Recommended test
Test one additive and one subtractive result before using the feature in a drawing.
- Draw two overlapping rectangles. Choose Combine or press U.
- Keep Union selected, click both rectangles, and confirm the amber preview follows their combined outer boundary.
- Choose Create union. Confirm the result appears as one object and the two source rectangles become hidden.
- In the Boolean result properties, choose Edit geometry beside one source. Confirm the source is selected above a faint amber result ghost, then resize or move it and check that the result updates immediately.
- Draw a circle inside a rectangle. Start Boolean again, choose Subtract, click the rectangle first and the circle second, then create it.
- Confirm the result contains a real interior hole in SVG and PDF export.
- Select the result and choose Edit Boolean. Switch to Union, reorder the boundaries, remove the circle, restore it, then choose Apply changes. Confirm the result remains the same object.
- Undo once and confirm the complete definition edit is reversed together.
- Draw four connected lines as a closed loop, overlap it with a rectangle, and confirm clicking any one segment selects and previews the whole connected boundary.
- Repeat with a closed spline or a spline closed by an active mirror guide. Edit one source segment or the guide and confirm the result rebuilds.
- Switch to CAM, choose Add contour, and click the Boolean result's outer edge. Confirm it defaults to Outside. Cancel, choose Add contour again, and click an interior hole; confirm it defaults to Inside.
- Choose Add pocket and click a Union face. Confirm the combined filled area highlights. Repeat with a Subtract result and confirm each hole remains as a protected island.
- Delete the Boolean result. Its source shapes should return. Undo once to restore the complete Boolean.
01 · SELECT IN ORDER
Create a Boolean
Activate Combine from the CAD rail or press U. Click a closed rectangle, circle, spline, mirrored spline, or one segment of an unambiguous connected closed path. Cadivari highlights and stores the complete boundary automatically. Click a selected boundary again to remove it from the set.
Union treats every selected boundary equally. Subtract uses the first selected boundary as the base and removes every later cutter from it. The panel labels these roles explicitly before creation.
02 · EDITABLE DEFINITION
Change the operation without starting over
Select a completed result and choose Edit Boolean. The stored result is replaced temporarily by a live preview while its definition remains unchanged. Switch between Union and Subtract, use the arrow controls to reorder the base and cutters, remove an included boundary, restore a removed source, or click another visible closed boundary to add it.
Choose Apply changes to update the existing result in place. Its object identity is preserved so saved references remain stable, and all definition and source-visibility changes form one undoable command. Cancel or Esc restores the untouched stored result.
03 · ASSOCIATIVE GEOMETRY
Edit the preserved sources
A completed Boolean is not a destructive flattening step. Cadivari stores every primitive or connected segment in each source boundary, hides those source objects, and rebuilds the visible result whenever one is moved or reshaped.
Select the Boolean result and use Edit geometry beside one source when you want to reshape it. The selected source and its handles are drawn clearly above a faint amber ghost of the linked result, so the input cannot be mistaken for the resolved boundary. A mirrored spline also preserves its mirror guide as a live dependency. Invalid edits that open, branch, self-cross, or collapse the result are blocked with a clear warning.
04 · CAM BOUNDARY PICKER
Click the exact edge you intend to cut
In CAM, choose Add contour and hover a Boolean result. The edge under the pointer receives a wider gold hit highlight. Click an outer boundary or one specific interior hole; Cadivari stores that boundary, labels its role, and defaults an outer edge to Outside or a hole to Inside.
The selected edge remains linked to the live Boolean result and continues through compensation, 2D and 3D preview, animation, G-code review, project save/open, and export. A topology guard blocks the operation if editing changes the result's boundary count, so it cannot silently switch to another loop. Re-select the intended edge after such an edit.
Several outer edges or several holes may share an operation. Outer edges and holes require separate contour operations because they normally use opposite cutter sides.
05 · BOOLEAN REGION POCKET
Clear the filled face and preserve its holes
Choose Add pocket and click inside a visible Boolean face. A Union result supplies its combined filled boundary. A Subtract result supplies the base face plus every interior hole, which Cadivari treats as a protected island while it generates the clearing lanes.
The pocket stores the exact resolved face rather than copying loose linework. Source edits rebuild the region automatically. If an edit changes the number or order of Boolean boundaries, a topology guard blocks the operation and asks you to select the intended face again instead of silently machining a different area.
General Boolean faces and multiple arbitrary islands use the verified outside-in lane planner. Check narrow passages against the selected cutter diameter before machining.
06 · SAFE RELEASE
Restore the original shapes
Select a Boolean result and choose Release Boolean and restore sources, or delete its row in Objects. The result is removed and each source returns to the visibility state it had before creation. The complete release is one undoable command.
If a source is deliberately deleted, any Boolean result that depends on it is removed as well. Unrelated preserved sources are restored instead of remaining hidden.
REFERENCE
Controls
CURRENT SCOPE
Version 4 boundaries
- Sources may be rectangles, circles, closed splines, mirror-closed splines, or unambiguous connected line/arc/spline chains
- Union/Subtract switching, ordered source editing, boundary addition, and boundary removal are available on stored results
- Open, branched, and self-crossing paths are rejected before clipping
- Union and Subtract are available; Intersect and Exclude are intentionally deferred
- Drawing, native project save/open, SVG export, and PDF export preserve the resolved boundary
- Individual Boolean outer edges and holes can drive associative contour operations through the complete CAM pipeline
- Direct Boolean filled-face pockets support multiple arbitrary islands with outside-in clearing and a topology guard
- Imported SVG fill groups remain separate from the CAD Boolean workflow