Scene View Navigation

The Scene View has a set of navigation controls to help you move around quickly and efficiently.

Arrow Movement

You can use the Arrow Keys to move around the scene as though "walking" through it. The up and down arrows move the camera forward and backward in the direction it is facing. The left and right arrows pan the view sideways. Hold down the Shift key with an arrow to move faster.

Focusing

If you select a GameObject in the hierarchy, then move the mouse over the scene view and press the F key, the view will move so as to center on the object. This feature is referred to as frame selection.

Move, Orbit and Zoom

Moving, orbiting and zooming are key operations in Scene View navigation, so Unity provides several alternative ways to perform them for maximum convenience.

Using the Hand Tool

When the hand tool is selected (shortcut: Q), the following mouse controls are available:

Move: Click-drag to drag the camera around.
Orbit: Hold Alt and click-drag to orbit the camera around the current pivot point.
Zoom: Hold Control (Command on Mac) and click-drag to zoom the camera.

Holding down Shift will increase the rate of movement and zooming.

Shortcuts Without Using the Hand Tool

For extra efficiency, all of these controls can also be used regardless of which transform tool is selected. The most convenient controls depend on which mouse or track-pad you are using:

Action3-button mouse2-button mouse or track-padMac with only one mouse button or track-pad
MoveHold Alt and middle click-drag.Hold Alt-Control and click-drag.Hold Alt-Command and click-drag.
OrbitHold Alt and click-drag.Hold Alt and click-drag.Hold Alt and click-drag.
ZoomHold Alt and right click-drag or use scroll-wheel.Hold Alt and right click-drag.Hold Alt-Control and click-drag or use two-finger swipe.

Flythrough Mode

The Flythrough mode lets you navigate the Scene View by flying around in first person similar to how you would navigate in many games.

Flythrough mode is designed for Perspective Mode. In Isometric Mode, holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse will orbit the camera instead.

Scene Gizmo

In the upper-right corner of the Scene View is the Scene Gizmo. This displays the Scene View Camera's current orientation, and allows you to quickly modify the viewing angle.

You can click on any of the arms to snap the Scene View Camera to that direction. Click the middle of the Scene Gizmo, or the text below it, to toggle between Isometric Mode and Perspective Mode. You can also always shift-click the middle of the Scene Gizmo to get a "nice" perspective view with an angle that is looking at the scene from the side and slightly from above.


Perspective mode.

Isometric mode. Objects do not get smaller with distance here!

Mac Trackpad Gestures

On a Mac with a trackpad, you can drag with two fingers to zoom the view.

You can also use three fingers to simulate the effect of clicking the arms of the Scene Gizmo: drag up, left, right or down to snap the Scene View Camera to the corresponding direction. In OS X 10.7 "Lion" you may have to change your trackpad settings in order to enable this feature:

Page last updated: 2012-11-16