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Control the camera

When viewing a scene and interacting with objects, it can be helpful to control the camera. Below are methods for controlling the camera.

Position control​

To position the camera, left click and hold on the scene, then drag the mouse. The camera will move with the mouse.

Zoom controls​

Zooming In and Out of the Scene​

You have five ways to zoom in or out on the scene.

  • Mouse Wheel: Scroll the wheel on your mouse.
  • Right-Click and Drag: Right-click and hold anywhere on the scene, then move your mouse up or down.
  • Keyboard Shortcuts: After left-clicking on the scene, press Z to zoom in or Shift+Z to zoom out.
  • Camera Icon: Left-click the Camera Icon in the scene's toolbar, then choose the appropriate zoom option from the dropdown menu.
  • View Menu: Left-click the View menu in the main toolbar, then select the appropriate zoom option from its dropdown menu.

Zooming to Fit a Selected Object​

There are three methods to zoom to fit a selected object in the scene. All of these options will zoom to the most recently selected object.

  • Keyboard Shortcut: Press F.
  • Camera Icon: Left-click the camera icon Camera Icon in the scene's toolbar, then select Zoom to fit from the dropdown menu.
  • View Menu: Left-click the View menu from the main toolbar, then select Zoom to fit from the dropdown menu.

Orbit controls​

Orbit controls allow the camera to rotate around a selected object or point in the scene. Cameras have two ways to orbit around the scene.

  • Middle-Click and Drag: Hold down your middle mouse button and drag your mouse. You'll orbit around a target point, indicated by the ⨀ symbol in the scene.

  • Scene Axes: Left-click and hold on the scene axes (shown below) and move your mouse.

    Scene Axes

To change the orbit target, hold Shift and left-click on a new point in the scene. The ⨀ target point will move to this new location, and the orbit will center on it.

Projection control​

In computer graphics, projection is how a 3D scene is displayed on a 2D screen. Perspective projection imitates the human eye, where parallel lines converge and objects appear smaller the further away they are. This results in a realistic sense of depth but introduces distortion. Orthographic projection keeps parallel lines parallel and objects appear the same size no matter how far away they are. This is useful for closely inspecting objects and measuring distances, as it eliminates distortion. However, it reduces the sense of depth in the scene.

  • Camera Icon: Left-click the Camera Icon in the scene's toolbar. From the dropdown menu, select either Perspective or Orthographic.
  • View Menu: Left-click the View menu in the main toolbar. From the dropdown menu, select either Perspective or Orthographic.

Save/Load camera view​

  • Save a View: To save your current view, left-click the View menu in the main toolbar and select Save camera view.
  • Load a View: To load the most recently saved view, left-click the View menu in the main toolbar and select Load camera view.