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Static Mesh Editor UI

Tool used to preview the look, collision, and UVs as well as set and manipulate the properties of StaticMesh assets.

Choose your operating system:

Windows

macOS

Linux

The Static Mesh Editor consists of four areas:

the static mesh editor main user interface

  1. Menu Bar

  2. Toolbar

  3. Viewport Panel

  4. Details Panel

  • You can close any panel by clicking the small "X" in the upper-right corner of the tab. You can also hide any panel by right-clicking on the tab, and then clicking Hide Tab on the context menu that appears. To once again display a panel that you have closed, click that panel's name on the Window menu.

  • Pressing F1 will display the Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) Material documentation.

File

Command

Description

Load and Save

Save

Saves the asset you are currently working on.

Save As

Saves the asset you are currently working on under a new name.

Open Asset

Opens the Global Asset Picker to quickly find an asset and open the appropriate editor.

Save All

Saves all unsaved levels and assets for your project.

Choose Files to Save

Brings up a dialog box that allows you to choose which levels and assets you want to save for your project.

Connect To Source Control

Brings up a dialog box that allows you to choose or interact with a source-control system that the Unreal Editor can integrate with.

Edit

Command

Description

History

Undo

Undoes the most recent action.

Redo

Redoes the most recent Undo, if it was the last action taken.

Undo History

Brings up the Undo History panel in a separate window.

Sockets

Delete Socket

Deletes the selected socket from the mesh.

Duplicate Socket

Duplicates the selected socket.

Configuration

Editor Preferences

Gives you a list of options, any of which open that part of the Editor Preferences window, where you can modify your Unreal Editor preferences.

Project Settings

Gives you a list of options, any of which open that part of the Project Settings window, where you can modify various settings for your Unreal Engine project.

Plugins

Brings up the Plugins window.

Asset

Command

Description

Actions

Find in Content Browser

Locates and selects the current asset in the Content Browser .

Reference Viewer

Launches the Reference Viewer showing the selected assets' references.

Size Map

Displays an interactive map showing the approximate size of this asset and everything it references.

Audit Assets

Opens the Audit Assets Ui and displays information about the selected assets.

Shader Cook Statistics

Shows the Shader Cook statistics.

Reimport *filename

Reimports the current asset from its original location on disk.

Mesh

Command

Description

Find Source

Opens Windows Explorer at the folder where the Static Mesh's original source file resides.

Change Mesh

Changes the Static Mesh asset loaded in the Static Mesh Editor to the asset currently selected in the Content Browser .

Collision

Command

Description

Add Sphere Simplified Collision

Generates a new sphere collision mesh encompassing the Static Mesh.

Add Capsule Simplified Collision

Generates a new capsule collision mesh encompassing the Static Mesh.

Add Box Simplified Collision

Generates a new box collision mesh encompassing the Static Mesh.

10DOP-X Simplified Collision

Generates a new axis-aligned box collision mesh with the 4 X-axis aligned edges beveled (10 total sides) encompassing the Static Mesh.

10DOP-Y Simplified Collision

Generates a new axis-aligned box collision mesh with the 4 Y-axis aligned edges beveled (10 total sides) encompassing the Static Mesh.

10DOP-Z Simplified Collision

Generates a new axis-aligned box collision mesh with the 4 Z-axis aligned edges beveled (10 total sides) encompassing the Static Mesh.

18DOP Simplified Collision

Generates a new axis-aligned box collision mesh with all edges beveled (18 total sides) encompassing the Static Mesh.

26DOP Simplified Collision

Generates a new axis-aligned box collision mesh with all edges and corners beveled (26 total sides) encompassing the Static Mesh.

Convert Boxes to Convex

Converts any simple box collision meshes to convex collision meshes.

Remove Collision

Removes any simplified collision assigned to the Static Mesh.

Delete Selected Collision

Deletes the selected collision from the mesh.

Duplicate Selected Collision

Duplicates the selected collision.

Auto Convex Collision

Generates a new convex collision mesh based on the shape of the Static Mesh asset.

Copy Collision from Selected Static Mesh

Copies any collision meshes that were created in the native 3D application and saved with the Static Mesh.

For more information about collision for Static Meshes in Unreal Engine, see the Collision Reference .

Window

Command

Description

Static Mesh Editor

Toolbar

Toggles the display of the Toolbar .

Viewport

Toggles the display of the Viewport panel.

