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Workspace Basics

Learn about the Aero desktop interface.

In Adobe Aero Desktop, you create AR experience using various elements, such as the menu bar, Home screen, Edit mode, Object properties, and more.

Home screen

The Home screen gives you quick access to cloud documents, recent files, and deleted documents.

Home screen
Home screen

The Home screen in Aero desktop shows the following options:

Tab

Description

Home

Gives you quick access to previous scenes, cloud documents, and your deleted scenes

Cloud documents are cloud-native files that you can open and edit in compatible apps. With cloud documents, your work is always updated, across every device, wherever you are

Deleted

Recently deleted scenes

Create new

Creates a brand new AR scene

Open

Opens a .real file to keep editing an existing Aero project file

Workspace overview

macOS

Workspace of Aero Desktop
Workspace of Aero Desktop

A. Main menu B. Home C. Edit mode D. Preview mode E. Undo/redo F. Share G. Scene graph H. Actions panel I. Properties panel J. Behavior builder K. Starter assets L. Toolbar 

Options Description
Main menu Access File, Edit, Object, View, Window, and Help menus and the submenus within them
Home Gives you quick access to previous scenes, cloud documents, and your deleted scenes
Edit mode Creative workspace and 3D canvas
Preview mode Preview the behaviors and interactivity you added to your scene and objects
Undo / redo Undo or redo the last action you took
Export / share Export or share your AR experiences with others
Scene graph View, hide, lock, and rename your objects
Actions panel Delete, duplicate, group, align selection, auto rescale, and revert to original size tools
Properties panel Define various properties of objects and manipulate them using different options in the Properties panel
Behavior builder An environment where you can use different types of triggers and actions to create a behavior and make your assets interactive
Starter assets Aero comes loaded with a library of useful assets which you can use in your AR creations
Toolbar Access the import, selection, move, scale, and rotate tools, as well as the orbit, pan, and dolly camera tools

Toolbar

Toolbar
Toolbar

A. Import B. Select C. Move D. Rotate E. Scale F. Orbit G. Pan H. Dolly 

Options

Description

Import compatible 2D and 3D assets into Aero

Select

Select your object on any of the three axes (X, Y, Z)

Move

Move your object on any of the three axes (X, Y, Z)

Rotate

Rotate your objects along all three axes (X, Y, Z)

Scale

Scale your object on any of the three axes (X, Y, Z)

Orbit

Rotates the current view around a model based on a fixed pivot point

Pan

Enables you to drag the view horizontally and vertically

Dolly

Enables you to move towards or away from your model along the Z axis

Actions panel

Actions Panel

Actions panel
A. Delete selection  B. Duplicated selection  C. Group selection  D. Align selection  E. Automatic scale  F. Revert to original size

Options

Description

Delete selection

Deletes the object you have selected

Duplicate selection

Duplicates the object you have selected

Align selection

Aligns the selected object with the bottom surface plane

Automatic rescale

Adjusts the asset size automatically to fit into the screen view 

Revert to original size

Changes the asset size to the original dimension as read in the asset source file

Properties panel

Properties panel
Properties panel

A. Pivot B. Position C. Rotation D. Scale E. Size 

Options

Description

Pivot

Used to identify the position of the point at which the object will rotate or spin

Position

Used to accurately position the object in space

Rotation

Used to precisely rotate your object

Scale

Used to precisely scale size of your object

Size

Used to identify exact dimensions of an object

3D Gizmo

Once you have imported assets into your scene, arrange them however you like by using the 3D Gizmo tool to move, scale, and rotate your objects around your scene.

The gizmo handles are color-coded to represent the axis they correspond to:

-       Red for the x-axis

-       Green for the y-axis

-       Blue for the z-axis

The 3D Gizmo tool will also change shape depending on which tool you are using. Below is a guide to help you navigate:

Select
Select

The 3D Gizmo tool will appear on your selected object giving you the ability to move, scale, and rotate your asset.

Rotate
Rotate

The 3D Gizmo tool appears on your selected object giving you the ability to only change the rotation of your object on the X, Y, and Z axis.

Move
Move

The 3D Gizmo tool will appear on your selected object giving you the ability to only move along the X, Y, and Z axis.

Scale
Scale

The 3D Gizmo tool will appear on your selected object giving you the ability to only scale your object on the X, Y, and Z axis. You also have the ability to scale proportionally by using the handles in the middle.

Starter assets

Aero desktop comes loaded with a library of useful assets which you can use in your AR creations. In the Edit mode, click the Content icon and then navigate through various available categories to select the asset you would like to use in your AR creation.

Starter assets
Starter assets

A. Content icon  B. Starter assets panel

You can also filter 3D or 2D content at the top of the Starter assets panel. Animation icons make it easy to distinguish which Starter asset content contains embedded animations. Look for the badge at the lower-right corner of the content’s thumbnail.

Butterfly (animated)
Butterfly (animated)

Autumn tree (static)
Autumn tree (static)

What's next?

We've got you started on how to use desktop workspace to place and edit assets in the scene. After you place your assets, go ahead and add interactivity to the objects.

Have a question or an idea?

If you have a question to ask or an idea to share, come and participate in Adobe Aero Community. We would love to hear from you. 

Don’t forget to showcase your work on Behance and seek inspiration from others' work as well.

 Adobe

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