3D camera controls
Drag to rotate, right-drag to pan, scroll to zoom, Reset camera to get the whole plan back, and switch the ceiling off for a clean top-down look.
Press View in 3D and your plan becomes a room you can move around in. Every camera control is a mouse gesture, a switch in the bottom-right corner (Ceiling, Shadows, High quality), or one of the round buttons under them. Along the top are Dollhouse, Line art, AI Render, Save image and the red ✕. This page walks through each one.
If you want to stand inside the plan at eye level rather than orbit around it, that's walk mode; the controls here are for the orbit view.
Step by step
- 1
Enter and leave 3D
View in 3D is the cube button in the canvas toolbar. The first time, the 3D view opens full-screen with the plan framed in the middle. After that it opens where you left it: close 3D to move something on the plan, open it again, and you're looking from the same spot (Reset camera takes you back to the framed overview). The red ✕ at the top right (Close 3D view) takes you back to the 2D plan; Esc does not close the viewer, it only steps out of walk mode. Next to it, Save image keeps a picture of the view (see Save a picture of your 3D view) and AI Render opens Render Studio at this view.
- 2
Rotate: left-drag
Hold the left mouse button and drag. Sideways swings the camera around the plan; up and down changes the angle, from a low eye-level view to almost straight overhead (the camera stops just short of the horizon, so you can't go under the floor). On a trackpad, one-finger drag.
- 3
Pan: right-drag
Hold the right mouse button and drag to slide the whole scene, so the part you care about sits in the middle of the screen. On a trackpad, two-finger drag; on a touch screen, two fingers.
- 4
Zoom: scroll
Scroll forward to move in close to a piece, scroll back to pull out to the whole floor. Pinch on a trackpad or touch screen. Zoom has sensible limits at both ends so you can't lose the plan.
- 5
Reset camera
The house button — Reset camera — puts the camera straight back to the framed view of the whole plan. Use it whenever you've orbited or zoomed into a corner you can't find your way out of.
- 6
Ceiling, Shadows and High quality
Three switches at the bottom right change what's drawn; a blue tick means the option is on. Ceiling is off when the 3D view opens, so you can look straight down into every room; tick it to put the ceilings on (in Dollhouse there's no Ceiling switch, because dollhouse never shows ceilings). Shadows adds cast shadows; leave it off on a slower machine. High quality adds soft ambient shading and a sharper picture at the cost of speed.
- 7
Line art: see it as a drawing
Line art turns the whole view into a black-and-white line drawing, like an interior sketch. On a computer or tablet it's the switch at the top left, beside Dollhouse. On a phone it's the last switch in the bottom row, after High quality. While it's on, shadows and high quality are switched off for you; untick it to get your colors back. Save image keeps the drawing. More in See your 3D view as a line drawing.
The same view with Line art off (left) and on (right).
Tips
Look down into rooms
With the ceiling off (how the 3D view opens), left-drag downward to lift the camera overhead. It's the quickest way to judge a whole layout at once.
Slow machine?
Shadows off and standard quality make the biggest difference. See Browser support and performance.
Common mistakes
Pressing Esc to leave 3D
Esc only exits walk mode or the room picker. Use the red ✕ at the top right to return to the plan.
Dragging on the buttons
Start a drag on the scene itself, not on the control row at the bottom — those are buttons.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't the 3D view start from the overview any more?
It reopens at the spot you last looked from, so you can check a change on the plan and come straight back to the same view. Press the house button (Reset camera) for the full overview.
How do I rotate the 3D view?
Hold the left mouse button and drag (one finger on a touch screen). Sideways orbits around the plan; up and down changes the angle.
How do I pan?
Hold the right mouse button and drag, or two-finger drag on a trackpad or touch screen.
How do I zoom?
Scroll the mouse wheel, or pinch on a trackpad or touch screen.
I'm lost — how do I get the whole plan back?
Press the house button at the bottom right (Reset camera).
How do I see inside the rooms from above?
Make sure Ceiling at the bottom right is unticked (it is when the 3D view opens), then drag downward to raise the camera overhead. Dollhouse shows every floor with the near walls cut away.
Can I see the 3D view as a black-and-white drawing?
Yes. Tick Line art: at the top left beside Dollhouse on a computer or tablet, or in the bottom row of switches on a phone. Untick it to go back to color.
Where is the walk / first-person view?
The footprints button, next to Reset camera. See the walk mode guide.
How do I save a picture of the 3D view?
Tap Save image at the top right (on a phone, the picture icon left of the red ✕). See Save a picture of your 3D view.
Start designing your room
Put this into practice in the 3D room planner: draw it, furnish it, walk through it in 3D — on web, iOS, and Android.
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