The operation merges two vertices by collapsing the edge between the vertices and reconnecting the edges adjacent to the removed vertex to the resulting merged vertex as shown in Figure 7-34. One vertex is selected to be kept, the other vertex is selected to be removed.

Short edges can require a very fine meshes size, which can create meshes with many mesh elements. The Merge Vertices, Collapse Edges, Form Composite Edges, and Ignore Vertices operations provide a manual way to remove short edges, while the Remove Details operation is a fully automated way to prepare a geometry for meshing.

To use the operation, in the Geometry toolbar, from the Virtual Operations menu (), select Merge Vertices (). Then enter the properties of the operation using the following sections:

Select the vertex that you want to keep in the Graphics window. It then appears in the Vertex to keep list.

Click the Active button to toggle between turning ON and OFF the Vertex to keep selections.

Select the vertex that you want to remove in the Graphics window. It then appears in the Vertex to remove list. Click the Active button to toggle between turning ON and OFF the Vertex to remove selections.