This article describes the 3D Authoring Viewer and its key tools and features.
The 3D Authoring Viewer is an interactive visualization tool that allows users to view, debug, and interact with 3D models and other items. It provides tools for inspecting item orientations, measuring dimensions, and comparing configurations.
To open 3D Authoring View, click three dots close to catalog name.
Then choose 'Add 3D Authoring Viewer' option.
This opens a new tab that you can drag to the right side of your screen and drop to view it alongside the catalog.
You can open any item in 3D Authoring Viewer from the catalog by clicking on it.
The main menu provides access to the following tools.
Menu 1 - Scene Graph
Click the arrow in the left corner to open the Scene Graph menu. The scene graph displays the item hierarchy, starting with the product at the top and expanding into its geometry components.
- Click the arrow
icon to expand or collapse the tree
- Click the zoom in
icon to reset the camera focus to the selected item
- Click the
icon to open the Graph Node Info window with detailed properties
- Click the eye
icon to show or hide an item
- Click the checkbox
icon to highlight an item in the viewer
Menu 2 - Geometries and Visualization
Click the arrow on the right side to expand the main menu and access additional tools and settings.
Geometry Types
In Geometry Types allows you to control 3D representation of items. You can check or uncheck specific geometry types to show or hide them:
- main – the primary 3D model with subitems (if there are any)
- planViews.top and planViews.front – top and front 2D representation
- details.spaceholder – placeholder geometry for spacing
- details.cutOutTemplate – cutout template geometry
- Show CutOut Extrusion – toggles visibility of extrusion for cutouts
Use these options to isolate specific parts of the model or focus on particular views during inspection or debugging.
Layers
Each layer corresponds to a material, finish, or component in the 3D model. You can use the following tools to manage the layers:
- Pencil icon – edit layer properties
- Checkbox icon – select/highlight the layer in the viewer
- Magnifying glass icon – focus on the layer
- Eye icon – toggle layer visibility
Settings
Settings section allows to adjust the visualisation of the item.
- Rendering Modes control how the 3D model is displayed, from basic wireframe structure to fully textured surfaces with edge overlays and etc.
- Scene Settings change background color, ambient lighting, brightness of the scene
- Viewing Modes setting includes the following:
Authoring view – default editing view showing the full scene context
Item view – displays only the selected item in isolation
Design view – shows how the item is positioned and integrated within the overall design layout
-
CollisionBox Settings apply when the Collision Box is enabled in the Tools section
(see part 3 of this article for details). Variant CollisionBox displays the collision box calculated by the platform for only the geometry (or what is defined in the geometry settings) and GLTF CollisionBox option displays what is calculated by the platform based on how the item is assembled, on its subitems.
Menu 3 - Tools
At the bottom of the 3D Authoring View you can see the Tools bar.
It contains the following tools:
-
Perspective camera
– shows realistic view with depth
-
Orthographic camera
– displays the model without perspective distortion
-
Split cameras
– displays multiple viewports simultaneously (Top, Front, Left, etc.) for multi-angle inspection
-
Reset Camera
– resets the camera view
-
Zoom on Selection
– zooms in to selected item
-
Toggle Reference Frames
– toggles insertion points and insertion offsets to see the reference frame
-
Toggle Collision Box
– toggles Collision Box
-
Toggle Placeholders
– highlight all used items in this context
-
Toggle Alternate Textures
– how different textures and materials are displayed
-
Colorize Line Segments
– highlights the segment positions (only in details.Surface mode in Geometry Types settings)
-
Toggle Selected Node Overlay
– toggles selected node overlay and display a blue note on the screen
-
Toggle Definition Mode
– toggles definition mode which contains redimensioning settings and visualizes regions on the geometry.
When the method is set to Hierarchical_CustomByRegions, regions can be added and configured manually. Each region defines an area of the geometry that resizes independently based on attributes or formulas.
To add a region, click the + button next to Regions and configure the settings.
When regions are configured, they are displayed as colored lines on the geometry in Definition Mode. Each region is shown in a different color for easy identification.
For more information on region settings and configuration, see the Parametric Custom by Regions section in this article.