The Outliner Panel lists every object in the simulation as an indented tree. Planets are grouping rows. Spacecraft, ground stations, and other entities sit under the body they orbit or are stationed on. Each of those expands into its own component hierarchy.
Select a row to inspect that object in the Properties Panel and to target it in the Viewport Panel. The rest of the workspace follows the last row you clicked, even when several rows are selected.
Reading the Tree
Each row shows an icon, the object name, a disclosure arrow when it has children, and an eye control. The icon uses the object’s color when the object has one.
Select the arrow to open or close a row. Rows start expanded the first time they appear. When you place a single new object, that row opens so you can see what you just added. When many objects appear at once, such as when a project loads, those new rows stay closed so the tree does not unroll all at once.
Planet rows are grouping headers. They cannot be renamed, duplicated, deleted, or dragged. Selecting a planet makes that body the active planet in the rest of the UI.
Selecting Objects
Select a row to make that object active. CTRL-click adds or removes a row from the selection. SHIFT-click selects every row between the last row you picked and the one you click. Planet headers in that range are skipped, because nothing can be done to them.
The simulation still follows a single object. That object is the last row you clicked. The Properties Panel, Viewport target, and similar views update to that row.
Searching the Tree
Type in the search field at the top of the panel to filter the tree. Matching is not case-sensitive. A match keeps everything above it, so the path to it stays visible, and everything below it, so the row opens onto its contents. Searching for a planet therefore shows the objects around it.
While a search is running, matching branches are opened so a result buried under a collapsed parent still appears. Clearing the search restores the expand and collapse state you had before.
Once the search is five characters or longer, it also matches class names. Typing spacecraft will list every spacecraft, regardless of what they are named. Shorter searches stay on object names only, so two letters do not pull in a whole class of object.
Hiding Objects
Select the eye on a row to hide that object in the Viewport Panel. Hidden objects stay in the simulation and keep running. Select the eye again to show them.
Hiding an object does not delete it, and it does not stop its models or events.
NOTE
Changing visibility only affects what is drawn. The object remains in the outliner, in the simulation, and in any saved project.
Editing Objects
Renaming, duplicating, deleting, and dragging change what the simulation is made of. Those actions are available only while the simulation is reset. Once you play, pause, or scrub, the right-click menu is hidden and rows cannot be renamed or dragged.
Right-click a row to open the menu. On a single object the options are Rename, Duplicate, and Delete. When several rows are selected, the menu acts on the whole selection, Rename is omitted, and the remaining options read as Duplicate N Objects and Delete N Objects.
Rename: Double-click a row, choose Rename, or press F2. Type the new name and press ENTER, or click away, to apply it. ESC cancels. Planet rows cannot be renamed.
Duplicate: Choose Duplicate or press CTRL+D. The copy includes the object’s children, configured data, and events. The copies become the new selection.
Delete: Choose Delete or press DELETE. Deleting a spacecraft or other root that owns a schematic also removes that schematic, including any other instances of it in the scene. Deleting a component removes that component and the objects attached under it.
WARNING
These edits are available only while the simulation is reset. Start or pause the run and the menu, rename field, and drag behavior are turned off until you reset.
Moving Objects Between Planets
Drag a spacecraft or ground station onto a different planet row to move it. The spacecraft keeps its orbit and that orbit is reapplied around the new body. A ground station keeps its latitude and longitude on the new body.
Components cannot be dragged; they stay attached to their parent. Planet rows cannot be dragged. Only planet rows accept a drop. Dropping onto the planet the object is already on does nothing.
If several movable objects are selected, dragging one of them takes the rest of that selection with it. Objects that cannot move, or that are already on the target planet, are left where they are.
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
Click a row first so the panel has keyboard focus. Shortcuts do nothing while you are typing a new name.
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| UP / DOWN | Move to the previous or next visible row |
| SHIFT+UP / DOWN | Extend the selection from the anchor row |
| RIGHT | Open the focused row, or step into its first child if it is already open |
| LEFT | Close the focused row, or step up to its parent if it is already closed |
| F2 | Rename the focused row |
| CTRL+D | Duplicate the selection |
| DELETE | Delete the selection |
| ESC | Clear the selection |