LevelEditor Toolbars

The LevelEditor toolbars provide quick access to commonly used menu options. The toolbars are shown in the figure below. These toolbars appear at the top of the LevelEditor main window; each is shown separately in the figure.

 

You can click a button on a toolbar to use the feature provided by that button. The following table describes the buttons.

 

Toolbar Button Description

Arcball

Use this button to select the arcball navigation mode. In this mode, you use the ALT key and left-mouse button to rotate the world camera view, and you use the ALT key and right-mouse button to zoom the camera in or out. You can also scroll the mouse wheel to zoom the camera view.

For arcball mode, the world rotates around the camera look-at point.

Maya style trackball

Use this button to select the Maya style trackball navigation mode. In this mode, you use the ALT key and left-mouse button to rotate the world camera view, and you use the ALT key and right-mouse button to zoom the camera in or out. You can also scroll the mouse wheel to zoom the camera view.

For Maya mode, the view does not roll when you rotate the world.

Fly

Use this button to select the Fly navigation mode. In this mode, use the W, A, S, and D keys (or the arrow keys) to move the world camera view parallel to the grid and to zoom. Use the mouse wheel to adjust the fly speed.

Fly mode is available only in Perspective view.

Walk

Use this button to select the Walk navigation mode. In this mode, use the W, A, S, and D keys (or the arrow keys) to move the world camera view parallel to the grid and to zoom. Use the mouse wheel to adjust the walk speed.

Walk mode is available only in Perspective view.

Select

Use this button to allow mouse clicks to select game objects in the Design View. This button also disables any of the currently selected manipulators (scale, move, rotation, extension, or move-pivot).

Snap to vertex

Use this button to snap one object to another object’s vertex. Hold the SHIFT key and drag the object to the vertex.

Rotate on snap

Use this button to snap one object to another object’s surface. Hold the SHIFT key and drag the object to the surface.

Move manipulator

Use this button to activate the Move manipulator. The Move manipulator allows you to move game objects within the level.

Extension manipulator

Use this button to activate the Extension manipulator. The Extension manipulator allows you to extend or stretch objects in a single dimension at a time.

Scale manipulator

Use this button to activate the Scale manipulator. The Scale manipulator allows you to resize and deform game objects relative to their pivot point.

Rotation manipulator

Use this button to activate the Rotation manipulator. The Rotation manipulator allows you to rotate game objects relative to their pivot point.

Move-Pivot manipulator

Use this button to activate the Move-Pivot manipulator. The Move-Pivot manipulator allows you to move a game object’s pivot point.

Activate terrain editing

Use this button to enable editing of the underlying terrain. Only available after you select a height map for the terrain in the Terrain Editor.

Lock UI layout

Use this button to lock the layout of the LevelEditor user interface so that it cannot be changed.

Unlock UI layout

Use this button to unlock the layout of the LevelEditor user interface so that it can be changed.

Save

Use this button to save the current level and all sublevels (if any).

Save As

Use this button to save the current level and all sublevels (if any) with a new file name.

New document

Use this button to open a new, empty, level.

Open document

Use this button to open an existing level.

Frame selected objects

Use this button to display the currently selected game objects in the center of the Design View. Framing an object changes the camera view, but does not change the world rotation or move the selected objects.

Frame all objects

Use this button to display all game objects in the center of the Design View.

Single view

Use this button to show the current game level in the entire Design View.

Quad view

Use this button to show four separate views of the current game level within the Design View. You can change the projection for each of the views independently.

Dual horizontal view

Use this button to show two separate horizontal views of the current game level within the Design View. You can change the projection for each of the views independently.

Dual vertical view

Use this button to show two separate vertical views of the current game level within the Design View. You can change the projection for each of the views independently.

Hide selected objects

Use this button to hide selected objects from view.

Show selected objects

Use this button to make currently hidden selected objects visible.

Show last hidden object

Use this button to make the most recently hidden object visible.

Show all hidden objects

Use this button to make all objects visible.

Show selected objects and hide other objects

Use this button to make selected objects visible and hide all nonselected objects.

Solid rendering

Use this button to render game objects in the Design View as solid objects.

Wireframe rendering

Use this button to render game objects in the Design View as wireframe objects.

Solid over wireframe rendering

Use this button to render game objects in the Design View as solid objects with a wireframe overlay.

Textured rendering

Use this button to render game objects with their associated textures, if any.

Lighting

Use this button to use a global non-directional light source in the world. Local light sources (and shadows) are overwritten by this global light source.

Render back faces

Use this button to render the back faces of each game object.

Render shadow

Use this button to render shadows from local light sources in the world. The light itself is not affected by turning on or off shadows.

Render normals

Use this button to render normal vectors for each vertex of each visible object in the world.

Pick-filter selector

Use this button to which objects are selected when you click in the Design View. You can select Any Object, Locators, Basic Shapes, or No Cubes.

Move selector

Use this button to specify how objects move within the world using the Move manipulator.  When you select World, you move objects relative to the world. When you select Local, you move objects relative to a local X, Y, or Z plane.

Snap-mode selector

Use this button to quickly set the snap point of an object to one of the following predefined settings:  Pivot (the object’s current pivot point). Origin, TopCenter, BottomCenter, FrontCenter, BackCenter, LeftCenter, or RightCenter.

Copy to clipboard

Use this button to copy currently selected objects to the clipboard.

Cut to clipboard

Use this button to copy currently selected objects to the clipboard and remove them from the game world.

Paste from clipboard

Use this button to paste objects from the clipboard to the game world or to one of the LevelEditor windows (such as the Layers window). Pasting objects also selects the newly pasted objects.

Delete selected object

Use this button to delete the selected objects.

Undo last change

Use this button to undo the most recent change to the game world.

Redo last edit

Use this button to redo the most recent change to the game world.

Lock selection

Use this button to lock the current selection so that it cannot be changed.

Unlock selection

Use this button to unlock the current selection so that it can be changed.

Group selected objects

Use this button to group selected objects together so that you can perform actions (such as a rotation) to multiple objects at once.

Ungroup selected objects

Use this button to ungroup selected objects.

 

You can customize which buttons are displayed for each toolbar. Click the down arrow at the lower right corner of the toolbar to display the Customize dropdown list, as shown in the figure below. From that list, select which buttons you want to display on the toolbar.