You can use these initially if you are unfamiliar with the keyboard hotkeys, or if you simply prefer to use the mouse for everything. Not every action is covered by these hotkey buttons though, so as you become more familiar with UVLayout, you will want to study the full list of keyboard hotkeys below.

The top row of buttons are simple clicks to set the view to UV, Ed or 3D space, adjust the brush size, or Undo (shown as Z, but is really Ctrl-Z).

The remaining buttons are toggled on and off. When enabled, you can then use the right mouse button to apply the selected key at the mouse pointer location. If an action calls for the double-tap of a hotkey (e.g. select edge loop with Double-C) then double-click the right mouse button to do the same thing.

Disable the button to turn off the mouse hotkey action, and then the right mouse button can again be used to zoom the view. To zoom the view while a hotkey button is enabled, use the mouse wheel, or click and drag the left and middle mouse buttons.

To manipulate shells or UV vertexes, you can either manually select the appropriate combination of Space, Ctrl and Shift buttons, or use the buttons under the Hints section to set them up for you.

To temporarily disable the selected mouse hotkey actions, stow the Hotkeys panel. Open it back up and the previously selected mouse hotkey actions will be re-instated.

Main Hotkeys

But first, here's an explanation of the short-hands used in the lists below:

LMB	- Click the left mouse button.
MMB	- Click the middle/wheel mouse button.
RMB	- Click the right mouse button.
Ctrl	- Hold down the Ctrl key while tapping the listed key. The Command key can also be used under macOS.
Shift	- Hold down the Shift key while tapping the listed key.
Space	- Hold down the Space key while tapping the listed key.
Double	- Double tap the listed key.
***	- Indicates a hotkey that will switch to rectangle selection, to apply the action to multiple shells, if the mouse pointer isn't currently over a shell.

Note: The hotkeys are case-sensitive. This means that if you accidentally turn Caps Lock on, then most functions will not work correctly. Because of this, a warning message will appear in the 3D window whenever you have Caps Lock on.

Views

If you load a file that has some polys without UVs, then you will first be shown the Ed view of the mesh where you will only see the polys without UVs. DON'T PANIC, all the other geometry is still there, but hidden.

If you load a file where all polys have UVs, then you will first be shown the 3D view of the mesh.

1 or U 

Switch to the UV view where you can see and edit the mesh UVs. This is what's called the "flattened" geometry.

2 or E 

Switch to the Ed view where you'll see any mesh geometry that currently has no UVs and is "unflattened". In this view you'll be cutting the mesh up before the pieces are "dropped" into the UV view.

3 

Switch to the 3D view where you'll see all the mesh geometry. There is no editing in this view, its just for viewing mapped textures.

LMB 

When in the Ed and 3D views, click'n'drag to rotate the camera.

When in the UV view, single click or click-n-drag to select shells.

When in the 3D view, single click or click-n-drag Shift-LMB to select shells.

MMB 

Click'n'drag to pan the camera in all views.

RMB 

Click'n'drag to zoom the camera in all views. If you have a wheel mouse, scrolling that will also zoom.

Creating UVs

In the Ed view you will see all the polys that have no UVs. Use C to cut the UV seams, then D to drop pieces into the UV view, then F to flatten them to make the optimized UVs.

C 

Tag edges for cutting. A single tap of the C key will tag just the one edge under the mouse pointer; it will turn red. Shift-C or Double-C will tag an edge loop. Press and hold C and move the mouse pointer to draw out an edge loop section.

To untag a single cut edge, use Backspace. Use Shift-W or Double-W to untag an edge loop.

After tagging, use the Enter key to actually cut the mesh geometry of the shell under the mouse pointer.

Quick mode - If the edge you tag is directly adjacent to a shell boundary, then the cut is made right away.

D 

Drop the shell under the mouse pointer; this moves it from the Ed view to the UV view.

Use Shift-D to move a shell from the UV view back up to the Ed view, then Shift-D again will reattach it to any other un-dropped geometry.

