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>Blender Documentation Volume I - User Guide: Last modified April 29 2004 S68</TH
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CLASS="chapter"
><H1
><A
NAME="chapter_interface"
></A
>Understanding the interface</H1
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>By Martin Kleppmann</I
></P
><P
> If you are new to Blender, you should get a good grip on how to work
with the user interface before modelling. The concepts behind Blender's
interface are non-standard, and different from other 3D software
packages. Windows users especially will need to get used to
the different way that Blender handles controls, such as button
choices and mouse movements. But this difference is
in fact one of Blender's great strengths: once you understand how to
work the Blender way, you will find that you can work exceedingly quickly and
productively.
</P
><P
> Furthermore, Blender's interface greatly changed in the transition
from version 2.28 to version 2.3, so even experienced users might
profit from this chapter.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H1
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="interface_concept"
></A
>Blender's Interface Concept</H1
><P
> The user interface is the vehicle for two way interaction
between the user and the program. The user communicates
with the program via the keyboard and the mouse, the
program gives feedback via the screen and its windowing
system.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="interface_concept_keysmouse"
></A
>Keyboard and mouse</H2
><P
> Blender's interface makes use of three mouse buttons and a wide
range of hotkeys (for a complete in-depth
discussion refer to Volume II. If your mouse has
only two buttons, you can emulate the middle mouse button
(<A
HREF="x1070.html#interface_functions_settings"
>the Section called <I
>User preferences and Themes</I
></A
> describes how). A mouse
wheel can be used, but it is not necessary as there
are also appropriate keyboard shortcuts.
</P
><P
> This book uses the following conventions to describe user input:
</P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
> The mouse buttons are called <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> (left mouse
button), <B
CLASS="keycap"
>MMB</B
> (middle mouse button) and
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>RMB</B
> (right mouse button).
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> If your mouse has a wheel, <B
CLASS="keycap"
>MMB</B
> refers
to clicking the wheel as if it were a button, while
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>MW</B
> means rolling the wheel.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Hotkey letters are named by appending <I
CLASS="emphasis"
>KEY</I
>
to the letter, <I
CLASS="emphasis"
>i.e.</I
>
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>GKEY</B
> refers to the letter
<I
CLASS="emphasis"
>g</I
> on the keyboard. Keys may be combined with
the modifiers <B
CLASS="keycap"
>SHIFT</B
>, <B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL</B
> and/or
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>ALT</B
>. For modified keys the <B
CLASS="keycap"
>KEY</B
>
suffix is generally dropped, for example <B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL-W</B
> or
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>SHIFT-ALT-A</B
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <B
CLASS="keycap"
>NUM0</B
> to <B
CLASS="keycap"
>NUM9</B
>,
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>NUM+</B
> and so on refer to the keys on the separate
numeric keypad. NumLock should generally be switched on.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Other keys are referred to by their names, such as <B
CLASS="keycap"
>ESC</B
>,
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>TAB</B
>, <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F1</B
> to <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F12</B
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Other special keys of note are the arrow keys, <B
CLASS="keycap"
>UPARROW</B
>,
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>DOWNARROW</B
> and so on.
</P
></LI
></UL
><P
> Because Blender makes such extensive use of both mouse and keyboard,
a "golden rule" has evolved among Blender users: keep one hand on the mouse
and the other on the keyboard! If you normally use a keyboard that
is significantly different from the English keyboard layout, you may want to
think about changing to the English or American layout for your work with
Blender. The most frequently used keys are grouped so
that they can be reached by the left hand in standard position
(index finger on <B
CLASS="keycap"
>FKEY</B
>) on the English keyboard
layout. This assumes that you use the mouse with your right hand.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="interface_concept_windows"
></A
>The window system</H2
><P
> Now it's time to start Blender and begin playing around.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO1"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptBigWindow.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 1. The default Blender scene.</B
></P
></DIV
><P
> <A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO1"
>Figure 1</A
> shows the screen you should
get after starting Blender (except for the added text and arrows).
