The window
Orbit 3D works in one main window, which holds one scene. From top to bottom it has the mode tabs, the toolbar, a middle row and the dock. The middle row holds the column of object buttons, the viewport and, at the right, the OBJECTS list above the INSPECTOR. The WELCOME sheet covers the window each time Orbit starts.
The window title reads Untitled until the scene is saved, then the file name, such as Dunes.orbit. A dot after the name means the scene has unsaved changes. The window cannot be made smaller than 1000 by 600 points. Closing it quits Orbit, and with unsaved changes Orbit first asks whether to save them.
The names that appear when the pointer rests on the viewport chips, the controls panel and the column of object buttons follow SHOW TOOLTIPS in SETTINGS. The toolbar and the dock use the Mac's own tooltips, which stay on.
| Region | Show or hide |
|---|---|
| Column of object buttons, OBJECTS and INSPECTOR | ⌘0 or the expand button at the top right of the viewport hides all three, and the viewport fills the middle row. |
| Dock | ⌘J, or a click on the bar above it |
| Toolbar, column of object buttons, OBJECTS, INSPECTOR and dock | Hidden while LOOP STUDIO is the active tab |
| Divider between the viewport and the right panels | Drag it to widen either side |
| Divider between OBJECTS and INSPECTOR | Drag it up or down |
Mode tabs
| Label | Effect | Persistence |
|---|---|---|
| SCENE | The modeling layout described on this page. Orbit starts on this tab. Clicking it from Loop Studio stops playback first. | |
| LOOP STUDIO | The viewport with the PLAYBACK column at its right and the PARAMETERS and AUTOMATION LANES columns below. The toolbar, the column of object buttons, OBJECTS, INSPECTOR and the dock are hidden. | Not saved in the scene file |
Switching tabs in either direction leaves poly edit, sculpt mode, cage edit mode and spine editing. Loop Studio controls describes that layout.
Toolbar
The toolbar runs across the window below the mode tabs, from left to right as in the table. Its menus are listed item by item in Menus and palette commands.
| Label | Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| NEW | Menu with NEW SCENE and SCENE WIZARD… | |
| OPEN | Asks about unsaved changes, then opens a scene file | |
| SAVE | Saves the scene to its file. A scene never saved asks for a name and a place. | |
| IMPORT | Menu that adds an object file to the scene | |
| EXPORT | Menu that saves the selected objects as an object file | Dimmed in the free version, and with no object or group selected. The tooltip gives the reason. |
| ADD OBJECT | Menu of the 21 kinds of object, LIGHT and PEN / LOFT | |
| LIGHTING | Menu of six lighting setups. Each replaces every light in the scene. | |
| TRANSFORM | Panel of buttons that turn, scale, mirror and place the selected objects in fixed steps. The panel stays open between clicks. | Dimmed unless every selected item is an object. Lights and groups have no TRANSFORM panel. |
| BOOLEAN | Menu that combines or cuts the selected solids | Dimmed until the selected objects can be combined. The tooltip gives the reason. |
| ORBIT 3D · followed by the file name | The scene's file name, or untitled. An asterisk follows it while there are unsaved changes. | Shown only when the window is wide enough |
| FREE VERSION, CHECKING or FULL VERSION | Opens the WELCOME sheet, where the full version is bought or a purchase restored | |
| EXPORT RENDER | Opens the sheet that renders the picture at full size and saves it | |
| SETTINGS | Opens the app settings as a sheet with a DONE button |
As the window narrows, the toolbar first drops the file name. Next, NEW, OPEN, SAVE, IMPORT, EXPORT and SETTINGS become icons, the version label becomes a small colored square, and the tooltip of each icon gives its name. The tooltip of the EXPORT icon says what it saves, or why it is dimmed. ADD OBJECT, LIGHTING, TRANSFORM, BOOLEAN and EXPORT RENDER keep their labels at every width.
