Selection and Manipulation

Toolbar

The tools and behaviors in this section can be found in the toolbar in the top right of the editor window. 

1. Hand Tool - allows you to shift the camera's view horizontally and vertically across the Scene View without rotating or zooming.
2. Move Tool
3. Rotate Tool
4. Scale Tool
5. Global vs Object Space
6. Center vs Pivot

Selection

JoinXR provides multiple ways to select objects in your slide. Whether you're working directly in the Scene View or organizing objects in the Slide Contents, efficient selection is key to a smooth workflow.

Highlighting and Gizmos

Once selected, objects will be highlighted, and its transform gizmo (Move, Rotate, or Scale) will appear

Selecting Objects in the Scene View

The Scene View allows you to visually select objects in your scene.

• Single Selection - Click on an object in the Scene View to select it.
• Multi-Selection
  • Add to Selection - Hold Shift and click on additional objects to add them to the current selection.
  • Deselect from Selection - Hold Shift and click on an already selected object to deselect it.

Selecting Objects in the Slide Contents

The Slide Contents provides a structured, text-based list of all objects in your scene.

• Single Selection - Click on an object in the Slide Contents to select it.
• Multi-Selection:
  • Hold Ctrl and click on multiple objects in the Slide Contents to select them all.
  • Alternatively, hold Shift and click to select a range of objects between two clicks.

Combining Scene and Slide Contents Selection

You can seamlessly switch between selecting objects in the Scene View and the Slide Contents:

• Selecting an object in one view will automatically highlight it in the other view.
• This ensures you can work visually in the Scene View while maintaining precision and structure in the Slide Contents.

Manipulation

In JoinXR, the Move, Rotate, and Scale tools (often called gizmos) are essential for manipulating objects within the scene view. These tools allow you to adjust the position, rotation, and size of objects in 3D space. They are visually represented by 3D gizmos that appear in the Scene View when an object is selected. These tools can be activated from the toolbar or using keyboard shortcuts, providing intuitive ways to modify objects.

Move Tool

• Icon: The Move tool is represented by a set of colored arrows (red, green, blue), each corresponding to a different axis (X, Y, and Z).
• Shortcut: W (to activate the Move tool).

How it Works:

• Translation: The Move tool allows you to change the position of an object in the scene by dragging the colored arrows that represent the X, Y, and Z axes.
  • Red Arrow (X-axis): Moves the object along the X-axis (horizontal direction).
  • Green Arrow (Y-axis): Moves the object along the Y-axis (vertical direction).
  • Blue Arrow (Z-axis): Moves the object along the Z-axis (depth direction).
• Plane movement: You can also drag along the planes between two arrows to move the object on a flat plane (e.g., moving on the XY plane, or XZ plane).

Rotate Tool

• Icon: The Rotate tool is represented by a set of circular arcs in red, green, and blue corresponding to the X, Y, and Z axes.
• Shortcut: E (to activate the Rotate tool).

How it Works:

• Rotation: The Rotate tool allows you to rotate an object around the X, Y, and Z axes. The tool shows circular gizmos that represent the rotation axes:
  • Red Circle (X-axis): Rotate around the X-axis.
  • Green Circle (Y-axis): Rotate around the Y-axis.
  • Blue Circle (Z-axis): Rotate around the Z-axis.
• Angle snapping: You can hold down Shift while rotating to snap the rotation to 15 degree increments.
• Locking - Depending on the object, certain axes may be locked. These will look greyed out and prevent you adjust that axes rotation

Scale Tool

• Icon: The Scale tool is represented by a set of cubes (or small squares) at the ends of the X, Y, and Z axes.
• Shortcut: R (to activate the Scale tool).

How it Works:

• Scaling: Clicking and dragging on any part of the gizmo will scale the object uniformly

Global vs. Object space

The Move and Rotate tools can be used in global or object space. In global space, the gizmo are aligned with the world axes, while in object space, they are aligned with the object’s own axes.

This can be toggled in the toolbar

Center Vs Pivot Behavior with Multiple Object Selection

When multiple objects are selected the behavior of transformation tools (Move, Rotate, Scale) depends on whether you are using Pivot or Center mode.

This can be toggled in the toolbar

Center Mode (Default)