User Interface Overview

The panel on the right of the Shaper interface, highlighted in red below, is referred to as the Tool Panel. The Tool Panel has multiple categories. The different categories can be accessed by clicking the corresponding category button. Try clicking the "Groups" category button.

The bar on the bottom of the Shaper interface, highlighted in blue below, is referred to as the Animation Bar. This provides access to tools for working with animations.

In the centre are the View Panels. By default there are 4 View Panels arranged in a 2 by 2 grid but this can be changed using the View Layout tool in the Window menu. Clicking on a View Panel activates it. The currently active View Panel will have a red border around it. Pressing 'w' will maximise the active View Panel and pressing 'w' again will return to the original layout.

At the very bottom of the interface is the status bar. To the left is a coordinate readout. This shows the coordinates of the cursor in the active View Panel. To the right is the Help Line. This is very important. The interaction between the cursor and View Panels will vary depending on the active tool. For example, clicking and dragging could create a sphere or it could select existing objects. The Help Line explains the current cursor View Panel interaction. It will be particularly helpful when using unfamiliar tools.

Camera Control

The camera is moved by holding the 'Alt' key while clicking a mouse button and dragging. The left mouse button orbits the camera. The right mouse button zooms the camera. The middle mouse button pans the camera.