Details

Toggles the display of the Details panel.

Socket Manager

Displays the Socket Manager panel, which is not displayed by default.

Convex Decomposition

Displays the Convex Decomposition panel, which is not displayed by default.

Preview Scene Settings

Toggles the display of the Preview Scene Settings panel.

Level Editor

Cinematics

Command

Description

Sequencer

Opens a Sequencer tab.

General

Content Browser

Brings up the Content Browser in a separate window. Enables opening multiple Content Browser windows.

Developer Tools

Brings up the selected Developer Tool in a separate window.

Command

Description

Debug

Blueprint Debugger

Brings up the Blueprint Debugger in a separate window.

Collision Analyzer

Brings up the Collision Analyzer in a separate window.

Debug Tool

Brings up the Debug Tool in a separate window.

Profile Data Visualizer

Brings up the Profile Data Visualizer in a separate window.

Log

Device Output Log

Brings up the Device Output Log in a separate window.

Message Log

Brings up the Message Log in a separate window.

Output Log

Brings up the Output Log in a separate window.

Miscellaneous

Asset Audit

Brings up the Asset Audit window, which enables viewing detailed information about assets.

Class Viewer

Brings up the Class Viewer in a separate window.

Device Manager

Brings up the Device Manager in a separate window.

Device Profiles

Brings up the Device Profiles in a separate window.

Material Analyzer

Brings up the Material Analyzer tool in a separate window.

Merge Actors

Brings up the Merge Actors tool in a separate window.

Modules

Brings up the Modules tool in a separate window.

Pixel Inspector

Brings up the viewport Pixel Inspector tool in a separate window.

Session Frontend

Brings up the Session Frontend in a separate window.

Struct Viewer

Brings up the Struct Viewer in a separate window, which displays all structs that exist within the project.

Visual Logger

Bring up the Visual Logger tool in a separate window.

Widget Reflector

Brings up the Widget Reflector tool in a separate window.

Find in Blueprints

Brings up the Find in Blueprints tool in a separate window. Enables opening multiple Find in Blueprints windows.

Project Launcher

The Project Launcher provides advanced workflows for packaging, deploying, and launching your projects.

Experimental

Localization Dashboard

Brings up the Localiztion Dashboard for your project in a separate window.

Layout

Load Layout

Command

Description

Default Editor Layout

Loads the default layout that the Unreal Editor automatically generates.

User Layouts

The list of available saved user layouts that can be loaded.

Import Layout

Import a custom layout (or a set of layouts) from a different directory and load it into your current instance of the Unreal Editor UI.

Save Layout

Command

Description

User Layouts

The list of available saved user layouts that can be saved over.

Save Layout As

Save the current layout customization on disk so it can be loaded later.

Export Layout

Export the current layout customization to a different directory.

Remove Layout

Command

Description

User Layouts

The list of available saved user layouts that can be removed.

Remove All User Layouts

Remove all the layout customizations created by the user.

Enable Fullscreen

Enables fullscreen mode for the application, expanding across the entire monitor.

Help

Command

Description

Bugs

Report a Bug

Navigates to an online portal for reporting bugs in the Unreal Editor.

Issue Tracker

Navigates to the Unreal Engine issue tracker page

Browse

Browse Static Mesh Editor Documentation

Opens a browser window and navigates to the documentation about this tool.

Help Online

Support

Navigates to the Unreal Engine support website's main page.

Forums

Navigate to the Unreal Engine forums to view announcements and engage in discussions with other developers.

Answer Hub

Navigate to the Answer Hub to ask questions, search answers, and share your knowledge with other UE4 developers.

Online Learning

Learn Unreal Engine for free with easy-to-follow video courses and guided learning paths.

Visit UnrealEngine.com

Navigates to UnrealEngine.com where you can learn more about Unreal technology.

Credits

Display application credits.

Application

About Unreal Editor

Displays application credits, copyright information, and build information.

Toolbar

Item

Description

static mesh editor toolbar save button

Saves the current asset.

static mesh editor toolbar browse button

Browses to the associated asset and selects it in the most recenty-used Content Browser (summoning one if necessary).

static mesh editor toolbar realtime button

Toggles whether the viewport updates in realtime, or only when clicked on / moused over. By default, it is turned off, and you may need to click in the viewport once after the mesh is loaded in order to get streamed textures displaying at high resolution.

static mesh editor toolbar reimport base mesh button and dropdown menu

Two options are available under the arrow dropdown menu.