Column of object buttons
A narrow column at the left edge of the middle row holds one button for each kind of object, in the order of the ADD OBJECT menu. Below them, set off by a line, is an amber button that adds a light, and below that the pen, which starts drawing strokes to loft. A click on an object button adds that object at the center of the scene, resting on the ground, and selects it. Hold the pointer over a button to see its name, such as "Add Torus Knot". When the window is too short for every button, the column scrolls.
Add objects shows how to place an object at a particular spot.
Viewport
The viewport fills the middle of the window and shows the scene from the camera. For the gestures, see Move the camera and change views. The viewport, the preview and the render explains what it draws.
Top left: view and tool chips
| Label | Values and default | Effect | Persistence |
|---|---|---|---|
| P, T, F, S | Perspective, top, front and side. P at the start. | Switch the view, like the keys 1 to 4. Clicking the lit T, F or S again looks from the opposite side. | Saved in the scene file |
| Q, W, E, R | Select only, move, rotate and scale. W at the start. | Choose the gizmo drawn on the selected object, like the keys with the same letters | Not saved. A new or opened scene starts on W. |
Top right: readouts and the expand button
| Label | Values and default | Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| FPS | Off at the start | How many times a second the viewport redraws while it is drawing. Reads IDLE after a second without drawing. | FPS READOUT in SETTINGS |
| TRIS | On at the start | The name and triangle count of the object selected last, or SCENE and the total for the scene. With a light selected, the light's name comes before SCENE. A copy made by an array is counted once. Counts of 1000 or more read in thousands, such as 1.2K TRIS, and millions as 1.2M TRIS. | TRI COUNT in SETTINGS |
| Expand button | Hides the column of object buttons, OBJECTS and INSPECTOR, or shows them again. Same as ⌘0. | Always. Each launch starts with everything showing. |
Top center: labels that come and go
| Label | When it appears | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| TOP, BOTTOM, FRONT, BACK, RIGHT or LEFT | In a flat view | Names the side of the scene the camera faces |
| PEN · STROKES: with LOFT, CLEAR and EXIT | While the pen is on | LOFT turns the strokes into an object, CLEAR removes them and EXIT leaves the pen. See Draw shapes with the pen. |
| ISOLATED · and a count, with CLICK OR I TO EXIT | While objects are isolated | A click ends isolation |
| Sculpt Mode or Cage Edit Mode banner | In sculpt mode or cage edit mode | Lists the drags for the mode, and says that Esc leaves it |
| COMPUTING BOOLEAN… | While a boolean is being worked out | None. It disappears when the result is ready. |
Bottom left and bottom right
| Label | Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Gesture strip | Lists the drags and keys of the current mode, such as DRAG EXTRUDE in poly edit. Keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures holds the same lists. | In poly edit, sculpt mode and cage edit mode, while the pen is on and in a scene with no objects. GESTURE HINTS in SETTINGS turns it off. |
| Light preview (no shadows) | While a light is selected, the viewport lights the scene with that light alone | A light selected |
| Drawing times | Milliseconds per frame, shown and hidden with P | Off at the start |
| World axis compass, bottom right | Red, green and blue arms for X, Y and Z, turning with the camera. The negative directions are short unlabeled stubs. | On at the start. WORLD AXIS in SETTINGS turns it off. |
Controls panel
The controls panel sits at the bottom center of the viewport in two rows. It shows on both tabs. Its camera sliders are short tracks with no numbers. Click a point on a track to jump there, or drag along it. Hold the pointer over an icon to see its name.
