Viewing, section & measure
Control what you see — view presets, display modes, section views and the measure tool.
The toolbar above the viewport is your camera and inspection kit.
Getting the view you want
- Fit — frame everything (also after opening a file).
- View ▾ — front / top / right / isometric presets; the ViewCube in the corner does the same by clicking its faces.
- Ortho — toggle orthographic vs perspective projection. CAD work usually reads better in orthographic; renders look nicer in perspective.
- Mouse controls are configurable — see Navigating the 3D view.
Display modes
Cycle how bodies draw: shaded, shaded-with-edges, wireframe… Zebra stripes paint mirror lines across faces to expose tangency breaks (Surface modeling explains reading them).
Section View
Slice the model live with up to three planes — drag each plane's handle to move it, flip sides, and see capped cross-sections. It is display-only: geometry is untouched, nothing is added to the tree, and the view resets next session. For a manufacturing section on paper, use a drawing section view (2D drawings).
Measure
Pick one or two things; the readout adapts:
- two faces/edges → distance (plus the ΔX/ΔY/ΔZ components and the angle)
- a cylindrical face → radius and diameter
- an edge → its length
Appearance & material
Assign a material from the Property panel (or ask the AI) — it drives mass properties and the shaded colour. Appearance never changes geometry.
Related: A tour of the interface · Navigating the 3D view · Units, precision & quality