# Viewport and Navigation

The 3D viewport displays your terrain in three dimensions. Three different rendering modes are available:

* High-Quality Render Mode
* Textured Render Mode
* Shape Design Mode

{% hint style="info" %}
Switching render modes is effortless. Simply click on the corresponding icon in the toolbar.\
![](/files/f1kLUlm3OGmZrgGG8eGs) ![](/files/E2ELpwfC5mt6IFDpz2v2) ![](/files/3UpnuSvOI6eYI3n9veCU)
{% endhint %}

By default, World Creator uses its High Quality Render Mode when running. The program utilizes a high-quality, real-time ray-tracing algorithm to render a photorealistic version of the terrain. This rendering mode is expected to perform well on a computer using a powerful graphics processing unit (GPU), for example, an Nvidia 1080 Ti and above, or an equivalent AMD GPU.

<figure><img src="/files/7y3HGhCrS4BJtZDrVMc6" alt=""><figcaption><p><em>High Quality Render Mode</em></p></figcaption></figure>

Additionally, you have the option to use the Textured Render Mode. It allows you to work on your textured terrain while disabling advanced rendering features and light computation to provide a more responsive workflow.

<figure><img src="/files/YVDuXvf8w4LJOiuThjlT" alt=""><figcaption><p><em>Textured Render Mode</em></p></figcaption></figure>

The Shape Design Mode, while not as realistic or sophisticated as the High Quality or Textured Render Modes, is much faster and allows the user to concentrate on designing the terrain without the need for a powerful GPU. To further customise your experience, you can load your own custom matcaps or choose from the available matcaps that ship with World Creator. See [Preferences/Graphics](/reference/options/graphics.md) for more information.

<figure><img src="/files/up1Cqa29RWkWC5wbM7X8" alt=""><figcaption><p><em>Shape Design Mode</em></p></figcaption></figure>

By opening the Scene node in the Tree-View, you can access all available World Creator's renderer settings, which can be customized as needed (detailed in a later topic on this). For the moment, it is recommended to keep the default settings unchanged, as they should suffice.

The 3D viewport displays two notable HUD elements:

* Directional Compass
* Altitude Meter

The Altitude Meter is situated to the left of the viewport. The Altitude Meter displays the altitude of the viewer (i.e. the camera which is used to view the scenery) and the min/max height of the whole terrain.

<figure><img src="/files/Ih7JuK93EnUqALzI23kb" alt=""><figcaption><p><em>The viewer is facing northeast at an altitude of around 600 meters above the zero point</em></p></figcaption></figure>

Next, we will examine the camera controls, as well as additional shortcuts that allow for quick access to useful functions inside World Creator.

To move the camera, use the following keys:

* W, A, S, D

  to move forward, left, backward, right
* Q, E

  to move downwards or upwards

You can move the camera faster by holding down the left SHIFT key or by using the Mouse Wheel to adjust the speed even further to cover everything from giant terrains all the way down to individual pebbles.

Moving the mouse and pressing the right mouse button allows you to change the vantage point. You can also use the mouse to move quickly across the terrain. To move quickly, click the middle mouse button while targeting a location on the terrain and move the mouse. Use the mouse wheel to zoom into the terrain.\
To rotate the camera around a specific spot, press the right mouse button together with the left ALT key on your keyboard and move the mouse.

<table><thead><tr><th width="437">Function</th><th width="296.4832763671875">Hotkey</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Opens this online documentation</td><td>F1</td></tr><tr><td>Toggle the UI</td><td>F3</td></tr><tr><td>Open Save As dialog</td><td>F5</td></tr><tr><td>Saves the current project</td><td>F7</td></tr><tr><td>Takes a screenshot (including UI)</td><td>F11</td></tr><tr><td>Takes a screenshot (without UI)</td><td>F12</td></tr><tr><td>Navigates the camera (forward, left, backward, right, down, up)</td><td>W, A, S, D, Q, E</td></tr><tr><td>Navigates the camera with increased speed (forward, left, backward, right, down, up)</td><td>LEFT CTRL + W, A, S, D, Q, E</td></tr><tr><td>Focus terrain</td><td>F</td></tr><tr><td>Saves the camera position to a specified slot (0 to 9, 10 slots in total)</td><td>LEFT CTRL + 0 to 9</td></tr><tr><td>Restores camera position based on the specified slot</td><td>0 to 9</td></tr><tr><td>Places the mannequin on the terrain (mouse location on terrain)</td><td>M</td></tr><tr><td>Look around using the mouse</td><td>RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON</td></tr><tr><td>Rotates the camera view around the current camera location on the terrain surface</td><td>LEFT ALT + RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON</td></tr><tr><td>Rotates the camera view around the center of the terrain</td><td>LEFT ALT + MIDDLE MOUSE BUTTON</td></tr><tr><td>Zoom in / out</td><td>MOUSE SCROLL WHEEL</td></tr><tr><td>Starts automatic camera rotation</td><td>ALT-1</td></tr></tbody></table>

For a detailed list of all key bindings, refer to [this article](/walkthrough/introduction/key-bindings-and-shortcuts.md).


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.world-creator.com/walkthrough/introduction/viewport-and-navigation.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.