, Push/Pull, and Solidify

Extrude adds connected geometry. On an inset box face, it creates the side walls of a new raised or recessed section.

Push/Pull moves the existing selected faces along their normals. Use it to change an existing feature's height or depth; neighboring geometry follows the moved vertices.

Solidify gives a thin surface thickness. Use it for a panel or shell that needs a second surface and connecting sides. Check the preview direction so the thickness extends toward the intended side.

See the raised-panel comparison and Solidify reference.

Bevel, Sub-D, and Subdivide

Tool	What changes	Typical use
Bevel	Sharp edges become chamfer faces or rounded strips	Keep a box-like shape with softened corners
Sub-D	A reversible subdivision preview smooths the surface	Preview a smoother overall form
Subdivide	Faces are split into smaller editable faces	Add geometry for local editing
Freeze Sub-D	The subdivision preview becomes real mesh geometry	Continue editing or exporting the baked result

More segments or subdivision levels add complexity. Start low and inspect the silhouette before increasing them. Compare Bevel settings and results.

Knife, Cut Through, and Delete

Knife defines a cut on a surface. Four corners inside a wall face create an inner face; the wall is still filled there after Apply Cut.

Cut Through opens that selected region through the object and builds the tunnel's inside faces. It is a direct command, without a separate Apply step.

Delete removes selected geometry. Deleting the front face alone does not construct a window tunnel through a solid wall. Follow Make a window for the complete sequence.

Mirror versus Symmetrize

Open Live Symmetry with the left/right-arrows button in the bottom toolbar. The popover contains the live axis switches, Origin, Symmetrize, and—in Object mode with a selected mesh—Mirror commands.

Current Mac controls. The screenshot has Origin set to Local; no symmetry operation has been applied to the wall.

Set Origin → Local for the local-axis examples below. World instead uses the scene world origin; check this setting before applying a mirror or symmetry operation.

Mirror X/Y/Z mirrors the selected geometry across the specified local axis. Check the object's origin and local axes to understand where the mirrored geometry goes.

Sym +X / Sym -X chooses which side to keep, then reconstructs the other side symmetrically across local X. The Y and Z variants work the same way. Choose the sign for the side containing the detail you want to preserve; the opposite side is replaced.

Live Symmetry mirrors supported edits as you work. It is useful while building both sides together. See symmetry and repeated parts.

Brush painting versus material assignment

Brush paints a stroke directly on the texture using Brush Size. It is useful for markings, scratches, and small color details.

Face and Object paint scopes assign the chosen material to an entire surface or object. Choosing Face scope does not mean painting in grid-sized blocks.

UVs describe where surfaces lie on the texture. They matter for where brush details land and whether surfaces share texture space. A solid material assignment does not require a hand-authored UV layout.

A tool is missing or nothing happens

Check selection and troubleshooting. The most common causes are the wrong selection mode, no component selected after switching modes, or another tool still waiting for Apply/Done or Cancel.