At default it is separated into three windows: The main menu at
the top, the large 3D Window and the Buttons Window at the bottom.
Most windows have a header (the strip with a lighter grey
background containing icon buttons - for this reason we will
also refer to the header as the window <I
CLASS="emphasis"
>ToolBar</I
>);
if present, the header may
be at the top (as with the Buttons window) or the bottom
(as with the 3D Window) of a window's area.
</P
><P
> If you move the mouse over a window, note that its header changes
to a lighter shade of grey. This means that it is "focused;"
all hotkeys you press will now affect the contents of this
window.
</P
><P
> You can easily customize Blender's window system to suit your needs and wishes.
You can create a new window by splitting an existing one in half.
Do so by focusing the window you want to split (move the mouse
into it), clicking the border with <B
CLASS="keycap"
>MMB</B
> or
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>RMB</B
>, and selecting <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Split Area</TT
>
(<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO2"
>Figure 2</A
>). You can now set the new
border's position by clicking with <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
>, or
cancel your action by pressing <B
CLASS="keycap"
>ESC</B
>. The new window will
start as a clone of the window you split, but can then be
set to a different window type, or to display the scene from a different
point of view.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="tip"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="tip"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="./stylesheet-images/tip.gif"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Tip"></TD
><TH
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="CENTER"
><B
>Interface Items</B
></TH
></TR
><TR
><TD
> </TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
> Labels in the interface buttons, menu entries and, in general,
all text shown on the screen is highlighted in this book
<TT
CLASS="literal"
>like this</TT
>.
</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO2"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptSplit.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 2. The Split menu for creating new windows.</B
></P
></DIV
><P
> Create a new vertical border by choosing <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Split Area</TT
> from a
horizontal border, and vice versa. You can resize each window by
dragging a border with <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
>. To reduce the number
of windows, click a border between two windows with
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>MMB</B
> or <B
CLASS="keycap"
>RMB</B
> and choose <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Join
Areas</TT
>. The resulting window receives the properties of the
previously focused window.
</P
><P
> To set a header's position click <B
CLASS="keycap"
>RMB</B
>
on the header and choose <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Top</TT
>
or <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Bottom</TT
>. You can also hide the header by choosing
<TT
CLASS="literal"
>No Header</TT
>, but this is
only advisable if you know all the relevant hotkeys. You can show a hidden
header again by clicking the window's border with
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>MMB</B
> or <B
CLASS="keycap"
>RMB</B
> and selecting
<TT
CLASS="literal"
>Add Header</TT
>.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="interface_concept_wintypes"
></A
>Window types</H2
><P
> Each window frame may contain different types and sets of
information, depending upon what you are working on. These may include 3D models,
animation, surface materials, Python scripts, and so on. You can select the type
for each window by clicking its header's
leftmost button with <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
>
(<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3"
>Figure 3</A
>).
</P
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptWinTypes.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 3. The window type selection menu.</B
></P
></DIV
><P
> We'll explain the functions and usage of the respective window types later
in this book. For now we
only need to concern ourselves with the three window types that are already
provided in
Blender's default scene:
</P
><P
></P
><DIV
CLASS="variablelist"
><DL
><DT
>3D Viewport</DT
><DD
><P
> Provides a graphical view into the scene you are working on.
You can view your scene from any angle with a variety of options; see
<A
HREF="x937.html"
>the Section called <I
>Navigating in 3D Space</I
></A
> for details. Having several
3D Viewports on the same screen can be useful if you want to watch your
changes from different perspectives at the same time.
</P
></DD
><DT
>Buttons Window</DT
><DD
><P
> Contains most tools for editing objects, surfaces, textures,
Lights, and much more. You will need this window constantly if
you don't know all hotkeys by heart. You might indeed want more than
one of these windows, each with a different set of tools.
</P
></DD
><DT
>User preferences (Main menu)</DT
><DD
><P
> This window is usually hidden, so that only the menu part is
visible - see <A
HREF="x1070.html#interface_functions_settings"
>the Section called <I
>User preferences and Themes</I
></A
>
for details. It's rarely used though, since it contains global configuration settings.
