Manipulating the Camera in the 3D View

In the 3D View, all orthogonal viewports support zooming and panning the camera.

In addition, you can also rotate and fly in perspective viewports.

Zooming

Scroll with the mouse wheel to zoom in (up) or out (down) from the center of the object in the 3D View.

To zoom faster, hold the Ctrl key while using the mouse wheel.

Rotating

Click and drag with the middle mouse button to rotate around the origin of the selected object. To select an object to use as the pivot point, double-click it.

Note Rotating is not supported in orthographic (2D) views.

Panning

Press Ctrl while holding down the middle mouse button to drag the camera in any direction.

Flying

You can fly the camera quickly around in the 3D View by pressing one of the supported direction keys or arrows:

Key	Arrow	Direction
`W`	Up	Move the view forward
`A`	Left	Move the view horizontally left
`S`	Down	Move the view backward
`D`	Right	Move the view horizontally right
`E`	Page Up	Move the view vertically up
`Q`	Page Down	Move the view vertically down

To fly faster, hold down the Shift key while using direction keys or arrows.

Note Flying is not supported in orthographic (2D) views.

Speed Indicator

The Editor provides a visual cue to indicate how fast you are moving while zooming or flying.

The Speed Indicator appears in the bottom left corner of the 3D View when you are moving the mouse wheel (while zooming) or pressing any of the direction keys or arrows (while flying).

As soon as you stop moving zooming or flying, it disappears from view.

Note Speed is proportional to object distance. Double-click to center on the object and adjust the speed meter according to the object size.

Cycling Through the Cameras

If you have added extra cameras in your scene or mechanism, you can go from one camera point of view to another (even during playback) by moving either forwards or back through the list of cameras.

To move forwards through the list of cameras:

Right-click in the 3D View and choose Views > Cycle Through Next Camera or press the C key.

To move backwards through the list of cameras:

Right-click in the 3D View and choose Views > Cycle Through Previous Camera or press the X key.

Saving an Initial View

It is possible to save a desired point of view in the 3D View window from the default (perspective) camera. Doing so allows you to open your scene with a user-specified angle.

To create an initial view:

Manipulate your default camera to the desired view.
In the Explorer panel, right-click on the scene at the root level.
Select Save Initial View.
Save your scene.

Next time you open your scene, it will open with the saved view.