Working with Views

Views provide a window into the current scene, whether they display a 3D view of the geometric objects such as in the Camera view or a hierarchical view of the data such as in the explorer.

This section provides some general information about views, such as how to open them docked in the viewports or floating in separate movable windows.

Working with Views Docked in the Viewports

There are four viewports in the view manager at the center of the default layout. Each viewport is identified by a letter. When you start Softimage, viewport A (top left) shows the Top orthographic view, viewport B (top right) shows the Camera perspective view, viewport C (bottom left) shows the Front orthographic view, and viewport D (bottom right) shows the Right orthographic view.

For information about working in 3D views, including navigation and display options, see Viewing and Navigating in 3D Views [Viewing and Playback].

Displaying Views in Viewports

You can display many different views docked inside the viewports.

To display a view in a viewport

Click the arrow or the name of the current view displayed on any viewport menu bar to open the Views menu.
Select the desired view from the menu.

To display the previous view in a viewport

Middle-click the arrow or the name of the view on the viewport menu bar.

Maximizing and Restoring Viewports

You can maximize a single viewport so that it occupies the full space taken by all four viewports. Alternatively, you can maximize viewports horizontally or vertically to display two or three viewports at a time. Restoring a viewport returns it to the previous size.

To maximize or restore a viewport

Do one of the following:

With the mouse pointer over the corresponding viewport, press F12.

or
Click the viewport's Resize icon.

or
Right-click the viewport's Resize icon, then choose Maximize or Restore.

To maximize or restore a viewport horizontally

Do one of the following:

Middle-click the viewport's Resize icon.

or
Right-click the viewport's Resize icon, then choose Horizontal or Restore.

To maximize or restore a viewport vertically

Do one of the following:

Ctrl+middle-click the viewport's Resize icon.

or
Right-click the viewport's Resize icon, then choose Vertical or Restore.

Resizing Viewports

You can change the relative sizes of the viewports, as well as reset them to their original sizes.

To resize viewports

Do one of the following:

To resize horizontally, click and drag the vertical splitter bar that separates two viewports.

or
To resize vertically, click and drag the horizontal splitter bar that separates two viewports.

or
To resize freely, click and drag the intersection of the splitter bars that separates all four viewports.

To reset the viewport sizes

Do one of the following:

To reset the size horizontally, middle-click the vertical splitter bar that separates two viewports.

or
To reset the size vertically, middle-click the horizontal splitter bar that separates two viewports.

or
To reset the size both horizontally and vertically, middle-click the intersection of the splitter bars that separates all four viewports.

Returning to the Default Viewports

You can return to the original state of the viewports by doing one of the following:

Right-click the viewport's Resize icon, then choose Reset Size. All four viewports are restored and their sizes are reset.

or
Right-click the viewport's Resize icon, then choose Reset All. All four viewports are restored, their sizes are reset, and the default views are displayed.

The Active Viewport

Clicking anywhere in a viewport makes it the "active" viewport. This is indicated by a thin grey border around the viewport. The active viewport is special in a few ways:

You can choose to play animation in only the active viewport for faster playback. See Playing Animations or Simulations [Viewing and Playback]
You can control the render region settings of the active viewport using Render Regions Active Viewport Options on the Render toolbar. You can also transfer the render region settings between the active viewport, the current pass, the global settings, and other viewports using the commands on the Render Regions Region Copy menu. For more information, see Previewing Interactively with the Render Region and Managing Rendering Options [Rendering].
The active view and its properties can be retrieved by scripts and plug-ins for various purposes. See View Manager Attributes [SDK Guide].

Note that commands like pressing F for Frame Selected affect the view under the mouse pointer, not the active viewport.

Working with Floating Views

When you open a floating view, it appears as a separate window. Depending on the type of view, you can have multiple windows of the same view type open at the same time.

A Word about the Active Window

The active window is the one directly under the mouse pointer — it's the one that accepts keyboard and mouse input, even if it is not on top and its title bar is not highlighted.

For example, you can open a floating explorer window, then move the pointer over the camera viewport and press F to frame the selected elements. If you pressed F while the pointer was still over the explorer, the list would have expanded and scrolled to find the next selected object instead.

One important exception is the script editor. You can't type in it until you click in the editing pane. This prevents you from accidentally entering unwanted characters in your scripts.

Be careful that you don't accidentally send commands to the wrong window.

Opening and Closing Floating Views

To open a floating view

Do one of the following:

From the main menu, choose the desired view from a View submenu.

or
Press the shortcut key associated with that view. For example, press 8 (at the top of the keyboard) to open the explorer.

Note that if there is a collapsed view of the corresponding type, then pressing the shortcut key will restore it.

To close a floating view

Do one of the following:

Click the Close icon on the right of the view's title bar.

or
Move the mouse pointer over the view and press Ctrl+' (the key under Esc on most keyboards).

To close all floating windows

Choose Window Close All from the main menu.

Minimizing, Maximizing, and Restoring Floating Views

You can minimize a floating view to get it out of your way without closing it. When you need to work with that view again, you can restore it. Minimized views are represented as small title-bars along the bottom of Softimage's main window. You can drag them to new locations.

Alternatively, you can maximize a floating view if you need more screen space to work with. Maximized views take up the entire display.

Whenever you minimize or maximize a floating view, the corresponding icon changes to Restore. Clicking this icon restores the view to its previous floating size and position.

To minimize a floating view

Click the Minimize icon on the right of the view's title bar.

To minimize all floating views

Choose Window Minimize All from the main menu.

To maximize a floating view

Click the Maximize icon on the right of the view's title bar.

To restore a specific floating view

Select the desired view from the list of open views at the bottom of the Window menu, or click the Restore icon on the title-bar.

To restore all floating views

Choose Window Restore All from the main menu.

To cycle through floating views

Press Ctrl+Tab to cycle through all open or minimized floating views, or press Ctrl+Shift+Tab to cycle in reverse order.
Note
- There is a preference that controls whether open windows become minimized when you cycle to the next one. In the Interaction preferences, click the Property Editors/Views tab and check or uncheck Hide windows when switching.
- On Linux, the Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab combinations may be used by your window manager. In that case, you should change your window manager's settings to unmap these combinations.

Collapsing Floating Views

You can collapse a floating view by double-clicking on its title bar. When collapsed, only the title bar is visible and you can still move it around by dragging. To expand a collapsed view, double-click on the title bar again; the view is restored at its current location.

Manipulating Floating Views

You can adjust floating windows in the usual ways; for example:

To move a window, drag its title bar.
To resize a window, drag its borders.
To bring a window to the front and display it on top of other windows, click in it.