I moved my clipping vector but the clip didn't follow. Why, and why won't toolpaths cut in the clipped area?

Level effects in 30 seconds

Clipping and Mirror Mode are level effects: right-click a LEVEL in the component tree to apply them. They edit the composite model non-destructively. The clipart and components underneath are never changed, so you can adjust or remove the effect any time (right-click the level, then Clipping > Remove, or choose No Mirroring). Clipping needs a closed 2D vector: select the vector, right-click the level, choose Clipping, then Apply. Everything on that level OUTSIDE the vector is removed, and the model inside it is left untouched.

Gotcha #1: clipping doesn't follow a moved vector

Changes to the clipping vector do not automatically change the clipping. If you move the clipping vector after applying, the clip stays where it was applied. Right-click the level and choose Clipping > Update to re-apply it. If no vector is selected and the previously used vector is still in the job, that vector is reused. If you select a different vector, it becomes the new clipping vector. Symptom without this: your clip region and your vector visibly disagree.

Gotcha #2: toolpaths only machine the UNCLIPPED part

Anything clipped away is excluded from toolpath calculation, even though you may still see the full component's silhouette while it is selected. If a 3D toolpath "skips" part of a model, check whether that area is clipped on its level. This is a feature (machine exactly the composition you built), but it surprises people mid-project.

The useful corollaries

1. Create Vector Boundary respects clipping. It traces only the clipped result, giving you a good vector for the Profile cut-out of your composition. With multiple levels selected, it accounts for what is clipped on every level and returns the composite outline.
2. Mirror Mode (same right-click menu): left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, or mirror one quadrant of the 2D view to the other three. Build a quarter of a symmetric design and the composite updates dynamically as you move or rotate components. The level icon shows the mirror direction.

Pro tips

• The level icon does NOT change when clipping is applied, so rename clip levels with a "_clip" suffix so future-you knows why that level behaves oddly.
• Quadrant mirror plus Ctrl-drag component copies is a fast path to symmetric compositions (see the recessed-texture entry for a full worked example).