Boolean Tools

Quick Reference: Boolean Tools

Use the Boolean tools to combine existing shapes (or Grouped shapes) into new or more complex shapes.

Location

Modifiers Toolbar

Tools Menu
Keyboard Shortcuts

Various

Use the Boolean tools to combine existing shapes (or Grouped shapes) into new or more complex shapes. There are three Boolean options, along with one very similar option, Weld.

Using the Boolean Tools¶

All of the Boolean tools and Weld are available in the Modifiers Toolbar, Tools Menu, or by keyboard shortcut.

There are a few important things to keep in mind when using the Boolean tools and Weld:

All selected shapes must be closed shapes, meaning they are complete, continuous loops whose start and end points are the same. If there are open shapes in your selection, the tools will be grayed out and unavailable.
The Boolean tools work with vector objects only. If there are any images in your selection, the tools will be grayed out and unavailable.
To use any of the Boolean tools, you must have exactly two shapes, two Groups of shapes, or one shape and one Group selected. If you have more than two shapes or Groups selected, the Boolean tools will be grayed out and unavailable.
You can use Weld to combine more than two shapes at once.
Grouping multiple shapes together tells LightBurn to treat them as a single shape. For example, Group an outer circle with an inner circle to treat it as a donut shape rather than two separate circles. Grouping shapes in this way can sometimes yield different results than you'll see with the same objects when they're not Grouped.

Boolean Union ¶

Alt/Option++

Boolean Union merges two shapes into one.

Boolean Subtract ¶

Alt/Option+-

Boolean Subtract removes one shape from another.

The second shape you add to your selection is subtracted from the first, and deleted.

If you select the shapes in the incorrect order, and subtract the wrong shape from the other, Undo the action, then use Boolean Subtract again — the alternate shape will be removed instead.

Boolean Intersection ¶

Alt/Option+*

Boolean Intersection creates a new shape out of the overlapping area of two shapes.

Weld ¶

Ctrl/Cmd+W

Weld works similarly to Boolean Union, but instead of being limited to combining only two shapes or two Groups of shapes, you can use Weld with any number of objects.

Boolean Assistant¶

Ctrl/Cmd+B

Note

If you have Beginner Mode enabled, all three Boolean tools will be replaced in the Modifiers Toolbar with a single icon that opens the Boolean Assistant.

The Boolean Assistant is a dialog window that shows a preview of what each of the Boolean operations will do to your selected shapes, and gives you the option to click OK to confirm the change, or Cancel to discard it and close the Boolean Assistant.

To open the Boolean Assistant, go to Tools → Boolean Assistant.

Click an operation to see a preview of the result in your Workspace. If the shapes are not too complex, hovering over an operation without clicking will also show what the result will be.

Click or hover over Reset to return the shapes to their original appearance, while keeping the Boolean Assistant open.

Weld vs. Boolean Union¶

In cases where some shapes are fully contained within other outer shapes, using Weld won’t yield the result you’re looking for, but Grouping related shapes together and using Boolean Union will.

If you Weld something and some or all of the middle content disappears — for example if you are trying to Weld text inside a ring, and the text disappears — use Boolean Union after making two Groups: one of the border pieces, and one of the middle content.

Hotkeys¶

Action	Icon	Hotkey
Boolean Union		`Alt`/`Option`+`+`
Boolean Subtract		`Alt`/`Option`+`-`
Boolean Intersection		`Alt`/`Option`+`*`
Weld		`Ctrl`/`Cmd`+`W`

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