Deletion Tool Explained

The Deletion Tool offers flexible options for safely removing actors, components, or instances within the editor. Use the modes below to tailor object removal to your workflow.

Component-Only Deletion

Purpose: Removes only the clicked component or instance instead of the entire actor.

Ideal For:

  • Deleting individual parts of multi-component actors

  • Fine-grained cleanup of instanced mesh elements

Key Settings:

  • Delete Only Target Component: Deletes the specific component or instance under the cursor.

  • Delete Actor if Last Component: When enabled, destroys the actor once its final static‑mesh component is removed.

Optional Settings:

  • Toggle the “Delete Actor if Last Component” option off if you prefer to manually remove empty actors.

Packed Level Actors are not supported, as Unreal Engine will regenerate the removed components on scene refresh.


Actor-Level Deletion

Purpose: Removes the entire actor with a single click.

Ideal For:

  • Quickly clearing out props, clutter, or temporary objects

  • Removing actors that don’t require partial component editing

Key Settings:

  • Disable Delete Only Target Component to delete the full actor.

Optional Settings:

  • You can keep Delete Only Target Component on temporarily and rerun the tool for individual parts if needed.


Decal Targeting

Purpose: Expands deletion to include decals and text components.

Ideal For:

  • Cleaning up surface markings like stains, stickers, or graffiti

  • Removing text render actors without affecting other components

Key Settings:

  • Target Decals: Allows decals to be detected and deleted.

  • Hover Decal Material: Custom highlight material used for decals prior to deletion (falls back to the default hover material if unset).

Optional Settings:

  • Modify the hover material to ensure decals stand out when previewing deletion targets.


Hover Highlight Preview

Purpose: Visually confirms which actor, component, or decal will be deleted.

Ideal For:

  • Preventing accidental deletions by showing a highlight before committing

  • Debugging selections when multiple objects overlap

Key Settings:

  • Hover Material: Material used to highlight hovered actors.

  • Hover Decal Material: Specialized highlight for decals; this needs to be a decal material.

  • Preview Scale: This is used on ISM/HISM instances to showcase which component is being targeted. Adjust this scale if the preview is not visible over the existing mesh.

Optional Settings:

  • Use distinct materials (e.g., bright colors) to differentiate between actor and decal targets.


Bounds Tuning

Purpose: Adjusts how the raycast selects decals and text components for more accurate targeting.

Ideal For:

  • Selecting thin or small decals that might be missed by default bounds

  • Ensuring consistent hit detection across varied component sizes

Key Settings:

  • Bounds Scale: Multiplier applied to decal and text bounds when ray testing.

Optional Settings:

  • Increase the value to make selection easier on small decals; decrease for higher precision in dense areas.


Each option is accessible in the tool’s settings panel, letting you adjust behavior, materials, and targeting preferences to fit different deletion scenarios.

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