The Scene Tree in the left-hand column lists every object of the scene: meshes, point clouds, lines, measurements and groups. Use it to choose which objects a tool works on, to show and hide objects, and to change how each object is displayed. Most tools run on the objects selected here, so it is the first place to look when a tool is unavailable or does nothing.
How to use it
- Click an object in the Scene Tree to select it; the object is highlighted in the Viewport.
- Use the buttons of the Scene Tree to sort, show, hide, select or rename objects (see below).
- Right-click an object to open its Visibility & Appearance menu and change how it is drawn.
- Check the Information and Transform panels to see the object's data and to set its exact position.
Scene Tree buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sort by Name | Sorts all objects in the scene by name. |
| Show All | Shows all objects in the scene. |
| Hide All | Hides all objects in the scene. |
| Select All | Selects all objects in the scene. |
| Unselect All | Unselects all objects in the scene. |
| Show Only Previous / Show Only Next | Selects and shows only the previous / next object. |
| Rename (F2) | Renames the selected object. |
| Remove Selected (Shift+R) | Removes the selected objects. |
Color logic in the Viewport
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blue | Selected object |
| White | Visible, unselected object |
| Green | Back-faces (reverse sides of triangles) |
These are the default colors. You can change them for one object in its menu (see below) or for all objects with a custom theme.
Right-click an object: Visibility & Appearance menu
| Toggle / Control | What happens when it’s ON (or when used) |
|---|---|
| Visibility | Shows the object; off = hidden. |
| Lock Transform | Freezes move/rotate/scale. |
| Shading | Enables lighting-based shading. |
| Flat Shading | One solid color per triangle (great for spotting flipped normals). |
| Edges | Overlays black wireframe lines. |
| Points | Displays bright-red vertices. |
| Selected Edges | Highlights picked edges in magenta. |
| Selected Tri-s | Highlights picked triangles in dark red. |
| Borders | Marks open-surface boundaries in white. |
| Triangles | Toggles the mesh skin; off = faces hidden. |
| Transparency | Makes the whole object semi-transparent (independent of Opacity value). |
| Name | Draws the object name in the scene. |
| Normals | Shows the normals as short rays from the vertices. |
| Local Basis | Displays a mini XYZ gizmo at the object’s origin. |
| Bounding Box | Outlines the object’s extents with a white box. |
| Opacity (0 – 255) | Numeric slider; 255 = fully opaque. Mouse-wheel over the field for quick changes. |
| Color swatches | Editable colors of the object parts, for a mesh: Selected color, Unselected color, Back Triangles color, Edges color, Points color, Selected Tri-s color, Selected Edges color, Borders color. Click a swatch to open the RGBA/HEX color picker; hover to see exact values. |
| Advanced | Expands extra display options. |
The list depends on the object type: a point cloud, a polyline or a measurement shows its own options.
Action buttons (blue, at the bottom)
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Remove | Deletes the object. |
| Clone | Duplicates it. |
| Clone Selection | Duplicates only the current triangle/point selection. |
| Group | Appears when two or more objects with the same parent are selected; creates a folder. |
For a group, the context menu offers Remove, Ungroup, Select Subtree, Clone and Combine Subtree. Combine Subtree appears when the group contains several objects of one type (meshes, lines or point clouds) and merges them into one object of each type.
Information panel
You can find the Information panel in the bottom left corner of the workspace. It appears when an object is selected in the scene tree and expands on click. The panel shows the type of the selected object (e.g. mesh, point cloud, etc.) and the specific information about it depending on the type. Values update instantly when you change the selection.
Transform panel: precise position, rotation and scale
| Control | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Scale X Y Z | Enter numeric factors; click-drag up/down or mouse-wheel for fine tweaks. |
| Uni-scale | Toggle to keep X, Y, Z scaling uniform. |
| Rotation XYZ | Type angles in degrees (from −360 to 360); negatives allowed. |
| Translation | Move the object along each axis in scene units. |
| ⋮ menu (Transform Data) | Copy and Paste a transform between objects, Save to file / Load from file, Apply — bakes the transform into the geometry and resets the values — and Reset — returns the object to the identity transform. |
The values apply as soon as you change them, and Ctrl+Z reverts the change.
The values update in real time while you drag the gizmo.
Tips
- If a tool is greyed out, check the selection: many tools need one object of a specific type (for example, a mesh) to be selected.
- Hidden objects stay in the scene; use Remove to delete an object.
- Use Opacity or Transparency to look inside a model without hiding its outer shell.
