---
title: From Curve
order: 6
---

**From Curve** makes a Tube, an Outline or a Lathe from Blender curves you already have, point for point. It takes the place of 4.x's curve shapes and of *Convert Legacy Curve*: a Chisel shape no longer follows a curve object, it copies the curve's points once and keeps them.

Each selected curve becomes one shape, next to the curve.

![two curves selected, then From Curve: an Outline and a Tube](../../assets/from-curve.webp)

## Options

![the From Curve redo panel](../../assets/from-curve-redo.webp)

| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| **Shape** | *Automatic* | What each curve becomes. *Automatic*: an Outline for a closed, flat curve, a Tube for any other. *Tube*: a tube along the curve, keeping its point radii. *Outline*: the curve as a closed outline, extruded by Depth. *Lathe*: the curve as a profile, turned round the shape's Z axis |
| **Tube Radius** *(Automatic, Tube)* | `0.2` | The new Tube's radius |
| **Depth** *(Automatic, Outline)* | `1` | The new Outline's depth |
| **Angle** *(Lathe)* | `360°` | The new Lathe's Revolve Angle |
| **Delete Curve** | off | Off keeps the curve as it is, next to the new shape. On removes the curve, and the new shape takes its name and its place: its parent, its children and whatever pointed at it |

## What carries over

- The curve's **first spline**. Others are left out, with a warning.
- Every Bezier point becomes one **Free** point holding the curve's own handles, so the shape follows the curve exactly. Points joined by straight edges (vector handles, poly splines) become **Corners** you can round.
- A Tube keeps the curve's **point radii**.
- With the curve kept, the new shape is named after it (`Curve.tube`, `Curve.outline`, `Curve.lathe`) and placed in the same collections. The new shapes end up selected.

The status bar reports what was made (*"Made 2 Tube shape(s) from Blender curves"*) and names any curve it skipped, with the reason: an empty curve, one too small to make a shape, or one with more segments than the shape holds (a Tube holds 256 segments). A Lathe profile that crosses its axis is cut off at the axis.

## Curve shapes from 4.x files

Chisel 5.0 has no Curve, Curve Tube or Curve Revolve shape. A 4.x file still opens: each of them becomes an Outline, a Tube or a Lathe when the file is opened, point for point, and keeps its name, transform, parent, modifiers, materials and every boolean that uses it. Appended, linked or pasted shapes convert a moment after they arrive.

A notice lists what happened:

![the notice after opening a 4.x file with curve shapes](../../assets/old-curves-notice.webp)

- **The summary**: how many shapes became what. *"They look the same. You now shape them with points on the shape itself, not with a Blender curve."* The file on disk changes only when you save.
- **Have a look at**: shapes that converted with a note. An animated curve keeps the form it had when the file was opened. A profile drawn tilted or clockwise is turned on the inside of its object, so its Mirror, Bisect, Array, Twist, Bend, Revolve, Sweep and Lattice modifiers may point another way. A curve that something else still uses (a Curve modifier, a Follow Path constraint) stays in the file as a plain curve.
- **Not updated, so not shown**: shapes that could not convert. They keep their data and render nothing until they do: a shape linked from another file (open that file instead), a shape open in Edit Mode, an empty or tiny curve, or a curve with more segments than its new shape holds (simplify the curve, then reopen the file).

More than twelve shapes in a list continue in the system console (*Window ▸ Toggle System Console*).

The SDF panel of a shape that was not updated says so (*"Old Curve Tube: not shown"*) with the reason, and offers **Update Old Curve Shapes** to try again.

A Curve Revolve's *Rounding* is not carried over: it rounded the profile, while a Lathe's *Side Rounding* rounds the cut faces of a partial turn. Round the profile with its Corner points instead.

Removed in 5.0: shaping a path in Blender's curve Edit Mode, the live link to a curve object, and *Convert Legacy Curve*.

## See also

- [Path Shapes](index.md): Tube, Outline, Rail and Lathe
- [Points](points.md): Free points and their handles