</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P
> There are several novelties in Blender 2.30. First of
all window headers tend to be much cleaner, less cluttered
by buttons, and menus are now present in many headers.
</P
><P
> Most window headers, immediately next to this first "Window Type" Menu button exhibit a set of menus;
this is one of the main new features of the 2.30 interface. Menus now
allow you to directly access many of the features and commands which previously
were only accessible via hot keys or arcane buttons.
Menus can be hidden and showed via the triangular button next to them.
</P
><P
> Menu are not only window-sensitive (they change with window type) but
also context sensitive (they change with selected object) so they are
always very compact, showing only actions which can actually be performed.
</P
><P
> All Menu entries shows the relevant hotkey shortcut, if any. Blender
Workflow is at his best when hotkeys are used. So the rest of this
Book will mostly present you hotkeys, rather than Menu entries.
Menus are anyway precious since they give a complete
as possible overview of all tools and commands Blender offers.
</P
><P
> One feature of windows that sometimes comes in handy for precise
editing is that of maximizing to full screen. If you use the appropriate
<TT
CLASS="literal"
>View>>Maximize Window</TT
> Menu entry or the hotkey
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL-DOWNARROW</B
>, the focused window will
extend to fill the whole screen. To return to normal size, use the
<TT
CLASS="literal"
>View>>Tile Window</TT
>
button again or <B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL-UPARROW</B
>.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="interface_concept_buttypes"
></A
>Contexts, Panels and Buttons</H2
><P
> Blender's buttons are more exciting than those in most other
user interfaces, and they became even nicer in 2.30.
This is largely due to the fact that they
are vector-based and drawn in OpenGL, which makes them elegant and zoomable.
</P
><P
> Buttons are mostly grouped in the Button Window. As of Blender 2.3
the Button Window shows <I
CLASS="emphasis"
>six</I
> main contexts,
which can be chosen via the first icon row in the header (<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3b"
>Figure 4</A
>), each of
which might be subdivided into a variable number of sub-contexts,
which can be chosen via the second icon row in the header (<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3b"
>Figure 4</A
>):
</P
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3b"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/Conceptcontext-subcontext.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 4. Contexts and Sub-Contexts</B
></P
></DIV
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Logic</I
> - shortcut <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F4</B
></P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Script</I
> - no shortcut</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Shading</I
> - shortcut <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F5</B
></P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Lamp</I
> - no shortcut</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Material</I
> - no shortcut</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Texture</I
> - shortcut <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F6</B
></P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Radio</I
> - no shortcut</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>World</I
> - shortcut <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F8</B
></P
></LI
></UL
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Object</I
> - shortcut <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F7</B
></P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Editing</I
> - shortcut <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F9</B
></P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Scene</I
> - shortcut <B
CLASS="keycap"
>F10</B
></P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Rendering</I
> - no shortcut</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Anim/Playback</I
> - no shortcut</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Sound</I
> - no shortcut</P
></LI
></UL
></LI
></UL
><P
> Once the Context is selected by the user, the sub-context is
usually determined by Blender on the basis of the active Object.
For example, with the "Shading" context, if a Lamp Object
is selected then sub-context shows Lamp Buttons, if
a Mesh or other renderable Object is selected, then
Material Buttons is the active sub-context, and if
a Camera is selected the active sub-context is World.
</P
><P
> The most notable novelty in the interface is probably the
presence of <I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Panels</I
> to logically
group buttons. Each panel is the same size. They can be moved around the Button
Window by <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> clicking and dragging on their header. Panels
can be aligned by <B
CLASS="keycap"
>RMB</B
> on the Buttons Window and chosing
the desired layout from the Menu which appears (<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3c"
>Figure 5</A
>).
</P
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3c"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/Conceptbuttonwin-menu.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 5. Button Window Menu.</B
></P
></DIV
><P
> <B
CLASS="keycap"
>MW</B
> scrolls Panels in their aligned direction, <B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL-MW</B
>
and <B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL-MMB</B
> zooms panels in and out. Single
panels can be collapsed/expanded by <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> clicking the triangle on the left
of their header.