F 

Press and hold the F key to flatten the shell under the mouse pointer. This is the core function of UVLayout, optimizing the UVs for the best quality mapping of textures. The coloring of the flattened polys indicates whether there is stretching (blue), compression (red) or no distortion (green).

Use Shift-F to fully stretch a shell out first, and then optimize for 1 minute. This is recommended as the starting point for a newly dropped piece of mesh.

Use Space-F to run the optimize indefinitely on a shell. Hold Space to stop.

Press and hold the the B key to optimize inside a brush area. Use - and = to adjust the brush size.

Editing UVs

In the UV view you will see all the polys that have UVs. Use the W key to join shells back together, removing UV seams, or C again to make new UV seams, or F to re-optimize after any changes.

Space-LMB 

Hold Space and click and drag the LMB to rotate the shell under the mouse pointer.

Space-MMB 

Move the shell under the mouse pointer.

Space-RMB 

Scale the shell under the mouse pointer.

Ctrl-MMB 

Move a single UV point.

Shift-MMB 

Move points inside a brush area. Use - and = to adjust the brush size.

W 

Tag edges for welding. A single tap of the W key will tag just the one edge under the mouse pointer; it will turn red. Shift-W or Double-W will tag all edges for the adjacent shell. Press and hold W and move the mouse pointer to keep tagging edges under the mouse pointer.

To untag a single weld edge, use Backspace. Use Shift-W or Double-W to untag all edges for the adjacent shell.

After tagging, use the Enter key to actually weld the mesh geometry of the shell under the mouse pointer.

Quick mode - If the edge you tag is one side of a 'V' split in the mesh, then the weld is made right away.

M 

Magnet snap, most commonly used *before* welding shells together.

If any weld edges are tagged on a shell, then the M key will move the adjacent shells together along the weld tag edges.

If no edges are tagged, then shells are snapped together just at the boundary edge under the mouse pointer.

If there's no shell under the mouse pointer, all selected shells are moved to the pointer location.

G 

Mark polys. Tap the G key to bring up the marking menu, then use LMB to marquee mark polys or RMB to marquee unmark. Hold G to mark polys using the brush. Hold Shift-G to unmark polys.

Marked polys can be moved, rotated and scaled with the Space key. They can also be detached into a separate shell with Enter.

A 

Pick points. Tap A over a point to pick or unpick it. Tap A over an edge to pick/unpick it. Use Shift-A or Double-A to pick/unpick an edge loop. Use Ctrl-A to bring up the point picking menu, then use LMB to marquee pick points or RMB to marquee unpick.

Picked points can be moved, rotated and scaled with the Space key or the Move/Scale/Rotate panel transforms.

H 

Hide shells. Tap the H key to bring up the hiding menu, then use LMB to hide shells inside the marquee selection, or RMB to hide shells *outside* the marquee selection.

] 

Pack all shells into the UV unit square.

Ctrl-Z 

Undo

All Hotkeys

Below is the full list of hotkeys that can be used in UVLayout's graphics window. Its split into four different sections, the first being hotkeys common to all viewing modes, followed by the hotkeys specific to each of the UV, Ed and 3D viewing modes.

Common Keys

LMB            : rotate view
Arrow Keys     : rotate by 30 degrees
MMB            : pan
RMB            : zoom
LMB+MMB        : zoom
Wheel Roll     : zoom

Ctrl-Z         : undo

C              : tag cut edges
               : hold C and move mouse to extend selection
Shift-C        : tag an entire edge loop
Double-C       : as above, but stop at branches

W              : tag weld edges
Shift-W        : tag/untag an entire seam
Double-W       : same as Shift-W

Backspace      : untag cut/weld edges

O              : toggle ortho/perspective projection

Pad5/Home/.    : mouse pointer over geometry - focus view onto polys under pointer
               :    pointer over empty space - focus view onto picked shells
               :            no picked shells - focus view onto all visible geometry
Double-Home    : reset view

End/,          : mouse pointer over geometry - focus view onto UV shell under pointer
               :    pointer over empty space - focus view onto UV tile under pointer

G              : mark paint polys
Double-G       : mark fill polys  (Ctrl-G also)
Shift-G        : unmark paint
Double-Shift-G : unmark fill      (Ctrl-Shift-G also)

H              : hide polys menu

>              : auto save to UVL file

/              : Maximize/minimize pane

G Menu

Whenever you type the G key, a menu of extra options appears towards the bottom of the graphics window.

