User Guide

ADOBE ATMOSPHERE 71
User Guide
Chapter 7: Views
Since computer monitors are 2-D devices, content creators have to switch views frequently to check the dimensions
and position of the 3-D objects they create. This might not be immediately apparent to people used to 2-D authoring
applications.
Atmosphere displays projects in two types of views. Wireframe views show just the lines at the edges of objects
and are used for geometric creation and editing tasks, while the Player View is a preview of fi nal visual results and
performance, with textures and lighting (global illumination) applied.
Experienced Atmosphere designers often keep several views of the same scene open so that they can check the size
and placement of objects in all three dimensions. Atmosphere has commands that will automatically open multiple
views in three or four windows placed for easy object viewing.
Introduction to Views
Atmosphere’s three editors display scene contents in either wireframe views or the Player View. The Solid Object
Editor and the Scene Editor display objects using wireframe views and the Appearance Editor displays objects in the
Player View.
Wireframe views show the lines that make up edges of objects and are commonly used in 3-D applications to create
and modify the geometry of objects. In Atmosphere, wireframes are used to create and edit the geometry of objects
and to compose scenes by applying geometric transformations to these objects.
The Player View is a preview of the scene including lighting, and textures. The Player View shows the scene as it will
appear in the Atmosphere Player. Scripted behaviors, run-time interaction and loaded models, sound, video, physics
(with the exception of Player navigation), and dynamic lighting will not appear in the Player View. In order to test
the full experience of an Atmosphere environment, the user must publish the scene and view it in a copy of the
Atmosphere Player, usually within a Web browser. The Publish feature of Atmosphere will do this automatically for
you.
Wireframe views can be switched to eight preset positions by right-clicking in a Solid Object or Scene Editor window
and selecting the Preset Position menu item. The Preset Positions are grouped in two sets in the menu: Top (F5),
Front (F6), Right (F7) and Perspective (F8) in one group, and Bottom (Shift+F5), Back (Shift+F6), Left (Shift+F7)
and Isometric (Shift+F8) in the second. Note that the Shift key toggles the reverse perspective for the Top, Front and
Right positions. F5 shows Top view while Shift+F5 shows bottom view etc.
The Player View position is independent from the wireframe views and is controlled by the Navigate tool in the Tools
toolbar.