Reset Transform and Texture Coordinates in Cinema 4D

A common point of confusion in Cinema 4D is what Reset Transform actually resets. It's a great tool for zeroing out an object's position, rotation, and scale, but it doesn't touch texture or UV coordinates. This article covers what Reset Transform does, what it doesn't, and what to do if you're trying to reset UVs.

What Reset Transform does

Reset Transform sets the position and rotation of the selected object back to 0 on each axis, and the scale back to 1 on each axis. It's typically used for zeroing out animation rigs, cleaning up imported models, or grouping objects with predictable coordinates.

You can find it in the Object Manager under Object > Reset Transform. There are two useful modifier-key options worth knowing:

• Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (macOS) while choosing the command to reset to global zero coordinates.
• Hold Shift to reset to zero coordinates relative to the top object in the hierarchy.

What Reset Transform doesn't affect

Reset Transform only touches object-level transformations. It does not affect:

• UV coordinates stored in a UVW tag
• Texture projection mode or texture tag offset/scale settings
• Material assignments
• Point or polygon geometry

Cinema 4D currently does not have a single built-in "Reset Texture Coordinates" command. If your goal is to get an object's UVs back to a clean default state, you'll need to use one of the workarounds below.

Workarounds for resetting UVs

The most common ways to get UVs back to a clean state:

• Use UVW From Projection. In the BP UV Edit layout, with your object selected, run the UVW From Projection command. This bakes a fresh set of UVs based on the current projection mode set in your texture tag (Cubic, Spherical, Flat, etc.). It's the closest thing to a "reset UVs from scratch" command.
• Generate new UVs from the UV Edit layout. Switch to the BP UV Edit layout (top-right layout dropdown). From the UV Mapping menu (or Functions menu in the UV Manager), you can generate optimal mapping, relax UVs, or apply a fresh projection.
• Add a new UVW tag. Right-click the object in the Object Manager and choose UV Tags > Generate UVW Coordinates. Cinema 4D creates a fresh UVW tag based on the texture tag's current projection. Delete the old UVW tag if you don't need it.
• Change the projection mode in the texture tag. If you only need a quick visual reset and don't need baked UVs, switching the texture tag's projection mode (e.g., from UVW Mapping to Cubic) bypasses the existing UVs and uses the projection directly. This is a temporary fix, not a true UV reset.

Want a one-click "Reset UVs" command?

Maxon takes user feedback seriously when planning new features. If a built-in command for resetting texture coordinates would help your workflow, send the suggestion in:

• From inside Cinema 4D, go to Help > Share your ideas and suggestions with Maxon.
• Or submit a feature request through the Maxon support portal.

The more requests Maxon receives for a particular workflow improvement, the more likely it is to land in a future release.

TL;DR

• Reset Transform zeroes out an object's position and rotation and resets scale to 1. It does not affect UVs, texture coordinates, or materials.
• Cinema 4D has no single "Reset UVs" command. The closest equivalent is UVW From Projection in the BP UV Edit layout, which bakes fresh UVs from the current texture-tag projection mode.
• Other options: regenerate UVs from the UV Manager, add a new UVW tag via UV Tags > Generate UVW Coordinates, or temporarily switch the texture tag's projection mode.
• Want a one-click reset? Submit a feature request via Help > Share your ideas and suggestions with Maxon or the Maxon support portal.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please submit a support ticket, and our team will be happy to help.