The Adjust Last Operation panel in Blender is a handy tool for real-time adjustments. Here’s how to use it.
The Adjust Last Operation panel is an extension of the tool options that you’ll find in your Properties panel. Instead of toying with your tool settings blind, you’ll be able to tinker with different options on a move that you’ve already made on a 3D model.
Here’s how to find the Adjust Last Operation panel in Blender and how to use it to your advantage.
What Is the Adjust Last Operation Panel?
The next time you perform an operation in Blender’s Object Mode or Edit Mode, take a peek at the bottom left-hand corner of your staging area.
When you make an adjustment and immediately drop the mic, you should see a small pull-out labeled with the tool that you’ve just used—a trackball rotation, a bevel, or any of the other Object and Edit Mode options.
This window is called the Adjust Last Operation panel. Expand the pull-out, and you’ll see many of the same options that you’ll find in the Properties panel. The only difference? Any adjustment made here will be applied in real-time to the modification that you’ve just made.
How to Use the Adjust Last Operation Panel
To use the Last Operation Panel in Blender, you’ll need to be working in either Object Mode or Edit Mode. Call up a project of yours or simply create a new primitive with Shift + A. Then, follow these steps:
- Select any tool in your toolbar.
- Grab an object or a piece of geometry.
- Perform your operation of choice.
- Before doing anything else, click into the heads-up panel below.
The most difficult part of this for a beginner will inevitably be accidentally overwriting the operation that you’d like to modify before your cursor makes it to the Adjust Last Operation panel in the first place.
Before casting the die, we recommend having all of your ducks in a row to prevent this from happening—try to avoid even adjusting the viewport display during this pivotal moment.
The Adjust Last Operation panel is incredibly useful when toying with your Proportional Edit falloff, adding subdivisions to a newly-generated primitive, or when striving for something precise and minute.
It’s also the perfect tool to use when you’re still experimenting with different approaches and would like to see how the same operation behaves under differing circumstances.
The Adjust Last Operation Panel: Blender Redo on Steroids
No simple operation is ever completely permanent in Blender. If you find yourself pining for something slightly different after you’ve already made your move, hop back into the Adjust Last Operation menu for a wealth of options to employ after the fact.
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