The standard navigation controls are sometimes limiting,
especially for large environments such as architectural models.
In these cases, it may be preferable to use first person controls instead,
where you can look around while «standing» in one place
rather than orbiting around a central viewpoint.
Blender offers two such alternative navigation methods: Flying and Walking.
You can initiate either method from the View ‣ Navigation
menu. You can also initiate your preferred one (configured
in the Preferences)
by pressing Shift-AccentGrave.
This can be a quick way to navigate a large scene.
Positioning a camera
When activated from a camera view Numpad0,
the camera will move along with you.
Recording camera movement
You can record the path you take by entering a camera view, enabling
Auto Keying in the Timeline,
starting animation playback, and finally activating Fly/Walk navigation.
The path will be recorded as camera keyframes which can then be
used for rendering.
Animation playback can’t be controlled while Fly/Walk navigation is active,
so when you’re done recording, you first need to exit the navigation
with LMB before you can stop playback.
Move the mouse in the direction you want to look and use the keys
listed below to walk around the scene.
When you are happy with the new view, press LMB to confirm.
In case you want to go back to where you started, press Esc or RMB.
All these keys are also listed in the Status Bar while navigating.
Settings like mouse sensitivity and default speed can be adjusted in the
Preferences.
W/Up
Move forward.
S/Down
Move backward.
A/Left
Strafe left.
D/Right
Strafe right.
E
Move up (global) – only available if Gravity is off.
Q
Move down (global) – only available if Gravity is off.
R
Move up (local) – only available if Gravity is off.
F
Move down (local) – only available if Gravity is off.
Spacebar
Teleport to the location at the crosshair
(offset by the Camera Height value set in the Preferences).
WheelUp/NumpadPlus
Increase the movement speed.
WheelDown/NumpadMinus
Decrease the movement speed.
Shift
Speed up the movement temporarily.
Alt
Slow down the movement temporarily.
V
Jump – only available if Gravity is on.
Tab
Toggle Gravity.
Z
Correct the Z axis of the view (smoothly roll it to ensure it’s upright,
not tilted to a side).
Move the mouse outside the safe zone in the direction you want to look.
Click LMB or press Spacebar to keep the current view and exit Fly navigation.
In case you want to go back to where you started, press Esc or RMB.
W/Up
Accelerate forward.
S/Down
Accelerate backward.
A/Left
Accelerate left.
D/Right
Accelerate right.
E
Accelerate upward.
Q
Accelerate downward.
MMB
Drag to pan the view. Flying will pause while you’re doing this.
WheelUp/NumpadPlus
Increase the acceleration in the direction of motion.
If there is no motion, start accelerating forward.
WheelDown/NumpadMinus
Decrease the acceleration in the direction of motion.
If there is no motion, start accelerating backward.
Alt
Slow down as long as the key is held, until the view eventually comes to a standstill.
Ctrl
Disable rotation – while held, the view rotation doesn’t influence the flight direction.
This allows you to fly past an object, keeping it centered in the view
even as you fly away from it.
X
Toggle X axis correction. If enabled, the view will smoothly pitch to look at the
horizon when the cursor is in the safe zone.
Z
Toggle Z axis correction. If enabled, the view will smoothly roll to an upright
orientation.
