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This submenu is only available when the scattering mode is set to2D -On Surfaces.

Mode – Specifies the surface scattering mode. See the Mode Example below.

Random Distribution – Scatters instances randomly on all mesh objects.
UV Grid – Uses UV mapping to scatter instances in regular patterns.

Instances Count – Gives the total number of instances on all Host objects. Note that adding Area Modifiers or defining Slope Limitation will decrease this number. If the Per Area option is enabled, the scattering is defined by the density. See the Instances CountExample below.

Per Area – When enabled, the number of instances is determined by the count combined with the size of the host's surface. The value specifies the length of the distribution area's side/edge. If the Count value is set to 1, this number determines the relative density of the instances. See the Per Area Example below. 

Density – Determines the approximate count of instances based on texture input. Black color in the texture discards all instances in the respective area. Areas colored with white receive the maximum number of instances. See the Density Examples below.

Map Channel – Determines the UV channel.

Pattern – Determines a pattern to use for grid scattering. See the Pattern Example below.

Grid – Rectangular grid.
Running Grid – Rectangular grid with every other row offset by half of the grid spacing.
Hexagonal Grid –Arranges the instances into hexagons.

Map Channel – Determines the UV channel.

Spacing – Scales the pattern in UV space. When Spacing is set to 1, the pattern occupies the whole space. When Spacing is set to 0.5, the pattern is repeated twice. See the Spacing Example below.

Jitter – Determines what proportion of the instances are randomly placed. When Jitter is set to 0 all instances are placed according to the UV mapping. When Jitter is set to 1 all instances are randomly placed. See the Jitter Example below.

Offset – Offsets the pattern by the given value (in percentages). Keep in mind that 0 and 1 Offset give the same result, as 1 moves the pattern by one whole repetition. See the Offset Examples below.

Lock – When enabled the values of the V coordinate for Spacing, Jitter and Offset are locked to the U coordinate's values.

Edge Trimming – Trims elements of instances outside of the host boundaries. It affects both host objects and Area modifiers.

Edge trimming is used to trim scattered instances consisting of multiple mesh elements so that they stay within the boundaries of the host objects, taking into account the modifiers added to the Area Modifiers list. If an origin of any integral part of the instance (any sub-mesh element of the instanced model) falls outside of the area specified by the scatter, such part is not rendered. This is a simplification, but you can imagine the origin as a point on the host object from which an element is growing.

The typical use cases of Edge Trimming include:

• Grass lawns - in case of using large grass clumps, no individual grass blades will be growing outside of the defined area.
• Carpets - in case of using large clumps of strands, no individual strands will be placed outside of the carpet area.
• Pebbles, rocks, bark chippings, or any other objects which you need to distribute within some specific boundary and make sure no instances stick outside of that boundary (determined based on the mesh element origin precision).

In addition to making the scattering look more refined and natural, the edge trimming feature boosts performance by removing some of the instances you save from RAM and making parsing time shorter.