Command

Description

Reimport Base Mesh

Reimports the base mesh.

Reimport Base Mesh + LODs

Reimports the base mesh and all the custom LODs.

static mesh editor toolbar sockets button

Displays any sockets that have been applied to this mesh. For more information about sockets, see SkeletalMeshSockets .

static mesh editor toolbar wireframe button

Toggles the viewmode of the Preview panel between a lit view and a wireframe view.

static mesh editor toolbar vertex color button

Toggles visibility of vertex colors.

static mesh editor toolbar grid button

Toggles visibility of the grid in the Preview panel.

static mesh editor toolbar bounds button

Toggles display of the bounds of the Static Mesh.

static mesh editor toolbar collision button and dropdown

Two options are available under the arrow dropdown menu.

Command

Description

Simple Collision

Toggles display of the simplified collision mesh of the static mesh, if present.

Complex Collision

Toggles display of the complex collision for this static mesh.

static mesh editor toolbar show pivot button

Toggles visibility of the mesh's pivot point.

static mesh editor toolbar normals button

Toggles display of vertex normals in the Preview panel.

static mesh editor toolbar tangets button

Toggles display of vertex tangents in the Preview panel.

static mesh editor toolbar binormals button

Toggles display of vertex binormals (orthogonal vector to normal and tangent) in the Preview panel.

static mesh editor toolbar vertices button

Toggles display of vertices in the Preview panel.

static mesh editor toolbar uv button and dropdown

Several options are available under the arrow dropdown menu, depending on the number of UV channels.

Command

Description

None

Toggles display of the static mesh's UVs.

UV Channel #

Toggles display of the Static Mesh's UVs for the selected channel(s) for the static mesh asset in the Preview panel.

Remove Selected

Removes the currently selected UV from the static mesh.

static mesh reset camera button

Refocuses the camera on the Static Mesh.

static mesh additional info button

Toggles whether or not to draw additional user data associated with the asset.

static mesh bake out materials button

Bake out Materials for given LODs

Viewport Panel

The Viewport panel shows a rendered (or optionally wireframe) view of the Static Mesh asset. This allows you to examine the Static Mesh as it would be rendered in-game. This viewport also allows you to preview the bounds of the Static Mesh asset as well as its collision mesh, if one has been assigned. In addition, the UVs of the Static Mesh can be displayed. For information about the basics of using this panel, refer to the Viewport Basics documentation.

Overlaid onto the Viewport panel is a set of statistics or information about the Static Mesh asset.

Static Mesh Editor viewport preview panel

In this information you will find the following:

  • LOD - Displays the number of LOD (Levels of Detail) for the Static Mesh.

  • Current Screen Size - The vertical height of the mesh displayed on screen as a proportion of the height of the viewport.

  • Triangles - Displays the number of triangles in the Static Mesh.

  • Vertices - Displays the number of vertices in the Static Mesh.

  • UV channels - Number of UV channels. Unique, non-overlapping UVs are required for shadow mapping.

  • Distance Field - The resolution and memory footprint of the distance field for this mesh.

  • Approx Size - Displays the approximate size (Length x Width x Height) of the Static Mesh in Unreal units with a scale of 1 in all axes.

  • Num Collision Primitives - Number of collisions primitives.

Details Panel

The Details panel shows specific properties pertaining to the Static Mesh Actor, such as the Materials applied to the surface, LOD options, and mesh reduction options.

For information about the basics of using this panel, refer to the Editor Details Panel documentation.

Controls

Mouse Controls

Viewport Panel

  • LMB + Drag - If the camera is locked, rotates the mesh around its Z axis and moves towards or away from the origin. Otherwise, rotates the camera around its Z axis and moves the camera along its local X axis.

  • RMB + Drag - If the camera is locked, rotates the mesh. Otherwise, rotates the camera.

  • LMB + RMB + Drag - If the camera is not locked, moves the camera along its local YZ plane.

Keyboard Controls

  • Ctrl + R - Toggles realtime in the Preview panel.

  • L + Mouse Move - Rotates the preview light in the Preview panel.

Camera Hotkeys

  • Alt+H - Position camera to the Front Orthographic view.

  • Alt+J - Position camera to the Top Orthographic view.

  • Alt+K - Position camera to the Side Orthographic view.

  • Alt+G - Position camera to the Perspective view.

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