2D Physics Core preferences reference

Explore the properties you can use to configure how 2D Physics Core draws and edits physics objects in the Scene view. These properties apply to every project you open in the Unity Editor.

Note: This documentation is about using Pose, Area, and Constraint components. To use 2D physics in the Unity Editor using components like the Rigidbody 2D component, refer to 2D physics instead.

To open these properties, go to Edit > Preferences > 2D > Physics Core.

For more information about the tools these properties configure, refer to Visualize and edit 2D Physics Core scenes.

General

Property	Description
Confirm Scene Asset Edit	Displays a confirmation dialog when the Scene view tools edit geometry that a shared asset stores.
Edit on Selection	Enables Unity automatically entering the Physics Area or Physics Constraint editing tool when you select a component that has one. If a GameObject has both, Unity enters the Physics Area tool.
Hierarchy Selection	Determines which objects Unity selects when you select a GameObject in the Hierarchy window. The options are: Selected: Selects the physics objects of the GameObject. Children: Selects the physics objects of the GameObject and its children.
Edit Shape Selection	Sets which layers to edit when you click on a shape. The options are: Single: Selects one layer. Click again in the same place to cycle through stacked shapes. Multiple: Selects every layer under the cursor.
Play Mode Edit	Sets which components you can edit in Play mode, in the Inspector window and with the Scene view tools.
Local Geometry Target	Sets which values Unity updates when you drag the center handle of a component without a shared geometry asset. The options are: Geometry: Updates the geometry of the component. Transformation: Updates the Transformation properties of the component. This property doesn’t affect contour group geometry.
Asset Geometry Target	Sets which values Unity updates when you drag the center handle of a component that uses a shared geometry asset. The options are: Geometry: Updates the geometry of the shared geometry asset. Transformation: Updates the Transformation properties of the component. This property doesn’t affect contour group geometry, which always updates its vertices.
Geometry Display	Sets how Unity displays the panel beneath a geometry asset in the Inspector window of a component. The options are: Off: Hides the panel. View: Displays the panel as read-only. Edit: Displays the panel so you can edit the properties of the geometry asset.
Definition Display	Sets how Unity displays the panel beneath a definition asset in the Inspector window of a component. The options are: Off: Hides the panel. View: Displays the panel as read-only. Edit: Displays the panel so you can edit the properties of the definition asset.
Max Handles	Sets the maximum number of vertex handles Unity displays on a contour in the Scene view. Use a lower value to make editing a complex contour faster.
Handle Size	Scales the editing handles in the Scene view. Use a higher value to make handles easier to select.
Handle Edge Range	Sets how far from the edge of a selected shape the handles appear, as a multiple of the base handle size.
Editing Gizmo Scale	Scales the angle lines, arcs, and limit bands Unity draws when you edit a pose, an anchor, or a limit. This property doesn’t affect the handle size.
Highlight	Sets the brightness of the selected shape. Set the value to 0 to leave the shape unhighlighted.
Dimming	Sets how strongly Unity fades a shape that you haven’t selected or hovered over. Set the value to 1 to hide unselected layers.

Labels

The settings in this section configure the labels Unity displays in the Scene view.

Property	Description
Show Labels	Sets when Unity displays coordinates and value labels. The options are: Off: Draws no labels. On: Draws the label of every handle. Selected: Draws the label only when you drag or hover over a handle.
Label Space	Sets the space that label coordinates use. The options are: Local: Displays coordinates in the local geometry space of the component. World: Displays coordinates in world space.
Label Precision	Sets the maximum number of decimal digits in a label.

Colors

The settings in this section set the color of shapes, handles, labels, and lines in the Scene view.

Shape

Property	Description
Invalid Edit	Sets the color of invalid shapes.

Handle

Property	Description
Handle Idle	Sets the color of a vertex, edge, size, or endpoint handle at rest.
Handle Hover	Sets the color of a handle when you hover over it.
Center	Sets the color of the center handle.
Anchor	Sets the color of the anchor handles of a constraint. By default, this color matches Handle Idle.
Add	Sets the color of the handles that add geometry.
Delete	Sets the color of the handles that delete geometry.
Lower Limit	Sets the color of the handle you drag to set a lower limit, such as the lower angle limit of a Physics Constraint Hinge component.
Upper Limit	Sets the color of the handle you drag to set an upper limit, such as the upper angle limit of a Physics Constraint Hinge component.

Labels & Lines

Property	Description
Label	Sets the color of coordinate and value labels.
Label Background	Sets the color Unity fills behind a label. Set the alpha value to 0 to draw no background.
Line	Sets the color of the lines the tools draw between objects, such as the link between the two anchors of a constraint.
Zero Reference	Sets the color of the dashed line Unity measures an angle from.
Current Angle	Sets the color of the solid line Unity draws out to the handle of the current angle.
Edit Fill	Sets the color Unity fills the range with while you edit, such as a swept angle arc or a linear limit band.

Reset Preferences

Property	Description
Reset Preferences	Restores all the properties in the Physics Core tab to their default values.

Additional resources

Configure global 2D Physics Core settings

Creating multiple simulation worlds with 2D Physics Core