Once a 3D scene is open, a floating toolbar gives you full control over how the model is displayed — view styles, backgrounds, color modes, measuring, sectioning and snapshots. This article walks through every control.
The floating toolbar
The toolbar floats over the scene and contains the following controls:
- Wireframe — draws elements as outlines only, which makes it easier to see through dense geometry.
- X-ray — makes elements translucent so hidden clashes show through surrounding geometry.
- Exploded — pushes elements apart so you can see how the clashing pieces relate.
- Orthographic — switches from perspective to orthographic projection for distortion-free, drawing-like views.
- Background — cycles the scene background: Dark → Light → Sky.
- Full page — expands the viewer to fill the page.
- Grid — overlays the building's levels and grid lines, so you can orient yourself by level and grid reference.
- Model context — shows ghosted building geometry around the clashes for spatial context. This option is only available if the set was published with model context included.
- Measure — click two points in the scene to measure between them. Press Esc to cancel a measurement.
- Section box — cuts the scene with a box you control using dual sliders per axis. Includes Reset and a Show box toggle.
- Selection outline — toggles the highlight outline on selected elements.
- Snapshot — captures the current view as an image, with Download PNG and Copy to clipboard options.
- Share — creates a public share link for this scene (see the Sharing a 3D Scene article).
- Color-by — chooses the color mode (see below).
- Keyboard shortcuts — opens a card listing all viewer shortcuts.
Color modes
The Color-by control changes what the colors in the scene mean:
- Clash — each clash gets its own color, so you can tell neighboring clashes apart.
- Priority — elements are colored by the clash's priority, using your configured priority colors.
- Severity — colors by penetration depth: red means a deep penetration, green means clearance.
- Changes — colors by what changed since earlier publishes: new clashes in blue, persisting clashes in aging tones, and resolved clashes in green. This mode can also display up to 50 translucent "Recently resolved" ghost clashes so you can see what was fixed and where.
- Cluster — colors clashes by spatial cluster, highlighting hotspot areas where clashes bunch together.
- Hotspots/Density — a heat scale based on how many clashes each element is involved in, with selectable palettes. Great for finding the most problematic elements.
Keyboard shortcuts
Select the Keyboard shortcuts toolbar button (or press ?) to see the full shortcut card. The viewer also shows a quick hint: Tab cycles items, Esc clears, and ? opens the shortcuts card.
Tips
- Combine X-ray with the Severity color mode to quickly scan a floor for the deepest penetrations.
- Use Grid together with the clash list's Level and Grid grouping to talk about clashes the way your team does on site — by level and grid reference.
- Orthographic plus a Section box gives you a clean, plan-like slice of the model for coordination discussions.
- Take a Snapshot before and after applying edits — it's a quick way to document a decision in meeting notes.
Troubleshooting
- Model context button does nothing or is unavailable — the set was published without model context. Re-publish from the plugin with context included.
- "No levels/grid available for this set yet — they upload near the end of a publish. Try again shortly." — levels and grids finish uploading shortly after a publish completes; try again in a few minutes.
- A measurement is stuck on screen — press Esc to cancel it.
Related topics
- Introduction to the 3D Viewer
- The Clash List and Inspector
- Sharing a 3D Scene