If they were to add this, they need to keep the Full Body shape option for bodies that have head to toe mesh. To save on file space for those type of bodies and for legacy content.

While yes allowing Head shape and Body shape options for the current popular product trend. Which will definitely see a saving in inventory space among all users and would get shape shop owners a new lease on life for their shops.

Though I doubt anyone will ask the following anytime soon, but at least the head and body shape separation will pave the way for later if people were to ask for just Torso shape or Ears, Lips, etc. Since "some" head shops do have seperate ear and lip options as an example. Plus there are more head tab options than body ones as of the moment. Though I guess we'll see in time on how that goes if things for heads get more like what you see in Cyberpunk. In which case if that becomes a trend, then yeah people might ask for those separate shape options too.

If it's too difficult to do the above, another thought would be as a quick solution until they can figure it out, is that LL could make their own type of head and body merge from different shapes in the Viewer similar to what Arcane Portal displayed but without having to export it. That way people don't have to either write it out or use websites out there that try to merge it for you in which takes extra steps. Yet if any of the shapes are non-mod, make the new shape non-mod too (to please the shape shop owners).

DEFINITELY!!!

How about being able to stack/weight shapes? That way you can have a "head" shape, a "body" shape, a "wings" shape, a "Idk some oddball appendage" shape. "Big n' Beautiful" shape, "Slim Twink" shape. Stack them, weight them, sort of like BOM layers.

As someone who creates head shapes, this would be really helpful. I can be consistent with the body shapes. Not having to edit it one by one over and over again for different bodies.

I could probably delete about 2k shapes if we had this

Yes, please!!!

My viewer has had the abillity to selectively export and import shape sections for years. I have the 100% completed and working source, and will see if I can put together a proper .diff when I get a bit of free time if it's something LL would actually add.

this would be nice , tho I don't change my shape much since I got it how I like now. This would be a good thing to have tho, or if the current shape system allowed copy/paste of certain separate sections of the shape to another shape.

I agree on this, I'm pretty attacked to my current body shape. It is mod and I have used and modified to my taste over the years.

The other day I got a cute head skin which came with it's own shape. Whole the head shape was quite nice the rest of the body was completely different to mine. Since the shape is no nod, there was nothing I could do about it

There IS a way to do this, but it involves dumping your shapes (head and body) into .XML files, then using a tool "Dr. Frank" to parse which settings are for the head and which are for the body, the tool then outputs a combination .XML with the head settings from one file and the body settings from the other. Import that .XML as your shape, and then tweak as needed from there.

The problem is, you have to use tools external to SL to accomplish this. The viewers have the ability to read the shape XML, they can export it, and they can import it... but there is no mechanism to manipulate them other than thru the Edit Shape number/slider editor.