Viewport Navigation

We mentioned in the previous section that the Viewport window will allow you to visualize your level, as well as manipulating the objects inside it. Because this is a very important window for you to use and has a lot of functionality, we're going to learn more about it in this section.

Before we start learning about the Viewport window, let's quickly get to know about Levels. In UE4, levels represent a collection of objects, as well as their locations and properties. The Viewport window will always show you the contents of the currently selected level, which in this case was already made and was generated alongside the Third Person template project. In this level, you'll be able to see four wall objects, one ground object, a set of stairs, and some other elevated objects, as well as the player character represented by the UE4 mannequin. You can create multiple levels and switch between them by opening them from Content Browser.

In order to manipulate and navigate through the currently selected level, you'll have to use the Viewport window. If you press and hold the left mouse button inside the window, you'll be able to rotate the camera horizontally by moving the mouse left and right, and move the camera forward and backward by moving the mouse forward and backward. You can achieve similar results by holding the right mouse button, except the camera will rotate vertically when moving the mouse forward and backward, which allows you to rotate the camera both horizontally and vertically.

Additionally, you can also move around the level by clicking and holding the Viewport window with the right mouse button (the left mouse button works too, but using it for movement is not as useful due to there not being as much freedom when rotating the camera) and using the W and S keys to move forward and backward, the A and D keys to move sideways, and the E and Q keys to move up and down.

If you look at the top-right corner of the Viewport window, you will see a small camera icon with a number next to it, which will allow you to change the speed at which the camera moves in the Viewport window.

Another thing you can do in the Viewport window is to change its visualization settings. You can change the type of visualization in the Viewport window by clicking the button that currently says Lit, which will show you all the options available for different lighting and other types of visualization filters.

If you click the Perspective button, you'll have the option to switch between seeing your level from a perspective view, as well as from an orthographic view, the latter of which may help you build your levels faster.

Let's now move on to the topic of manipulating objects, also known as Actors, in your level.