wgpu – minimal editable wire

Quick start

• Orbit: RMB-drag • Pan: LMB-drag empty space • Zoom: wheel (Ctrl = finer)
• Select: LMB click vertex/edge (toggle). LMB click empty space = clear.
• Lasso (additive): hold Ctrl=verts / Alt=edges / Ctrl+Alt=both, then LMB-drag → release LMB.
• Move selection: start LMB-drag on selected geometry (moves on the dominant plane).
• Tools: Line C • Rotate R • Revolve L • Bend S
• Undo: Backspace • Redo: Shift+Backspace

Controls

Mouse

• Orbit: RMB-drag
• Pan: LMB-drag empty space
• Zoom: wheel (Ctrl = finer; perspective changes distance, ortho changes zoom size)
• Select: LMB click toggles vertex/edge; empty click clears
• Move: LMB-drag starting on selected geometry (after a few pixels)
• Lasso: Ctrl/Alt/Ctrl+Alt + LMB-drag, release to finish; RMB cancels

Core keys

• V overlay cycle: Off → Thin → Thick → Off
• 9/0 grid spacing −/+ (min 0.1)
• D duplicate selection (selected vertices + selected edges)
• Delete delete selection • if nothing selected: clear all
• Space toggle ground clamp (blocks downward moves below y = 0)

Selection model

• You can select vertices and loose edges (toggle by clicking).
• Move operates on: all selected vertices + both endpoints of any selected edges.

Move & snapping

Dominant plane

• Moves (drag + nudges) are constrained to a plane chosen from camera direction:
• XY if view is mostly along ±Z • XZ if mostly along ±Y • YZ if mostly along ±X
• HUD shows the dominant plane label and highlights its axes.

Drag snapping

• No modifiers: fine stable micro-step
• Shift: snap to 1.0 units
• Ctrl+Shift: snap to current grid spacing

Vertex snap & weld

• While dragging: near a non-selected vertex, movement can snap so the dragged anchor aligns.
• If you move a single vertex and release exactly onto another vertex position, it auto-welds (merges).

Nudging

• Arrows: nudge on dominant plane
• Shift+Arrows: nudge by 1.0
• Ctrl+Shift+Arrows: nudge by grid spacing
• Ctrl+Arrows: fine nudge

Tools

Line tool — create & divide (C)

• Anchors: selected vertices become anchors; else uses hovered vertex; else (0,0,0) in current object.
• Preview endpoint: computed on dominant plane; snaps to vertices / axes / grid.
• Commit: LMB click (press+release without dragging).
• Single-anchor chain: after a click, anchor moves to last endpoint (polyline drawing).
• Segments (creation): 1/2 −/+ segments; Shift = ±5; Shift+Ctrl = ±10.
• Multi-line mode (multi-anchor): press C again to toggle Star ↔ Parallel.
• Mirror (single-anchor): M toggle mirrored line creation.
• Snapping modifiers inside Line: none=fine • Ctrl=1.0 steps • Shift=grid spacing.
• Edit vertices while active: LMB-drag a nearby vertex to move on dominant plane (mirrors if counterpart exists at exact mirrored position). Release to commit; Esc cancels.
• Divide selected edges: select edges → 1/2 enters divide preview with n ≥ 2 → Enter or LMB click empty space applies → Esc/RMB cancels.
• Esc exits Line tool (also reverts vertex-edit preview).

Rotate tool (R)

• Requires a valid selection (typically ≥2 vertices, or any selected edges). Pivot starts at selected-vertex centroid.
• Stage 1 (pivot): LMB-drag pivot on dominant plane; snaps to nearby vertices; RMB cancels pivot drag; O snaps pivot to world origin; press R again for Stage 2.
• Stage 2 (axis + angle): X/Y/Z choose world axis. Type degrees (supports / and *, e.g. 360/8). Backspace edits typed angle (not undo). Enter apply; Esc cancel.

Revolve / lathe (L)

• Requires ≥1 selected vertex and selection must be within a single object.
• Defaults: pivot = selection centroid; axis = perpendicular to dominant plane (XY→Z, XZ→Y, YZ→X).
• [/] steps −/+ (Shift=±5, Shift+Ctrl=±10)
• -/= angle −/+ (1° default; Ctrl=5°; Shift=15°)
• X/Y/Z snap axis to world X/Y/Z
• N seam closed/open (wrap only for full 360°; partial turns add an end ring and don’t wrap)
• H toggle ring edges (connect rings along sweep)
• P toggle profile edge copying (edges among selected vertices; uses loose edges whose endpoints are selected)
• K snap pivot to vertex under cursor • E snap pivot to closest point on edge under cursor + set axis from that edge
• Enter apply (selects newly created vertices) • Esc cancel

Bend tool (S)

• Bends a single straight loose edge into a quadratic Bezier chain (replaces it with multiple segments).
• Use selected edge if exactly one is selected; otherwise uses the last edge clicked/hovered.
• After starting: move mouse to position control point on dominant plane; control point can snap to vertices / points on edges.
• 7/8 segments −/+ (Shift = larger steps).
• Commit: release LMB • Cancel: Esc or RMB
• While Bend is active, normal left-click selection is suppressed (mouse is for shaping/committing).

Orthographic views & reference pictures

• Shift+O toggle Perspective ↔ Ortho Front
• In ortho: X=Right • Y=Top • Z=Front
• Drop an image file onto the window/canvas (while in ortho) to load a semi-transparent reference picture for the current ortho view.
• Ctrl+B lock/unlock picture to world space:
  • Unlocked: fills viewport (screen-space)
  • Locked: corners pinned in world space (stays anchored as you pan/zoom)
• Key sharing: if Rotate/Revolve is active, X/Y/Z control the tool axis instead of view switching.

Undo/redo & macros

• Most edits (move/delete/duplicate/create line/rotate/revolve/bend/import/etc.) are recorded as commands.
• Backspace undo • Shift+Backspace redo

Macro recorder

• F8 start/stop recording
• F9 play last macro
• Shift+F8 clear last macro + stop recording

OBJ import/export

Web build (wasm32)

• Export: click ⬇ (top-right) to download wire.obj
• Import: click ⬆ to upload an OBJ

Parsing rules

• Reads v as vertices
• Reads l as polyline edges
• Reads f faces and converts them into boundary edges (including closing edge)
• Duplicate edges are deduplicated

Tips & troubleshooting

If moving feels wrong

• Moves are constrained to the dominant plane (camera-dependent).
• Orbit a bit (RMB) to change which plane becomes dominant (XY/XZ/YZ).
• Use snapping modifiers: Shift (1.0) / Ctrl+Shift (grid).

If the app feels stuck

• RMB cancels an active drag/pan/preview immediately.
• Esc cancels most tool modes (Line/Rotate/Revolve/Bend/Divide).

When keys do the “wrong thing”

• X/Y/Z are shared by tools and Ortho switching.
• Rule of thumb: the currently active tool wins.

Performance

• Thick overlays can be expensive — use V to cycle to Thin/Off.
• Very large meshes may auto-switch to thin overlay during camera movement.