Hammer Editor Documentation

Overview

A Hammer Editor screenshot.

The Valve Hammer Editor is a 3D design tool used for creating levels for Source engine games.

The Hammer editor can be used for:

• Creating level architecture -- geometry, texturing, and lighting.
• Placing models (props) created in 3D modeling packages, such as XSI.
• Placing entities for gameplay.
• Scripting gameplay entities with Inputs and Outputs.
• Adding AI navigation information.
• Compiling and running game levels.

Getting Started

• Introduction to Editing - A introduction to the basic principles of editing with the Hammer Editor.
• Your First Map - How to create and run a simple map using the Hammer Editor.
• 3D and 2D Views - How to navigate the 2D and 3D views.
• What's New - New features of the Valve Hammer Editor for Source.

Hammer Reference

• Menus - Reference guide to the menus and their contents.
  • File
  • Edit
  • Map
  • View
  • Tools
  • Window
  • Help
• Dialogs - Reference guide to various dialog boxes.
• Toolbars - Description of the toolbars and their icons.
• Hotkey Reference - Listing of all keyboard shortcuts.

See Also

• Source SDK FAQ - Information to help solve some common problems.
• Source Mapping Conversion - For users familiar with the Half-Life 1 Map Editing Tools.
• Source SDK Release Notes - Find out about current known issues in the Source SDK.
• Hammer Editor article on Wikipedia (external link)