Viewport Panel

The Viewport Panel is the main three-dimensional view in Zendir Studio. It shows planets, spacecraft, ground objects, components, and visual aids such as orbits and pointing vectors. The camera used to view the scene is called the observer.

Click inside the Viewport Panel before using its keyboard shortcuts. The active viewport receives camera input and determines which observer the rest of the workspace uses.

Viewport Panel centered on Earth

Selecting a View Target

The breadcrumb at the top of the viewport shows the hierarchy of the current selection. For a component on a spacecraft, it can contain the planet, spacecraft, and component. Select a breadcrumb item to frame that level:

Planet: Frames the primary body.
Entity: Frames the spacecraft, ground station, vehicle, or vessel.
Component: Frames the selected component.

Selecting an object in the Outliner Panel or another panel updates the active object. The viewport will reveal and frame the corresponding breadcrumb level. Camera changes move smoothly between targets rather than snapping across the scene.

Press TAB to switch between the planet and entity levels. When a component is active, select its breadcrumb item to frame that component directly.

Viewport Panel targeting a spacecraft and its chassis

The lock control keeps this viewport on its current object while you select something elsewhere. This is useful when several Viewport Panels are open and each needs to watch a different object. The lock state, selected level, target, camera offset, field of view, and planet tilt are stored with the panel in the saved project.

Viewport Locking

Orbiting and Panning the Camera

Use the mouse to move around the current target:

Input	Action
Right-click drag	Orbit around the target
Middle-click drag	Orbit around the target
SHIFT + right-click drag	Pan across the view
SHIFT + middle-click drag	Pan across the view
Mouse wheel	Zoom toward or away from the target
ALT + vertical orbit drag	Tilt a close planet view toward or away from the horizon

The mouse remains inside the Viewport Panel during an orbit or pan, so a long drag can continue without reaching the edge.

When viewing a planet from close range, an orbit drag grips the surface and moves the point under the cursor with it. Farther away, the same input orbits around the body. The camera slows near a planet and will not pass through its surface. With streamed Cesium terrain enabled, it can move closer while maintaining clearance above the terrain.

Holding ALT during a vertical orbit drag leans a close planet view toward the horizon. This works only while the camera is close enough for the surface to fill the view. As you zoom away, the view gradually returns to looking straight down.

When targeting a ground object, orbiting stays above its local horizon and below directly overhead. This prevents the camera from passing through the surface or flipping as it crosses the top of the object.

Horizon View of the Earth

Flying the Observer

Keyboard movement slides the observer relative to the current view:

Input	Action
W / S	Move forward or backward
A / D	Move left or right
Q / E	Move down or up
SHIFT + movement key	Move three times faster
SHIFT + TAB	Toggle between targeting the selected object and free camera
[ / ]	Roll the view left or right
\	Remove roll and level the view

Moving while the camera is looking at and following the same target stops looking at it, allowing the observer to fly without continually turning back toward that object. Use SHIFT+TAB to resume the previous target, or to detach from it again.

The mouse wheel also moves the observer forward or backward in free camera. Zoom and target changes are smoothed over several frames, so repeated wheel turns build toward a destination instead of jumping.

Mouse sensitivity, inverted vertical input, and the default field of view can be changed in Studio Preferences with Mouse Sensitivity, Invert Mouse Y, and Viewport FOV.

Free Observing the Viewport

Moving and Rotating Components

The transform controls on the right side of the viewport are available when a component is selected and the simulation is reset.

Select: Returns to normal camera and object selection.
Move: Displays translation axes. Drag one axis to move the component in that direction.
Rotate: Displays rotation handles. Drag a handle to rotate the component around its pivot.
Local / world coordinates: Changes whether transform axes follow the component orientation or the global axes.

Transform changes update the component configuration and appear in the Properties Panel. They cannot be applied while the simulation is running or paused.

Moving the Objects in Viewport

WARNING

Reset the simulation before moving or rotating components. Transform tools are for changing the initial configuration, not the state of a running simulation.

Configuring Viewport Settings

Open Options in the upper-left corner to control what the viewport draws. These controls change visualization only; they do not add, remove, or modify simulation objects.

Viewport Settings open beside spacecraft orbits around Earth

Render Toggles

Observer Axes: Shows the observer coordinate axes.
Planet Axes / Spacecraft Axes: Shows coordinate axes on those object types.
Center of Mass Axis: Marks the spacecraft center of mass.
Pointing Vectors: Shows direction vectors used by spacecraft and components.
Object Outline: Outlines the selected component.
Debug: Enables component and sensor debug lines.
Ground Cones: Shows ground-station access cones.
Docking Pairs: Shows paired docking adaptors.

Paths and Stars

Planet Orbits / Spacecraft Orbits: Shows predicted orbit paths.
Orbit Selection: Chooses whether orbit paths are drawn for the active, selected, all, or no spacecraft.
Orbit Resolution: Changes the number of points used to draw each orbit. Higher values make curves smoother but require more rendering work.
Draw Tracked History: Shows the path already traveled during the run.
History Line Color: Sets the tracked-history color.
Constellation Lines / Constellation Grid / Boundaries: Shows reference lines from the background star map.
Star Map Brightness: Changes the brightness of the star background.

Lighting and Earth

Lighting / Ambient Light / Sun Intensity Falloff: Controls scene illumination.
Reflections: Chooses the reflection method.
Heatmap: Colors physical objects by a selected numeric property. Select None to return to normal materials.
Atmosphere / Aurora / Clouds: Shows or hides Earth visualization layers.
Cloud Opacity / Cloud Contrast: Adjusts the appearance of the cloud layer.
Grayscale: Displays Earth imagery without color.
Cesium: Uses configured Cesium imagery and terrain for Earth (assuming the API key is configured in the Preferences).

Labels, Camera, and Telemetry

Object Labels: Shows or hides text labels for planets, spacecraft, and ground objects.
Object Icons: Shows or hides the corresponding object icons.
Field of View: Changes how wide the observer camera sees.
Draw Links: Shows telemetry connections between transmitters and receivers.
Active / Inactive / Transmitting Color: Sets link colors for each telemetry state.

Labels, icons, heatmap selection, field of view, and the observer position are stored with each Viewport Panel. This allows multiple viewports in one project to keep different targets and visual presentations.

NOTE

Dense orbit paths, tracked histories, labels, debug lines, clouds, and telemetry links can make a large scenario harder to read and more expensive to render. Enable only the layers needed for the current task.

Using Numpad Views

The numpad provides precise camera alignment:

Input	Action
NUMPAD 1	Front view
NUMPAD 3	Right view
NUMPAD 7	Top view
NUMPAD 9	View the opposite side
NUMPAD 5	Toggle perspective and orthographic projection
Hold NUMPAD 2 / 8	Orbit vertically
Hold NUMPAD 4 / 6	Orbit horizontally

Front, right, and top alignment keep the current distance from the target and level the camera. Press NUMPAD 9 after one of these views to move to the corresponding opposite side.

Perspective projection shows depth in the usual way. Orthographic projection removes perspective convergence, which makes it easier to line up components and compare their placement.