| Label | Values and default | Effect | Availability | Persistence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wireframe, Flat, Shaded, Material | Four icons. Shaded at the start. | What the viewport draws, described in The viewport, the preview and the render | Not saved. A new or opened scene starts on Shaded. | |
| AZ | −180° to 180°, 30° at the start | The direction the camera looks from | Dimmed in flat views | Saved in the scene file |
| EL | −89° to 89°, 25° at the start | How high the camera sits | Dimmed in flat views | Saved in the scene file |
| DIST | 1 to 100 m, more in a large scene. 8 m at the start. | Distance from the camera to the point it looks at. In a flat view, the height of the area shown. | Saved in the scene file | |
| FOV | 10° to 120°, 45° at the start | How wide the view is | Dimmed in flat views | Saved in the scene file |
| Camera icon | Saves the camera angle as a snapshot in the SNAPSHOTS tab of the dock | Cannot be clicked once the scene has nine snapshots | Snapshots are saved in the scene file | |
| ORBIT | Off at the start. Reads ORBIT 6s while on. | Circles the camera around the scene, one turn in the time shown | Cannot be clicked in flat views | Not saved |
| Arrow beside ORBIT | 3 SECONDS / ROTATION to 30 SECONDS / ROTATION, then EXPORT TURNTABLE… | Sets the speed and starts the camera circling. Right-clicking ORBIT opens the same menu. | ||
| LIVE | Off at the start | Opens or closes the LIVE preview, a small traced picture in a corner of the viewport | Orbit remembers whether it is open, and its corner, from one launch to the next | |
| SNAP | Off at the start | Dragged objects stop at grid lines and at the faces of other objects' bounding boxes, rotation moves in 15° steps, and scaling along one axis sizes the object in whole grid cells. Holding Shift during a drag reverses the setting for that drag. | Kept from one launch to the next | |
| MEDIAN or EACH | MEDIAN at the start | How several selected objects rotate and scale. MEDIAN turns them as one arrangement about their average position, and EACH turns each one about its own origin. | Matters only with two or more objects selected | Kept from one launch to the next |
| ROLL | −45° to 45°, 0° at the start | Tilts the horizon. A double-click on the track levels it. | Works in flat views too | Saved in the scene file |
Preview the render while you work shows how to move and read the LIVE preview, and Save camera angles covers snapshots.
SOLO picture
SOLO, on the row of a selected light in OBJECTS, renders a small picture lit by that light alone and shows it over the viewport. A click on the picture enlarges it over a dark backdrop, and a second click shrinks it again. The button at its top left corner closes it.
OBJECTS
OBJECTS, at the upper right, lists every object, light and group in the scene. Groups come first, with their members indented below them while the group is open. Objects outside any group follow, then lights outside any group. Select objects describes clicking, ⌘-clicking and ⇧-clicking rows, and right-clicking a row opens the menu listed in Menus and palette commands.
| Part of a row | Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Arrow on a group row | Opens or closes the group, and the scene file keeps which groups are open. A click on the rest of the row selects the group. | Group rows |
| Colored bar at the left | Shows the color of the item's group | Group rows and their members |
| Eye | Hides or shows the item. On a group row, it hides or shows every member. A hidden object or light has an amber eye with a line through it, and its row dims. | Every row except a group with no members |
| Lock | Shows that the item or its group is locked | Locked items |
| A number followed by D, such as 2D | The number of deformers switched on | Objects with deformers |
| ~ and a number | The number of Loop Studio lanes on the item | Items with lanes |
| A number on a group row | The number of members | Group rows |
| SOLO | Renders a picture lit by this light alone, shown over the viewport | The selected light |
INSPECTOR
The INSPECTOR, below OBJECTS, shows the settings of what is selected.
| Selection | What the INSPECTOR shows |
|---|---|
| Nothing | "Select an object" |
| One object | Its name and its settings, in sections such as TRANSFORM, MATERIAL and DEFORMERS. Object types lists the settings of each kind. |
| One light | Its name and the sections TYPE, APPEARANCE, POSITION and ATTENUATION, with SPOT or AREA for those kinds of light. See Light a scene. |
| One group | Its name and member count, COLOR, LOCK and DISSOLVE GROUP. See Organize a scene. |
| Two or more items | The number selected and the ALIGN & DISTRIBUTE buttons. See Organize a scene. |
A number typed in the INSPECTOR takes effect when you press Return or leave the field. While the cursor is in one of its fields, the single letter keys of the viewport do nothing.
