The 3D Viewer

When you choose to open or create a new 3D View, the window in which the 3D View will be displayed is called the 3D Viewer. This topic briefly describes each of the components of the 3D Viewer and provides links to more information for each one.

Parts of the 3D Viewer

The 3D Viewer consists of the following:

3D Viewer Menus

There are six menus located across the top of the 3D Viewer:

3D Manager

The 3D Manager shows a list of all the datasets in the 3D View and their current visibility status (on/off).

You can control the visibility of multiple datasets by organizing them into folders and sub-folders.

Clicking on any object in the list allows you to see more detailed information about that object in the Attributes pane, and to modify certain features of the objects. You can modify various visual display attributes, such as transparency and colour settings for each object, and you can add or delete planes, surfaces, and other 3D objects. The 3D Manager also includes tools for modifying and controlling visual clipping within the 3D View.

Learn more about the 3D Manager.

3D Viewer Navigation Toolbar

The following viewing and navigational tools are available on the toolbar directly above the 3D Viewer window.

Click on the image below for instructions on how to use these navigation and viewing tools:

Most navigation tools are also available by right-clicking anywhere in the view.

3D Viewer Status Bar

The status bar across the bottom of the Viewer displays useful information and provides helpful navigation hints in the following sections:

  • Coordinate System: The current coordinate system of the 3D document.
  • Location under the mouse cursor: The name of the object beneath the cursor and the (X,Y,Z) location of the cursor as you move it over the selected object.
    If the view is in motion (for example, spinning, rotating, panning, or zooming), object identification and cursor coordinate reporting are paused, and the status bar will display "None". The information is restored once the view stops moving and you move the mouse over a visible object.
  • Location of the shadow cursor: The shadow cursor location when Shadow Cursor mode is enabled on the 3D Viewer Toolbar.
    When Shadow Cursor mode is enabled, clicking anywhere in the view sets the cursor position and sends it to any other open documents (for example, maps, databases, and 3D views).
  • View orientation information: The inclination, azimuth, and look-at point (centre of rotation) for the current view.