The basic idea of this proposal is not to break the actual Blender workflow, only a improvement in the way that the interface is created and organized. Making easier for newcomers, without destroying old users user experience and avoiding big changes for developers. And make a interface that could be done in other parts of the software.

Basic Ideas in this interface concept. Yoou can see a long explanation at the end.

# How to improve UV editor user experience for new and old users

### User interface

The main problem that the UV editor has is that it depends on the 3D view area. It can't work independently of this area without a lot of knowledge about blender tools and workflows. It's normal in blender paradigm, but is a problem for new users that don't know this UI decision. Usually they work with programs with all tools for UVs inside same window or programs dedicated only to make UVs. That make really hard to understand the UV editor the first time that your try blender. It´s worst when we see that blender put the operator panel in the 3D view (something that will change the topbar), when your first contact with UV editor is normally switching the 3D area to the UV area and not using layouts.

Blender don´t highlight basic tools like unwrap tools in UV editor, where the new users will search it. Only the basic unwrap have a dedicated button in UV editor, the last button. I consider myself like a artist with a lot of experience in blender, but after six years using Blender every days I still don't know where I can find the tools in the panels, I prefer use hotkeys. One example is the sculpt UVs that is hide in the "UV options" tab.

At the end is better to use the menubar.

### UVs parameters out of the control of the user

One of the hardest things to understand the UV editor is the resolution of the UVs. Usually, in other software the UV space is normalized from 0 to 1, in X and Y, and the resolution is not important. Instead Blender uses 0 to 256 by default and the user is not aware of this. You only find out about it when you try to place a UV vertex writing manually the UV coordinates.

OK, it's really useful to be able to set the UV space with the resolution instead of being normalized, especially for lightmaps, it's true, but the user don't have any way to configure it. The only way to change the UV resolution is to add a texture with the resolution that you search... which is not intuitive at all (a really bad way to work in the editor). It´s better put a text field in the N-shelf where user can select the output resolution.

Also It can cause bugs when a plane unwrap put the UV vertices in coordinates like 0,03-255,97 instead of 0-1. It give problems in programs like Substance Painter that need perfect UV coordinates to make tiles.

From a user point of view the normal way to work must be Normalized space for UV by default and if the user wants to use resolution with some textbox to write the values and a checkbox to use the same resolution that the background image.

### Pack system

The pack tool is also affected by weird input parameters. In this tools the user cannot choose the margin in a understandable way. He needs to input a 0 to 1 float value, making it necessary understand that a margin of four pixels in a 1024 textures is a 0,0039 value (4/1024). Few people knows how to calculate the margin. I don't think that a new user could foresee how to use this particular setting, also it's hard for an old user.

### UVmap index

Actually it's not clear how the user must change between UVmaps in the UV map editor. He needs to move to properties area to see that option clear. A panel that it's not visible in the default UV workspace layout. It's not hard to find, but will be better the user must see that option in UV area N-shelf. Also, some tools to edit the index order could be good (it's useful for game developers).

# New tools for UVs

Blender UV editor haven't a lot of improvements in the last years. Thanks to addons developers is not a big problem, they have implemented a lot of tools, but some new tools could improve the workflow of the users.

Improve pack system SLIM unwrap Border of the UV island Round vertex position to pixel