User Guide: Quick Start

Drag'n'drop an OBJ file onto the "headus UVLayout" desktop icon, choose your options, then click on Load.
Use the C and W keys to draw out the boundary of a UV shell.
Move the mouse pointer over that shell and use Enter to detach it from the rest of the mesh. You can then use the Space-MMB combination to click and drag it further away from the main mesh.
Draw out more boundaries on the main or detached meshes, using Enter to split up the various pieces.
Use the D key to drop each detached mesh down into UV space. Once all detached meshes are moved over into UV space, the original uncut mesh will be displayed in the 3D window.
Switch to UV mode, move the mouse pointer over a UV shell and hold down the F key to flatten it out. You could also use Shift-F, which does an initial "bloat" that helps with more complex shapes.
Once all your shells have been roughly flattened, use the Optimize: Run For button to fully flatten everything.
If you get a collapsed UV (one or more red faces on a shell boundary), then you may need to zoom in and move those UVs by hand with the Ctrl-MMB combination. Sometimes its good to use the P key to pin moved UVs, then flatten the shell again so that the layout of surrounding areas take into account the new UV location.
Use Space-MMB to move the various UV shells apart so they don't overlap.
Switch to 3D mode and use the T key to cycle between the different textures to see how the UVs are working on the original 3D mesh.
Save the mesh out as an OBJ file. You can then load it into other applications for further processing as needed.
If you then edit the UVs further in another application, you may want to import the mesh back into the UVLayout tool for some final flattening. Simply Load with Edit selected, switch to UV mode, and hold down the F over the modified UV shells, or use Optimize: Run For to re-flatten everything.

Retrieved from "http://doc.uvlayout.com/User_Guide:_Quick_Start"

+{{:User Guide: Menu}}
 # Drag'n'drop an OBJ file onto the "headus UVLayout" desktop icon, choose your options, then click on  '''Load'''.
 # Use the '''C''' and '''W''' keys to draw out the boundary of a UV shell.
 # Use Space-MMB to move the various UV shells apart so they don't overlap.
 # Switch to 3D mode and use the '''T''' key to cycle between the different textures to see how the UVs are working on the original 3D mesh.
-# Save the mesh out. You can then load it into other applications for further processing in needed.
+# Save the mesh out as an OBJ file. You can then load it into other applications for further processing as needed.
 # If you then edit the UVs further in another application, you may want to import the mesh back into the UVLayout tool for some final flattening. Simply Load with Edit selected, switch to UV mode, and hold down the '''F''' over the modified UV shells, or use '''Optimize: Run For''' to re-flatten everything.