# Working in 3D

Source: https://meptools.com/tools/plant-room-studio/docs/working-in-3d/

Press **V** (or use the view switch) to open the **3D model**. It's built from the same layout —
room shell, walls, doors, columns, and every equipment item at its footprint, height, and mount
elevation. You edit in 2D; 3D is for review.

## Navigating

- **Orbit** — rotate around the model.
- **Pan** — slide the view.
- **Zoom in / out**, and **Zoom to fit** to frame the whole room.
- **Render distance** limits how far the camera draws (in metres) for performance on large scenes.

The 3D ribbon's first group switches the interaction tool between **Select** and **Measure**.

## Measuring

The **Measure** tool reports the distance between two points. Snap to a corner, vertex, or door
centre, or hold **Shift** for a surface point. The measurement panel shows the **last** distance
and the selected item's **geometry (mm)** — origin, height, and rotation.

## Saved viewpoints

Save the current camera as a named **viewpoint** so you can return to a standard angle later.
Viewpoints can be searched, renamed, and deleted from the **Saved Viewpoints** panel. A saved
viewpoint can also drive the 3D image in a [PDF report](/tools/plant-room-studio/docs/exporting).

## Section planes

Cut the model with a **section plane** to see inside it. Enable a plane and drag its **offset** to
slice through, or add custom section planes and clear them. This is the 3D counterpart to 2D
[section views](/tools/plant-room-studio/docs/sections).

## Display toggles

Tune how the model reads:

- **Show walls** — with **Auto-hide walls** and **Wall opacity** so walls don't block the view.
- **Edges** — draw model edges.
- **Flat shading**.
- **Detailed equipment** — show detailed equipment models.
- **Ghost hidden items** — show hidden items faintly rather than removing them.
- **Labels** — equipment labels in the model.
- **Projection** — switch between **Perspective** and **Orthographic**.

## Render quality

Choose a **3D render quality**: **Balanced**, **Presentation**, or **Realistic** (higher quality
looks better but renders slower). This also affects 3D image exports.

Ready to share the layout? See [Exporting](/tools/plant-room-studio/docs/exporting).