In Event Design App, switch views with the round view control at the upper right of the canvas, or press T for Top view and P for Perspective view. Top view shows footprints and spacing, while Perspective shows height and depth. Slice Above, available in Top view, hides everything above 2 meters to reveal what is under a roof.
"Is that table actually in the right place?" and "Will it look right to the client?" are two different questions, and each needs a different camera. Top view answers the first. Perspective answers the second.
📺 Use Top, Perspective, Front, and Side Views — Top, Perspective, Front, Side and Slice Above, side by side.
Use the round view control (the view toggle) at the upper right of the canvas. Its tooltip and label read Top View or Perspective View. It shows the view you can switch to: Top View when you're in Perspective, Perspective View when you're in Top.
Or use the keyboard, with the canvas focused:
Key | Result |
|---|---|
T | Top view |
P | Perspective view |
[SCREENSHOT 1 — the view control and Slice Above button at the upper right of the canvas]
⚠ Shortcuts only work when the canvas has focus. If you're typing in the Catalog search, T and P type letters. Clear the field and click blank canvas first.
The editor offers four views (overhead, 3D, front and side), each suited to a different job:
View | Best for | Weak at |
|---|---|---|
Top | Footprints, spacing, aisles, aligning rows, using Selection Box | Anything tall can hide what's underneath |
Perspective | Height, depth, realism, client review | Judging exact spacing |
Front and Side | Comparing heights | Objects overlap from these angles |
Overlap in Front and Side is the viewing angle, not a change in placement.
Top view is a straight overhead (orthographic) view, like a floor plan or seating chart, so footprints and gaps are easy to compare. It's the right place for row spacing and drawing a Selection Box.
💡 Some tools need Top view and switch to it for you. Choosing Selection Box from Perspective moves you to Top automatically.
Top view has one blind spot: a tall surface hides what's below it. A canopy roof, for example, covers the table underneath.
In Top view, a second round button appears under the view control. Its tooltip reads Slice Above 2m. Turn it on and the editor hides everything above 2 meters, so the table inside the canopy appears. Turn it off to bring the roof back.
⚠ Slice Above is a viewing aid, not an edit. It doesn't delete the roof or move anything. If an object looks missing, check the view and whether Slice Above is on before assuming it was deleted — and look from another angle before changing the scene.
[SCREENSHOT 2 — Top view of a canopy: roof hiding the table, then Slice Above on revealing it]
Press P, or use the view control. Perspective view (the 3D view) shows height, supports and depth — roof, legs, table and chair together.
⚠ After switching from Top, the camera may still look straight down. Make a small orbit on empty canvas to get an angled view. (Orbit: left-drag on empty canvas.)
Your furniture hasn't moved. Only the camera has.
The axis widget (the small colored X/Y/Z arrows) in the lower right corner is for straight views:
Click the blue Y point for the front view.
Click the red X point for the side view.
Use these to compare heights — the canopy against the table and chair, for instance. Go back to Top with T or Perspective with P when you're done.
After switching views, select an object and use Focus on the bottom toolbar to bring the camera close to it. Focus changes your view only, never the object's size. Zoom back out and pan to recover context. Details are in Undo, redo, delete, lock, isolate, focus, and grid.
Top view tells you if a layout is tidy; Perspective tells you if it's right. Before you call a layout finished, look at it both ways. A chair that looks aligned from above can be floating or the wrong height in Perspective.
Press T, then P. Orbit slightly once you're in Perspective.
Click the blue Y and red X points on the axis widget. Return with T.
In a plan with a canopy, turn Slice Above on and off in Top view.
Explain, for each of Top, Perspective, Front and Side, what question it answers.
Save and reopen. Confirm nothing moved.
An object disappeared. Check Slice Above (and Isolate) before assuming it was deleted. Both hide objects without removing them.
Perspective looks flat, like Top. The camera kept its overhead direction. Orbit a little on empty canvas.
T and P do nothing. A text field has focus. Clear it and click empty canvas.
I can't see the Slice Above button (Slice Above 2m). It appears in Top view only.
The view control is missing. The camera is locked in this mode, for example in some shared or read-only views.
Objects look stacked in Front or Side view. Overlap is expected from those angles. Check Top for real positions.
Press T for Top view and P for Perspective view. The shortcuts work only when the canvas has focus, so if you were typing in the Catalog search, clear the field and click blank canvas first. Otherwise T and P just type letters into the search box.
Slice Above (tooltip Slice Above 2m) hides everything above 2 meters in Top view, so a table inside a canopy or tent becomes visible. It appears as a second round button under the view control and is only a viewing aid: it deletes nothing and moves nothing. Turn it off to bring the roof back.
Check Slice Above and Isolate before assuming it was deleted. Both hide objects without removing them. Turn Slice Above off in Top view, exit Isolate, and look from another angle. Only after that should you suspect a delete, which you can reverse with Undo.
After you switch from Top, the camera may keep its straight-down direction, so Perspective looks like Top. Make a small orbit by left-dragging on empty canvas to get an angled view. Your furniture has not moved; only the direction of the camera has changed.
Use Top view to check footprints, aisles, row spacing and alignment, because it is a straight overhead view. Use Perspective to judge height, depth and how the room looks to a client. A chair that looks aligned from above can still be floating, so check both before finishing.
Slice Above appears only in Top view, as a second round button under the view control. Press T or use the view control to switch to Top view first. The button is an icon without a text label, so look directly beneath the round view control.