The 2D and 3D views are the center of the activities when you work with a map. They have a number of features that make working with them very comfortable and straightforward.

In order to familiarize yourself with the material in this section quickly, we recommended that you try it out and reproduce it with one of the example maps that come with Cafu. Use the File → Open… menu for loading a map from the DeathMatch/Maps directory, e.g. Kidney.cmap.

By default, the main window is divided into three views that show your map from different sides and perspectives. In the center is the 3D view, which shows the map as a perspective rendering. The two 2D views show the map from the top and from the side like an architects plan.

Each view is a window whose title bar indicates the type and render mode of the view. You can maximize, minimize or close each view window with the buttons in the upper right corner. In order to create a new 2D or 3D view, choose View → New 2D view or View → New 3D view from the main menu.

By clicking and dragging a windows title bar, the views can be docked, undocked and arranged as you like. Press CTRL while dragging a window in order to keep it floating (prevent it from docking to one of the highlighted dock positions).

A view is activated when you move the mouse pointer into its window.

Keyboard input, menu commands and status bar information all refer to the most recently activated view. For example, if you want to navigate the views with the keyboard as presented below, just move the mouse pointer into the desired view window, and all keyboard input will be directed to it.

In order to change the mode of a 2D or 3D view, use:

• the TAB key,
• the Shift+TAB key,
• or the context menu (right mouse button click).

The 2D views show the map from the top, the side or the front:

The 3D views show the map in different render modes, for example “wire-frame”, “flat colored”, “edit materials” or “full materials”:

Note that render mode “3D Edit Mats” often looks much like “3D Full Mats”, but whereas the latter shows the materials in their “natural” appearance (as they appear later in the game, e.g. translucent, distorted, invisible, black etc.), “3D Edit Mats” shows plainly textured surfaces instead. This can be very helpful for seeing the materials properly for editing purposes.

The 2D views show the map from the top, the side or the front. When a 2D view is active, you can use the following key and mouse actions to navigate in it:

• The four arrow keys (up, down, left, right) scroll the map.
• The + and - keys change the zoom level.
• When you press and hold the SPACE key, the cursor turns into an open hand, and then you can use the mouse to pan the view.
• Using the mouse wheel zooms, too.
• The CTRL+E menu shortcut centers all 2D views onto the currently selected object(s).

In the status bar at the bottom of the screen you will see both the current position of the mouse cursor in world coordinates as well as the current zoom level of the active view. There is also other information shown in the status bar, depending on the currently active tool.

The 3D views show the map from a perspective that comes close to how the Cafu engine will render the map. It's very useful to get an overall impression, apply and align materials and objects, etc.

• The four arrow keys (up, down, left, right) rotate the camera.
• Use A, W, S and D to move the camera.
• Press Z to toggle the mouse-look-lock. That is, when you pressed Z, you can let everything else go and moving the mouse will still rotate the camera. In combination with the A, W, S and D keys, this is very much like controlling the player when the map is running in-game. Press Z again to release the mouse.
• The scroll wheel moves the camera into and out of the screen, just like the W and S keys.
• Refer to and use the explicit Camera Tool for even more ways to set and control the 3D views.
• Press and hold the SPACE key to temporarily control the camera as if the Camera Tool was active. That means that while you hold the SPACE key,
  • also hold the left mouse button to mouse-look (rotate the camera using the mouse),
  • also hold the right mouse button to move the camera using the mouse (strafe left and right, move up and down),
  • also hold the left and right mouse button to move the camera using the mouse (strafe left and right, but now move into and out of the screen).