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Moving Around the 3D View

Master camera controls to navigate the 3D viewport.

11 min read Beginner Updated 2026-07-01 v2.0 ~29 min to complete

Introduction

Before you can place objects or build scenes, you need to move around the 3D viewport comfortably. This tutorial teaches you all the navigation controls.

Tutorial 3 of 18

This is part of the Beginner Learning Path. Estimated completion time: 29 minutes. Difficulty: Beginner.

Screenshot

Step-by-Step Guide

Use W/A/S/D to move

Press W to move forward, S backward, A left, D right — just like playing a game.

Move up and down

Press Q to descend and E to ascend vertically in the 3D space.

Look around

Click and hold the right mouse button, then drag to rotate your viewing angle.

Zoom in and out

Scroll the mouse wheel to zoom closer to or further from objects.

Focus on an object

Select an object in the hierarchy, then press F to frame it perfectly in the viewport.

Switch camera modes

Use the viewport dropdown to switch between Editor Fly, First Person, Third Person, and Top Down.

FluxScript Example

Here is the FluxScript (Appley Scripting) code for this tutorial:

Moving Around the 3D View — FluxScript

// Custom editor camera fly controls
on update(dt) {
  // Movement relative to camera direction
  if input("w") camera.move(forward, 15 * dt)
  if input("s") camera.move(backward, 15 * dt)
  if input("a") camera.move(left, 15 * dt)
  if input("d") camera.move(right, 15 * dt)
  
  // Vertical movement
  if input("e") camera.move(up, 15 * dt)
  if input("q") camera.move(down, 15 * dt)
  
  // Focus selected object
  if input("f") {
    obj = editor.getSelection()
    if obj != null camera.focus(obj)
  }
}

Node Script Equivalent

Prefer visual programming? Here is the same logic as a Node Script graph:

Moving Around the 3D View — Node Graph

[On Update] ──► [Input "w"] ──► [Camera Move: forward, 15*dt]
            ──► [Input "s"] ──► [Camera Move: backward]
            ──► [Input "a"] ──► [Camera Move: left]
            ──► [Input "d"] ──► [Camera Move: right]
            ──► [Input "e"] ──► [Camera Move: up]
            ──► [Input "q"] ──► [Camera Move: down]
            ──► [Input "f"] ──► [Get Selection] ──► [Focus]

Pro Tip

Use Editor Fly mode for precise object placement. It gives you full 6-degrees-of-freedom movement without any collision.

Watch Out

The editor camera is separate from your game camera. Moving the editor camera does not affect what the player sees — that is controlled by the Camera object in your scene.

Next: Understanding the Hierarchy

Beginner Path

Previous: Understanding the Editor