Navigating the Viewports

This guide provides a detailed overview of the interactive Input and Output viewports within the Texture Tools plugin. Understanding these UIs is key to efficiently managing your textures, previewing results, and using advanced features like inpainting and 3D material previews.

1. The Anatomy of a Texture Viewer

The foundation of the viewport is the Texture Viewer, a self-contained panel for displaying a single texture. Both the Input and Output areas are composed of one or more of these viewers.

Header Controls

At the top of each viewer, you'll find a set of utility buttons:

• Add/Use/Find Buttons (Input Only):

  • Plus Icon: Opens a Content Browser window to let you select a texture.

  • Arrow Icon: Uses the texture currently selected in the main Content Browser.

  • Magnifying Glass Icon: Locates the currently loaded texture in the Content Browser.

• Tile Preview: A numeric box that lets you tile the texture preview (e.g., a value of 2 will show the texture tiled 2x2). This is for preview only and does not affect the output.

• Channel Toggles (R, G, B, A): These buttons allow you to isolate and view individual color or alpha channels. This is extremely useful for inspecting masks and packed PBR textures.

• Zoom Control: Shows the current zoom percentage. Click it for preset zoom levels or use the Mouse Wheel over the image to zoom in and out.

Interacting with the Viewer

• Zoom: Use the Mouse Wheel while your cursor is over the image.

• Pan: Use the scroll bars to the Bottom and Right to pan the image when zoomed in.

• Remove Texture (Input Only): Right-click on the image to clear the input slot.

2. Viewport Display Modes

Above both the Input and Output viewports is a segmented control that lets you switch between different display modes. The available modes change depending on the currently selected job.

Grid View

This is the default view. It displays all available input or output texture viewers in a grid layout. This mode is excellent for seeing all your textures at a glance, especially when working with jobs that have multiple inputs like the Channel Packer.

Carousel View

This mode displays only one texture viewer at a time, allowing you to focus on a single image.

• Navigation: Use the < and > arrow buttons below the viewer to cycle through the available textures.

• Breadcrumbs: The row of dots between the arrows indicates which texture you are currently viewing. You can also click on a dot to jump directly to that texture.

3D Material View (Output Only)

This mode is available for the Output viewport when using a job that generates PBR textures, such as the AI Generation job. It allows you to preview your generated material on a 3D mesh in a fully lit environment.

• Camera Controls:

  • Orbit: Hold the Left Mouse Button and drag to orbit the camera around the mesh.

  • Zoom: Use the Mouse Wheel to zoom in and out.

  • Pan: Hold the Middle Mouse Button and drag to pan the camera.

• Toolbar Controls:

  • Preview Mesh: Use the radio buttons to switch between a Sphere, Cube, Plane, and Cylinder.

  • Tile Preview: Adjust the tiling of the material on the preview mesh.

Draw Mask View (Input Only)

This special mode is only available for the Input viewport when an AI Generation job is selected. It is used for inpainting. For a detailed guide on how to use its specific tools, please refer to the "User Guide: Inpainting with the Draw Mask Canvas".