Share a Mapping Across Surfaces

A Shared Mapping is a UV mapping that lives in the scene rather than on one surface. Create one, link surfaces to it, and every linked surface re-unwraps when you move its gizmo. This is how you keep several surfaces mapped from a single point without adjusting each one individually.

Before you start

• At least one surface added to the scene.
• The surface and the Shared Mapping must be in the same scene group, or the surface must be in a child group of the one the Shared Mapping is in.

Steps

1. Create a Shared Mapping object

In the Scene Objects panel, open the Add menu of the scene group where your surfaces live. Select Shared Mapping. A new object appears in the group, coloured in the scene tree like projectors and cameras.

2. Choose a mapping type and configure it

Select the Shared Mapping in the scene graph. In the Inspector, set the Type (Planar, Dome, Cylindrical, Cubic, Spherical, Frustum Projection or Equirectangular). The object draws its mapping type’s wireframe reference shape in the scene view so you can see where it stands.

Each type carries its own options directly on the Shared Mapping’s Inspector panel:

• Dome — Lower Angle

• Cylindrical — Opening (arc in degrees)

• Equirectangular — Opening Angle

• Cubic — Sides layout and Proportional Segments

• Frustum Projection — FoV horizontal and Aspect Ratio

Dome and Cylindrical mappings also offer Use Custom Viewer Position (with a Viewer Position Type choice). Spherical and Equirectangular offer the viewer-position checkbox without the type choice. Every edit re-unwraps all linked surfaces and counts as a single undo step.

3. Position the object

Use the 3D transform gizmo in the scene view to translate, rotate and scale the Shared Mapping. You can also type exact values into the Position, Rotation and Scale fields in the Inspector.

4. Link a surface to the Shared Mapping

Select a surface. In the Inspector’s Mapping section, look for the Shared Mappings heading. Tick the Shared Mapping you created. The surface’s mapping follows the object.

5. Repeat for additional surfaces

Select each surface you want to share the mapping with and tick the same Shared Mapping in its Shared Mappings list. Moving the object’s gizmo re-unwraps every linked surface at once.

6. Review linked surfaces from the Shared Mapping

Select the Shared Mapping object. The Inspector’s Linked Surfaces section lists every surface this object drives. Each row shows the surface name and an Unlink button.

Clicking Unlink stops the object from driving that surface. The surface keeps its mapping and retains the shape it had at the moment of unlinking — it becomes the surface’s own independent mapping.

Convert an existing mapping to a Shared Mapping

If you have already tuned a mapping on a surface and want other surfaces to follow it, you do not need to recreate it as an object.

1. Select the surface and click Edit on the mapping row to open its settings.

2. Inside the Advanced group, click Convert to Shared Mapping.

3. A new Shared Mapping object appears in the surface’s scene group. The mapping keeps its id, name and role, so every content destination, pixel-map raster pin and preview mask that already points at it keeps working.

4. Other surfaces in the same group (or child groups) can tick this object in their Shared Mappings list.

Undo restores the exact state the mapping had before conversion. Redo re-creates the object and re-links the mapping.

Common Mistakes

• "I don't see a Shared Mappings list on my surface." — The list hides itself when the scene contains no Shared Mapping object that could serve this surface. Create a Shared Mapping object in the surface’s group (or any parent group) first.

• "Linking two domes of different arc gives unexpected results." — Once linked, a surface unwraps against the Shared Mapping’s own type-specific values (cylinder Opening, dome Lower Angle, and so on), not the surface’s own values. If two surfaces need different trims, use separate Shared Mapping objects. Adjust these values by selecting the Shared Mapping object and editing them in its Inspector panel.

• "I cannot link an imported or custom mapping." — Imported and custom mappings carry their own mesh and cannot be driven by a Shared Mapping object. Only the analytical mapping types (Planar, Dome, Cylindrical, Cubic, Spherical, Frustum Projection, Equirectangular) are supported.

• "Clicking inside the wireframe shape does nothing." — A click that starts inside the Shared Mapping’s reference shape does not select it. This prevents a camera placed inside a dome from claiming every click. Click on the wireframe itself, or select the object in the scene graph.

• "I unticked the Shared Mapping on the surface and lost my mapping." — Unticking the Shared Mapping in the surface’s Mapping panel removes the mapping from the surface outright. To stop driving a surface while keeping its mapping shape, select the Shared Mapping object and click Unlink in the Linked Surfaces section instead.

Tips

• The pixel coordinate mode stays surface-owned. Each surface keeps its own Coordinates setting (Absolute or Pixels), Canvas Resolution, Size (px) and Position (px), even when the UV mapping comes from a Shared Mapping object.

• Moving a scene group moves every Shared Mapping and surface inside it together. The Convert to Shared Mapping button places the object in the surface’s own group for this reason.

• Use Convert to Shared Mapping when you have already set up a mapping you are happy with. It preserves every reference to that mapping and saves you from reconfiguring the object from scratch.

• To delete a Shared Mapping, right-click its entry in the scene graph and choose Delete. Any surface that was linked to it reverts to its own independent mapping.

Related

Create an Additional Mapping on a Display — add more than one mapping to a surface.

Edit Mappings — adjust a mapping’s position, rotation, scale and type.

Frustum Projection Mapping — the frustum mapping type and when to use it.