LMB       : Click'n'drag the LMB to stretch a box over polys you want to mark.
RMB       : Click'n'drag the RMB to stretch a box over polys you want to unmark.
F         : Mark polys facing the camera within a 100 degree arc
Shift-F   : Mark polys facing the camera within a 180 degree arc
H         : Hide all marked polys.
P         : Pin the vertexes of all marked polys.
Shift-P   : Unpin the vertexes of all marked polys.
S         : Unmark marked polys, and visa versa.
U         : Unmark all marked polys.
-/=       : Shrink and grow marked region.
Home      : Focus view on marked polys.
Enter     : Make the G menu go away.

H Menu

Whenever you type the H key, a menu of extra options appears towards the bottom of the graphics window.

LMB       : Click'n'drag the LMB to stretch a box over polys you want to hide.
RMB       : Click'n'drag the RMB to stretch a box; all polys outside are hidden.
1         : Hide all flattened polys.
G         : Hide all marked polys.
H         : Hide other shells.
P         : Hide all unpicked shells.
S         : Hide all visible polys, and unhide all hidden polys.
U         : Make all polys visible.
Enter     : Make the H menu go away.

UV View

U/1            : toggle/set UV edit view

Enter          : attach/detach/split shells
Shift-D        : undrop shell back to Ed space ***
D              : then use LMB to set the drop location, use RMB to unset

F              : hold down to flatten/optimize shell ***
Space-F        : start continuous optimize
Space          : stop continuous optimize
Shift-F        : bloat then optimize ***
Shift-B        : scale up then optimize

B              : hold down for optimize brush
-/=            : change brush size

M              : if weld edges tagged, magnet snaps a shell to its adjacent shell
               : if no edges tagged, will snap based on the edge under the pointer
Shift-M        : same as M, but moves the adjacent shell instead
               : You can swap the action of M and Shift-M in the Edit tool
Shift-M        : if no shell under pointer, moves all picked shells to the pointer location

A              : toggle picked point or edge.
Shift-A        : toggle picked edge loop
Double-A       : same as Shift-A
Ctrl-A         : open picked point menu, then LMB and RMB to marquee pick and unpick points

Ctrl-U         : lock Space-MMB moves to the U direction. Type again to unlock.
Ctrl-V         : lock Space-MMB moves to the V direction. Type again to unlock.
           
L              : toggle shell lock ***

T              : tag webbing edges
Shift-T        : toggle webbing edges
Double-T       : same as Shift-T
Backspace      : unselect webbing edges

P              : toggle pin
Double-P       : pin between two already pinned boundary points
Shift-P        : as above if pointer over a boundary point, 
               : pins all boundary points if pointer over shell,
               : otherwise shows pin box menu
Ctrl-P         : unpin all points in shell
Ctrl-Shift-P   : pin all weld tagged edges in shell

L/R Arrow      : flip shell in U. Flipped shells are drawn with red wires.
U/D Arrow      : flip shell in V
Shift-Arrow    : flip all shells with same flip state as shell under pointer
Ctrl-Shift-Arr : select all shells with same flip state as shell under pointer

LMB            : click to pick/unpick single shell
               : click'n'drag to pick multiple shells
               : click in empty space to unpick all shells
               : see About UVLayout -> Preferences -> Edit Settings -> LMB Pick for more info

