Customize the grid

Customize the grid in the SceneA Scene contains the environments and menus of your game. Think of each unique Scene file as a unique level. In each Scene, you place your environments, obstacles, and decorations, essentially designing and building your game in pieces. More info
See in Glossary view window. You can do the following to customize the grid:

• Display and hide grid lines in the Scene viewAn interactive view into the world you are creating. You use the Scene View to select and position scenery, characters, cameras, lights, and all other types of Game Object. More info
  See in Glossary.
• Change which axis the grid displays on.
• Resize the grid.
• Change the color of the grid lines.
• Change the opacity of the grid lines.
• Add custom position and rotation to the grid.
• Reset grid settings to default.

Most grid settings are available in the Grid and Snap overlay. To highlight the Grid and Snap overlay in the Scene view, press ` to open the overlay menu then hover over Grid and Snap.

Display and hide grid lines in the Scene view

To toggle whether the grid is visible in the Scene view, select Toggle grid visibility in the Grid and Snap overlay.

Change which axis the grid displays on

If you are in orthographic mode (Iso) and align your view with an axis, the Editor chooses to display the grid axis orthogonal to that axis.

To change which axis the grid appears on:

1. In the Grid and Snap overlay, select Open Grid and Snap Settings.
2. In the Grid and Snap Settings window, in Grid Plane, select the axis you want the grid to display on.

Resize the grid

You can set the size of the grid lines that display in the Scene view window. The size of the grid can affect how your grid looks and how your GameObjectsThe fundamental object in Unity scenes, which can represent characters, props, scenery, cameras, waypoints, and more. A GameObject’s functionality is defined by the Components attached to it. More info
See in Glossary automatically snap to the grid and how your GameObjects move if you use absolute grid snapping.

If you set a size for all axes at once, you display a uniform, square-based, grid. However, you can also use different values on any of the three axes to display a non-uniform, rectangular-based, grid. By default, the grid is set to a uniform size of 1 on all axes.

To set a size for all axes of the grid at once, enter a value in the Grid size field in the Grid and Snap overlay.

To set a size for each axis separately:

1. In the Grid and Snap overlay, select Open Grid and Snap Settings.
2. In the Grid and Snap Settings window, in Grid size, make sure the link icon is not selected.
3. Enter a value for the X, Y, and Z properties to set the size of the grid lines on each axis.

Tip: You can also press Ctrl + ] (macOS: Command + ]) to increase the size of the grid and Ctrl + [ (macOS: Command + [) to decrease the size of the grid. To learn more, refer to Grid and Snap shortcuts.

Change the color of the grid lines

To change the color of the visible grid lines in the Scene view window:

1. Open the Unity Preferences window.
2. Select the Colors tab in the Preferences window.
3. Use the color picker to set a new color.

Change the opacity of the grid lines

To adjust the brightness of the grid lines:

1. In the Grid and Snap overlay, select Open Grid and Snap Settings.
2. In the Grid and Snap Settings window, use the Opacity slider to make the grid more or less visible in the Scene view.

Add custom position and rotation to the grid

You can transform the grid by applying a selected GameObject’s handle position and rotation to the grid or by entering specific position and rotation values.

Absolute grid snapping works well for levels composed of rectangular areas aligned to grid lines. However, if your level elements are rotated (such as angled bridges or pathways), absolute grid snapping is less useful and new customized grids are crucial.

To add custom position and rotation to the grid:

1. In the Grid and Snap overlay, select Open Grid and Snap Settings.
2. In the Grid and Snap Settings window, under Grid Transform, enter position and rotation values.

To apply a selected GameObject’s handle position and rotation to the grid:

1. Select a GameObject.
2. In the Grid and Snap overlay, select Open Grid and Snap Settings.
3. Select Copy from Active Object.

You can also right-click in the Scene view and select Grid > Move to Handle Position.

Note: To reset the grid to the world origin, in the Grid and Snap Settings window, select Reset to World. You can also right-click in the Scene view and select Grid > Reset to World.

Reset grid values and settings to default

To reset all grid settings to their defaults:

1. In the Grid and Snap overlay, select Open Grid and Snap Settings.
2. Select the More menu (⋮).
3. Select Reset.

Additional resources

• Scene view grid snapping
• Grid and Snap overlay
• Overlays
• The Scene view
• Position GameObjects