</P
><P
> Particularly complex Panels are organized in <I
CLASS="emphasis"
>Tabs</I
>. Clicking
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> on a Tab in the Panel header changes the buttons shown (<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3d"
>Figure 6</A
>).
Tabs can be "torn out" of a panel to form independent panels by clicking <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> on their
header and dragging them out. In a similar way separate Panels can be turned into a single
panel with Tabs by dropping one Panel's header into another.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO3d"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/Concepttabs.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 6. Panel with Tabs.</B
></P
></DIV
><P
> As a last interface item in the chain there are several kind of buttons
which are disposed in the Panel's Tabs:
</P
><DIV
CLASS="formalpara"
><P
><B
><B
>Operation Button. </B
></B
>
These are buttons that perform an operation when they are clicked
(with <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
>, as all buttons). They can be
identified by their brownish color in the default Blender scheme
(<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO5"
>Figure 7</A
>).
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO5"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptButtons2.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 7. An operation button</B
></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="formalpara"
><P
><B
><B
>Toggle Button. </B
></B
>
Toggle buttons come in various sizes
and colors (<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO4"
>Figure 8</A
>). The colors
green, violet, and grey do not change functionality, they just help the
eye to group the buttons and recognize the contents of the interface more
quickly. Clicking this type of button does
not perform any operation, but only toggles a state as "on" or "off."
</P
></DIV
><P
> Some buttons also have a third state that is identified
by the text turning yellow (the Ref button in
<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO4"
>Figure 8</A
>). Usually the third state
means "negative," and the normal "on" state means "positive."
</P
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO4"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptButtons1.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 8. Toggle buttons</B
></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="formalpara"
><P
><B
><B
>Radio Buttons. </B
></B
>
Radio buttons are particular groups of mutually exclusive
Toggle buttons. No more than one Radio Button in a given group
can be "on" at one time.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="formalpara"
><P
><B
><B
>Num Buttons. </B
></B
>
Number buttons (<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO7"
>Figure 10</A
>) can be
identified by their captions, which contain a colon followed
by a number. Number buttons are handled in several ways:
To increase the value, click <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> on
the right of the button, where the small triangle is shown; to decrease it, click on the left of
the button, where another triangle is shown.
To change the value in a wider range, hold down <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
>
and drag the mouse to the left or right. If you hold
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL</B
> while doing this, the value is changed in
discrete steps; if you hold <B
CLASS="keycap"
>SHIFT</B
>, you'll have finer
control over the values. <B
CLASS="keycap"
>ENTER</B
> can be used in place of
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> here.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO6"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptButtons3.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 9. Number buttons</B
></P
></DIV
><P
> You can enter a value from the keyboard by holding
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>SHIFT</B
> and clicking <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
>. Press
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>SHIFT-BACKSPACE</B
> to clear the value;
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>SHIFT-LEFTARROW</B
> to move the cursor to the beginning;
and <B
CLASS="keycap"
>SHIFT-RIGHTARROW</B
> to move the cursor to the end.
Press <B
CLASS="keycap"
>ESC</B
> to restore the original value.
</P
><P
> Some number buttons contain a slider rather than just a number with side triangles.
The same method of operation applies, except that single <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> clicks must be
performed on the left or on the right of the slider, while clicking
on the label or the number automatically enters keyboard input mode.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="formalpara"
><P
><B
><B
>Menu Buttons. </B
></B
>
Use the Menu buttons to choose from dynamically created lists.
Menu buttons are principally used to link DataBlocks to each other.
(DataBlocks are structures like Meshes, Objects, Materials, Textures,
and so on; by linking a Material to an Object, you assign it.) You'll see an
example for such a block of buttons in
<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO7"
>Figure 10</A
>. The first button (with the
tiny up and down pointing triangles) opens a menu that lets
you select the DataBlock to link to
by holding down <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> and releasing it over the
requested item. The second button displays the type and name of the
linked DataBlock and lets you edit its name after clicking
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
>. The "X" button clears the link, the "car" button
generates an automatic name for the DataBlock, and the "F" button
specifies whether the DataBlock should be saved in the file even if
it is unused (unlinked).
