Dolly Light, Target, or Both

Command entry:Activate a Light viewport.

Viewport navigation controls

Dolly Light flyout

(Dolly Light),

(Dolly Target), or

(Dolly Spotlight + Target)

Dolly Light, on the Dolly Light flyout (see below) moves the light or its target or both along the light’s main axis, toward or away from what the light is pointing at. A free light moves along its depth axis in the direction its lens is pointing. On a target light, the target distance remains fixed, no matter how far you dolly.

Dollying a light

When you dolly a light, the light source moves closer to and away from its target. Because spotlights have conical beams, dollying a spotlight closer to its target shrinks the area illuminated at the target. Similarly, dollying a spotlight away from its target expands the area illuminated at the target.

The three buttons of the Dolly Light flyout are available when a target light viewport is active. When a free light viewport is active, the button appears as a flyout, but only Dolly Light is available for this type of light. If you activate a target light viewport, the three buttons are again available.

The buttons on this flyout replace the Zoom button when a Light viewport is active.

Procedures

To dolly a light:

Activate a Light viewport.
Click (Dolly Light).
The button highlights when it is on.
Drag to move the light.
- Drag up to move the light forward along its line of sight.
- Drag down to move the light backward along its line of sight.
Press Esc or right-click to turn off the button.

Interface

The Dolly Light flyout consists of the following buttons:

Dolly Light: Moves only the light to and from its target. If you go past the target, the light flips 180 degrees and moves away from its target.
Dolly Target: Moves only the target to and from the light. You see no visual change in the light viewport, unless you dolly the target to where it passes through the light to the other side, at which point the light view is reversed. However, changing the relative position of the target to the light affects other adjustments, such as Orbit Light, which uses the target as its rotational pivot.

This option is available only if the viewport’s light is a target light.
Dolly Light + Target: Moves both the target and the light to and from the light.

This option is available only if the viewport’s light is a target light.