In first-person navigation mode, you can navigate the camera through the 3D view as though you are walking through it. A constant elevation is maintained as you move, and you can adjust the travel speed to simulate walking. It is similar to what you experience in a computer game. Use first-person navigation mode for exploring scenes when you want to explore as though you are physically present, such as walking inside a building or along a street.
Access first-person navigation mode from the Explore tool drop-down menu on the Map tab or from the on-screen navigator control in a scene.
Turn first-person navigation mode on or off
You can turn first-person navigation on or off in a local or global scene by doing one of the following:
- On the Map tab, in the Explore tool drop-down menu, check First-Person Navigation. Uncheck it to return to standard navigation.
- On the on-screen navigator control, click the First-Person Navigation button
.
Tip:
To enable the navigator control if it's not visible, right-click the scene and check Navigator 
from the context menu list.
Navigate in first-person navigation mode
In first-person navigation mode, you move the camera using the keyboard and use the mouse pointer to set the travel direction. Press an arrow key to keep moving, and use the mouse to look around. Also known as strafing, this form of navigation is common in computer games. The mouse pointer changes to crosshairs when you are in this mode. Speed is indicated as a horizontal bar graph below the icon on the navigator control and is adjustable. You can use the mouse wheel to change speed or click the speed indicator bar. The greater amount of fill in the speed indicator color, the faster the speed. Temporary arrows appear next to the speed indicator while you are scrolling to display active increases or decreases in speed.
First-person navigation mode does not support collision detection, which means the camera may pass through objects displayed in the scene such as walls and other 3D objects such as cars. The camera does honor underground navigation when that ground surface setting is turned on.
Keyboard actions
Press and hold one or more keys to move the camera through the view.
| Keyboard shortcut | Action | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Up arrow key and Down arrow key | Move the camera forward or backward from the center of the view. | Press and hold the Up arrow key or Down arrow key to move the camera forward and backward along the camera's current view direction. As the camera moves, point the mouse to set the direction you want to travel. Optionally, use the W and S keys to change direction. |
Left arrow key and Right arrow key | Move the camera left or right from the center of the view. | Press and hold the Left arrow key or Right arrow key to move the camera left and right perpendicular to the camera's view direction. As the camera moves, point the mouse to set the direction you want to move perpendicular to. Optionally, use the A and D keys to change direction. Using the arrow keys and the mouse pointer together creates the sense of motion for travel and looking around. |
U | Increase the elevation of the camera. | |
J | Decrease the elevation of the camera. | |
W | Change the view direction of the scene by tilting the camera up. | |
S | Change the view direction of the scene by tilting the camera down. | |
A | Rotate the view counterclockwise. | |
D | Rotate the view clockwise. |
Mouse actions
Use the mouse for additional first-person navigation and interaction options in the scene.
| Mouse action | Description |
|---|---|
Wheel | Rotate the wheel forward to increase travel speed; rotate it backward to decrease travel speed. Camera travel speed is indicated on the on-screen navigator under the first-person icon. |
Click | Open a pop-up for a feature in the scene. |
Click and drag | Rotate the camera's viewpoint, similar to pressing B+drag or B+arrow keys, to look around. |
Right-click and drag | Interactively zoom toward or away from the clicked point. |