Dock
The dock runs along the bottom of the window. A thin bar above it reads HIDE STRIP and hides the dock with a click, or with ⌘J. While the dock is hidden, the bar reads MATERIALS / SNAPSHOTS / ENVIRONMENT, and a click shows the dock again. Orbit remembers whether the dock is hidden from one launch to the next.
| Label | Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| MATERIALS tab | A strip of material presets: folders of saved presets first, then the presets that come with Orbit and the saved presets outside folders, ending with BROWSE. A click on a preset gives it to every selected object. A click on a folder shows its presets, and the ROOT card goes back. BROWSE opens the MATERIAL BROWSER. | The dock opens on this tab. Presets are dimmed until an object is selected. |
| SNAPSHOTS tab | The scene's camera snapshots, with a picture of each. A click flies the camera to that angle, and a right-click offers RENAME, UPDATE and DELETE. ADD saves the current angle. | ADD is hidden once there are nine |
| Count at the right of the tabs | The number of presets shown, followed by PRESETS, or by IN and the folder's name inside a folder. On SNAPSHOTS, the number of snapshots out of nine, such as 3/9. | |
| ENVIRONMENT card | Shows the sky in use, such as Sunset sky, a saved preset's name or Custom. A click anywhere on the card, which ends in EDIT ▸, opens the ENVIRONMENT BROWSER. | |
| RENDER card | Shows the render look in use, such as Chrome 2000, or Custom when the settings match no look. A click anywhere on the card opens RENDER SETTINGS. |
The tasks behind each part of the dock are in Apply and edit materials, Save camera angles, Set the sky, sun, fog and clouds and Choose a render look.
Floating panels
The MATERIAL BROWSER (M), the ENVIRONMENT BROWSER (⌘E), the SCENE WIZARD (⇧⌘N) and the TERRAIN EDITOR (EDIT TERRAIN… in the INSPECTOR of a terrain) open as panels that float over the window. The two browsers can be open at once, and the panel clicked last comes to the front. The viewport keeps working under them.
| Part | Effect | Interactions | Persistence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title bar | Drag to move the panel. A double-click rolls it up to a short title strip, or back down. | A panel always stays inside the window | Position kept from one launch to the next. A panel closed while rolled up opens full size. |
| Arrow at the right of the title bar | Rolls the panel up or down | ||
| X | Closes the panel. For the SCENE WIZARD, it does what CANCEL does. | M and ⌘E also close the browser each one opens. The MATERIAL BROWSER also closes after a double-click on a preset or APPLY in a preset's right-click menu. Esc cancels the SCENE WIZARD, and can also close the TERRAIN EDITOR. | |
| Hatched corner at the bottom right | Drag to resize the panel. The top left corner stays in place. | Not on the SCENE WIZARD, which has a fixed size | Size kept from one launch to the next |
Opening a browser with M, ⌘E or a card in the dock while the SCENE WIZARD is open cancels the wizard. See Start from an example or the Scene Wizard and Sculpt a terrain by hand.
WELCOME sheet
The WELCOME sheet covers the window each time Orbit starts. Opening a file from the Finder closes it. To bring it back later, choose Orbit ▸ Welcome to Orbit, click the version label in the toolbar, or run WELCOME SCREEN from the command palette. Esc closes it.
| Label | Effect |
|---|---|
| NEW SCENE | Closes the sheet. The scene behind it stays as it is. |
| TYPE YOUR NAME | Opens the SCENE WIZARD on its LOGO tab |
| SCENE WIZARD | Opens the SCENE WIZARD on its LANDSCAPE tab |
| OPEN EXAMPLE | Opens the list of example scenes that come with Orbit |
| RECENT | Up to four recent scenes. A click opens one. Shown only when there are recent scenes. |
| FREE VERSION or FULL VERSION at the bottom | Whether this Mac has the full version. CHECKING PURCHASE… shows until the App Store answers. In the free version, BUY FULL VERSION and RESTORE PURCHASE follow the label. |
| Release and a number | The version of Orbit |
For the two purchase buttons, see Buy the full version. The free and full versions lists what the full version adds.
Related: Menus and palette commands, Keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures, Move the camera and change views and App settings.