Backquote      : (above Tab) Toggles tile selection mode

Space-LMB      : rotate picked shells or marked polys or picked poinst
Space-MMB      : move picked shells or marked polys or picked poinst
Space-RMB      : scale picked shells or marked polys or picked poinst
Space-LMB+MMB  : as above
Tab            : hold down for finer control
Alt            : hold down to xform a single shell when multiple shells picked

Ctrl-MMB       : move single point
Ctrl-Shift-MMB : move connected points
Shift-MMB      : move points in circle

_/+            : change UV box size (i.e. Shift -/=)
               : if a single point is pinned, the resize is centered about that point
L/R Arrow      : aim pointer at empty space to move UV box in U direction
U/D Arrow      : aim pointer at empty space to move UV box in V direction
Tab            : hold down for finer control

O              : toggle horizontal/vertical snap anchor
Shift-O        : turn off all anchors in shell 

Ctrl-L/R Arrow : aim pointer at edge to rotate shell so edge is horizontal
Ctrl-U/D Arrow : aim pointer at edge to rotate shell so edge is vertical

I              : tag straight edge - axis aligned 
Shift-I        : tag an entire edge loop
Backspace      : untag edge
Ctrl-I         : on tagged edge - remove all 'I' tagged edges from shell
                 on untagged edge - 'I' tag all similarly oriented edges
 
K              : tag straight edge - unaligned 
K              : toggle kink point
Shift-K        : tag an entire edge loop
Backspace      : untag edge
Ctrl-K         : on tagged edge - remove all 'K' tagged edges and points from shell
                 on untagged edge - 'K' tag all similarly oriented edges

R              : if topology allows, snap quads to an axis aligned grid. 
                 otherwise, snaps boundary to an axis aligned rectangle ***
Shift-R        : as above, but the internal UVs are also aligned ***

J              : move shell to the "Junk" tile ***
Shift-J        : randomize shell's UVs

When mouse pointer is aimed at shell boundary points:
 
  S            : toggle stack marker
  Double-S     : straighten between two stack markers
  Shift-S      : as above
 
When mouse pointer is aimed at shell interior polys:
 
  S            : copy UVs from light to dark mirror polys ***
  Shift-S      : swap light and dark mirror polys

When Brush Local Scale selected:
 
  4            : scale polys up
  5            : scale polys down
  4+5          : reset local scaling
 
When Brush Pin selected:
 
  4            : push UVs out and pin
  5            : pull UVs in and pin
  6            : smooth UVs and pin
  4+5          : unpin

Pack tool hotkeys:

  [ or ]       : pack shells in box, or if no box is picked, packs all shells
               * Note: No Rotation testing done. Use the "Pack All" button for that.
  { or }       : toggle box fixed/free status
  \            : rotate box, shell or tile 90 degrees
  Ctrl-\       : rotate shell inside a box
  Del          : delete box
  |            : toggle orientation lock for shell, selected shells or box
  Pad 1/3/7/9  : toggle corner preference for shell, selected shells or box
  #            : toggle tile lock for shell, selected shells or box

Keys below are no longer supported:
 
  R            : relax brush
  Shift-R      : very relax brush
  X            : totally relax brush

Ed View

E/2            : toggle/set 3D edit view

Enter          : detach or split shell
D              : drop shell into UV space ***
Shift-D        : reattach shell ***

Shift-S        : split shell, or tag symmetry plane

R              : mark revolved polys suited to rectangular flattening
Shift-R        : mark adjoined quads suited to grid flattening

3D View

3              : toggle/set 3D texture view

Enter          : detach shells

T              : cycle through textures. Use Display Trace to load a custom map.
-/=            : rescale checkers when visible

Shift-LMB      : click to pick/unpick single shell
               : click'n'drag to pick multiple shells
               : click in empty space to unpick all shells

Shift-MMB      : move Trace texture over surface. Must have both
                 a 3D view and a UV view open using split panes.

S              : toggle smooth shading for SUBD surfaces