Unity Editor Basics & A More Productive Editor Layout
If this is your first time looking at the Unity Editor, you may feel a little intimated, but don’t worry, we all did! But lucky for you, this tutorial will show you just how simple the editor really is!
Quick Overview
- This is the Scene View! It’s how you see your game of course! In Unity, levels are called “Scenes”, so the Scene View let’s you see and edit the Scene that you currently have loaded.
- This is the Hierarchy, it works as a list of everything that is in your Scene! This could include objects, lights, and cameras to name a few!
- This is your Project Window, it’s a place where you can access all the files you have for your game! This could include game art, audio, and scripts to name a few!
- This is called the Inspector, whenever you click on an object in your Scene, Hierarchy, or Project Window, all of that object’s details and information will appear in the Inspector!
- A fifth hidden window is the Game Window, you access it by clicking on the “Game” Tab right next to the “Scene” tab.
The Game Window is how you see the game, the way that the Player will see it. As well as whenever you want to play your game, it will run in the Game Window.
Professional Layout
Workflow is extremely important when working in any program, and a large element of the Unity Workflow is your Editor Layout. The Default Layout that Unity launches in can cause a lot of inconveniences and can be frustrating at times to work with. So, we are going to customize it to a much more professional and optimized layout, and learn how to save this layout so it can be used for all our Unity Projects.
This Professional Layout is actually a slightly modified “Tall” Layout, which you can find on the top right corner of Unity next to the “Layers” menu.
Once you have the current Layout set to “Tall”, simply click and drag the Game Window handle away from the Scene Window, and place it directly below it.
Adjust the windows so that they are evenly spaced with eachother and voila! You have a Professional Layout!
Now, to save this layout for future use, go back to the top right corner of Unity, click on the Layout menu and select “Save Layout…”, name it whatever you like and hit “Save”!
If you are ready to learn more about the Basics of Unity, check out my next tutorial on Unity’s Tools!
https://ethanbristowe.medium.com/unity-tool-basics-c22fa48278f3
