Full Screen, Fit, and Views

The first group on the View tab of the ribbon holds five buttons that change how you look at the model. They never change the model itself. Click a name below for its own page with every option.

The Five Buttons

The cube at the top of the 3D view does the same job as Views, and holds the view lock. See The View Cube and Lock View.

Step by Step: Get Your Bearings on Any Model

1. Open a model. See Opening a File.
2. Click Fit (or press F) so the whole part is on screen.
3. Click Views (or press Space) and pick 3D view for the corner view, or Top, Front or Right for a flat-on view.
4. Drag with the left mouse button to turn the part, scroll to zoom. The arrow keys turn it in fixed steps. See Arrow Keys Turn the View.
5. Click Perspective if you want things farther away to look smaller.
6. If the view ever looks wrong after a window change, click Redraw.

Other Ways to Move the View

• Mouse, Touch, and 3D Mouse: every drag, scroll and touch gesture.
• Arrow Keys Turn the View: turn the view in exact steps.
• Right-Click Menus: right-click empty space for Fit view, Isometric, Front, Top and Right.

Related Pages

• Slice, Marks, Grid and Redraw, Scene, Theme
• Keyboard Shortcuts

Fit

Fit zooms and pans the view so the whole part is on screen, centered. It does not change the model.

How to Start It

Click Fit on the View tab of the ribbon, or press F anywhere (not while typing in a box). You can also right-click empty space and choose Fit view.

Step by Step

1. Zoom or pan until you have lost the part, or until it is too small or too big.
2. Click Fit (or press F).
3. The part comes back, centered and sized to fill the window.

What It Does

• It frames what is shown. A part you have hidden is left out, so Fit after hiding a part frames the ones still showing. See Model Tree.
• It keeps the direction you are looking from. Fit does not turn the view back to a corner view. To change the direction, use Views.
• It works the same in perspective and in the flat parallel view, and on a tall phone screen as on a wide monitor.
• While you are modeling, it frames the part you are editing, including a part drawn from nothing.
• Switching Perspective on or off also fits the view.

Tips and Common Problems

• Nothing seems to happen. If the part already fills the window, Fit looks like it did nothing.
• The model is gone from the screen. Fit brings it back. If it still does not show, check that the part is not hidden in the Model tree, and see Redraw.
• Fit is in the way while typing. The F key does nothing in a text box. You can change the key under File, Settings, Shortcuts. See Keyboard Shortcuts.

Related Pages

• Full Screen, Fit, and Views
• Views
• Mouse, Touch, and 3D Mouse

Views

Views opens a small panel of standard views. One click turns the camera to look at the model from that side.

How to Start It

Click Views on the View tab of the ribbon, or press Space. You can also click the view cube at the top of the 3D view. To close the panel without choosing a view, click the X at its top left corner, press Esc or Space, or click the cube again.

The Buttons

Step by Step

1. Click Views, or press Space.
2. Click the view you want, for example Front.
3. The camera swings to that side, centered on the model, and the panel closes.
4. To go back to a corner view, open Views again and click 3D view.

What to Expect

• Each button also levels the view, so a part you had tipped or rolled comes back upright.
• The view is centered on the model at a fixed distance. Click Fit afterward if you want it to fill the window.
• Front, Top and Right use the model's own axes. A part that was drawn lying down may show its "Front" from a different side than you expect. Use Look at this face from the right-click menu to look straight at any flat face instead.
• When a Lock view is on, the standard views still work. Only dragging and the arrow keys are held still.

Tips and Common Problems

• The panel will not go away. Click its X, press Esc or Space, click the cube again, or click anywhere in the 3D view.
• Space types a space in a box. In a text box the Space key is just a space. Click the Views button instead.
• Space opens the wrong thing. You can give the view picker a different key under File, Settings, Shortcuts.
• Right-clicking empty space also offers Isometric, Front, Top and Right.

Related Pages

• Full Screen, Fit, and Views
• The View Cube and Lock View
• Arrow Keys Turn the View
• Keyboard Shortcuts

Full Screen

Full Screen makes the viewer fill your whole screen and hides the browser's own bars, so the 3D view gets as much room as possible.

How to Start It

Click Full Screen on the View tab of the ribbon. It is also Full Screen on the View tab.

Step by Step

1. Click Full Screen. The viewer fills the screen and the button stays lit.
2. A short hint tells you how to get out.
3. To leave, click Full Screen again, or press Esc.

What to Expect

• The viewer resizes to the new space. Click Fit if you want the part to fill it.
• The ribbon, rail and panels all stay available.
• The button is lit while full screen is on, so on a phone the way back out is plain. See Phone and Tablet.

Tips and Common Problems

• Nothing happens. Some browsers, and some phone browsers, do not allow full screen for a page inside another page. Open the viewer on its own page, or use the browser's own full screen.
• Esc seems to do something else. In full screen the browser takes the first Esc to leave. Press Esc again for anything else.
• The view looks squashed afterward. Click Redraw. See Redraw.

Related Pages

• Full Screen, Fit, and Views
• Redraw