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Viewport | Substance 3D Modeler

Viewport

A screenshot of Modeler. The Viewport is the 3D space - anything that isn't an interface element is the Viewport.

This page covers how the main viewport of the application works and how to explore the scene.

The viewport is the 3D space where you can build up and work on your creations. Unlike most aspects of Modeler, the Viewport controls are based on whether you are using desktop or VR, so refer to the section that's relevant to your platform below.

Customize the viewport background

Make the Viewport feel more comfortable and personal by adjusting the background color. Use Edit > Preferences > Editor to access the hue, saturation, brightness, and gradient sliders.

Desktop

On desktop the viewport behaves like a camera looking into a 3D space. You can move the camera to view different parts of the scene.

There are three ways to move the camera through the scene:

Action

Description

Shortcut

Orbit/RotateChange the direction the camera faces.alt + left click and drag
PanMove the camera up, down, left, and rightalt + middle click and drag
ZoomZoom the camera in and out to focus on smaller or larger areas.alt + right click and drag

The camera always moves relative to the Gizmo, or relative to the mouse cursor.

You can also use the shortcut f to focus the camera on your sculpt or on the Gizmo. This is useful if you get lost in the scene.

Note:

💻You can switch to Capture mode with with shortcut F8 so that only the viewport is visible. Capture mode hides the Palette, Color picker and other interface elements, and by default turns on ray tracing.

VR

By using Modeler in VR, you exist inside the viewport, or inside your scene.

There are two ways to navigate the scene:

  1. Physically move your body through the scene.
  2. Use the controller grips to move the scene around you.

Unfortunately learning how to move your body is beyond the scope of this guide, but we'll cover how to use the grips below.

  • Press and hold one of the grips, then move the controller to move the scene.
  • Press and hold both grips at the same time, then move the controllers towards or away from each other to zoom in or out.

By combining the grip movements, you can navigate the scene very quickly, even while seated.

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