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="tip"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="tip"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="./stylesheet-images/tip.gif"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Tip"></TD
><TH
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="CENTER"
><B
>Unlinked objects</B
></TH
></TR
><TR
><TD
> </TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
> Unlinked data is <I
CLASS="emphasis"
>not</I
> lost
until you quit Blender. This is a powerful Undo feature.
if you delete an object the material assigned to it becomes
unlinked, but is still there! You just have to re-link
it to another object or press the "F" button.
</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO7"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptButtons4.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 10. Datablock link buttons</B
></P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="interface_concept_toolbox"
></A
>Toolbox</H2
><P
> By pressing <B
CLASS="keycap"
>SPACE</B
> in the 3D Viewport, or by holding <B
CLASS="keycap"
>LMB</B
> or <B
CLASS="keycap"
>RMB</B
>
with a still mouse for more than half a second opens the Toolbox.
This contains 6 main contexts, arranged on two lines, each of which opens
menus and submenus.
</P
><P
> Three of these contexts open the same three menus present
in the 3D Viewport header, of the other three, <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Add</TT
>
allows adding new Objects to the scene while <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Edit</TT
> and
<TT
CLASS="literal"
>Transform</TT
> shows all possible operations on selected Object(s)
(<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO7b"
>Figure 11</A
>).
</P
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO7b"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptToolBox.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 11. The Toolbox</B
></P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="interface_concept_screens"
></A
>Screens</H2
><P
> Blender's flexibility with windows lets you create customized
working environments for different tasks, such as modeling, animating,
and scripting. It is often useful to quickly switch between
different environments within the same file. This is made possible by
creating several screens: All changes to windows as described in
<A
HREF="c627.html#interface_concept_windows"
>the Section called <I
>The window system</I
></A
> and
<A
HREF="c627.html#interface_concept_wintypes"
>the Section called <I
>Window types</I
></A
> are saved within one
screen, so if you change your windows in one screen, other screens
won't be affected. But the scene you are working on stays the same
in all screens.
</P
><P
> Three different default screens are provided with Blender; they are
available via the <TT
CLASS="literal"
>SCR</TT
> Menu Buttons in the User Preferences Window header
shown in <A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO8"
>Figure 12</A
>. To change to the
next screen alphabetically, press <B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL-RIGHTARROW</B
>;
to change to the previous screen alphabetically, press
<B
CLASS="keycap"
>CTRL-LEFTARROW</B
>.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="figure"
><A
NAME="BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO8"
></A
><P
><IMG
SRC="PartI/interface/gfx/ConceptScreens.png"></P
><P
><B
>Figure 12. Screen and Scene selectors</B
></P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="interface_concept_scenes"
></A
>Scenes</H2
><P
> It is also possible to have several scenes within the same Blender
file. The scenes may use one another's objects or be completely separate
from one another. You can select and create scenes with the <TT
CLASS="literal"
>SCE</TT
> Menu Button
buttons in the User Preferences Window header
(<A
HREF="c627.html#BSG.IFA.F.MAK.CO8"
>Figure 12 in the Section called <I
>Screens</I
></A
>).
</P
><P
> When you create a new scene, you can choose between four options
to control its contents:
</P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
> <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Empty</TT
> creates an empty scene.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Link Objects</TT
> creates the new scene with the same contents
as the currently selected scene. Changes in one scene will also modify
the other.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Link ObData</TT
> creates the new scene based on the currently selected
scene, with links to the same meshes, materials, and so on. This means that you
can change objects' positions and related properties, but
modifications to the meshes, materials, and so on will also affect other
scenes unless you manually make single-user copies.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <TT
CLASS="literal"
>Full Copy</TT
> creates a fully independent scene
with copies of the currently selected scene's contents.
</P
></LI
></UL
></DIV
></DIV
></DIV
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