# 3D preview tab reference > Explore the properties and settings available in the 3D preview to inspect assets, control camera behavior, customize grid and wireframe displays, and manage viewing tools. In the **Project Assets** interface, select an asset to preview it. By default, it opens in the **Thumbnail** tab, which is a 2D viewer. Select the **3D preview** tab to inspect your asset in a 3D viewer. > **Note:** > > The 3D preview provides an approximation of your asset. Unity Pipeline converts assets into a format optimized for web preview. Custom shaders, materials, lighting, and other rendering effects might not appear exactly as they do in the Unity Editor. ## 3D preview toolbar Explore the properties in the **3D preview** tab, starting at the upper-left corner and moving clockwise. **The properties available in the \*\*3D preview\*\* tab:** ![Unity Pipeline architecture](/api/media?file=/unity-production-pipeline/media/images/3d-viewer-ui-reference.png) | **Label** | **Property** | **Description** | | --------- | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **A** | Environment, Lighting, Background | Configures the Environment, Lighting, and Background settings in the **3D preview** tab to control how assets appear. | | **B** | Material channels | Shows the material channels assigned to a 3D asset. | | **C** | Wireframe settings | Shows or hides the wireframe and select a wireframe color. | | **D** | Grid settings | Shows or hides the grid and customize the grid. | | **E** | Camera settings | Controls the camera view mode and alignment. | | **F** | Enter full screen | Expands the **3D preview** tab to full screen mode. | | **G** | Keyboard shortcuts | Shows keyboard shortcuts for navigation and scene selection. | | **H** | Snapshot viewer | Downloads a snapshot of the current view. | | **I** | Viewer settings | Configures camera movement, speed, and clipping behavior. | ### Environment settings Explore the properties in the **Environment** settings in the upper-left corner of the **3D preview** tab. > **Note:** > > The background is blurred by default. Turn off **Blur Background** to remove the blur. | **Property** | **Description** | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Pure diffuse** | Uses unlit, diffuse shading to show base colors and materials without environmental influence. | | **Studio** | Uses a controlled studio setup to simulate balanced ambient lighting and soft reflections. | | **Morning** | Uses a sky-based lighting environment with soft, warm tones to simulate magic hour lighting. | | **Sunny** | Uses strong overhead direct lighting to simulate bright highlights and defined shadows. | | **Cloudy** | Uses diffused sky lighting to simulate overcast conditions. | | **Night** | Uses low, desaturated lighting with a night sky to simulate nighttime conditions. | | **City Night** | Uses an urban night environment to simulate artificial lighting and complex reflections. | | **Unity Default** | Uses the default environment from the Unity Editor. | ### Lighting settings Explore the properties in the **Lighting** settings in the upper-left corner of the **3D preview** tab. | **Property** | **Description** | | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Directional light toggle** | Enables or disables the directional light in the scene. | | **HDRI Rotation slider** | Adjusts the rotation of the HDR environment to change lighting direction and reflections. | > **Note:** > > Turn on **Snap to Model Ground Plane** to align the asset with its bounding box. ### Background settings Explore the properties in the **Background settings** in the upper-left corner of the **3D preview** tab. | **Property** | **Description** | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Background color** | Sets a solid color as the background for the viewer. | | **HDR Background toggle** | Enables or disables the HDR environment as the background. | | **Blur Background toggle** | Enables or disables background blur to reduce visual detail and improve focus on the asset. | > **Note:** > > To remove the background color, select a different environment. ### Material channels Use material channels to inspect a 3D asset without changing the original asset’s materials. Material channels are baked into the model as a single texture. This enables efficient rendering and ensures a consistent appearance across environments. You can inspect the following material channels: | Material channel | Description | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | | [**Albedo**](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StandardShaderMaterialParameterAlbedoColor.html) | Defines the base color of the surface. | | [**Emission**](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StandardShaderMaterialParameterEmission.html) | Controls light that the material emits. | | [**Metalness**](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StandardShaderMaterialParameterMetallic.html) | Determines how metallic the surface appears. | | [**Normal map**](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StandardShaderMaterialParameterNormalMap.html) | Adds surface detail without increasing geometry. | | [**Occlusion map**](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StandardShaderMaterialParameterOcclusionMap.html) | Simulates shadowed areas to enhance depth. | | [**Opacity**](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StandardShaderTransparency.html) | Adjusts the transparency of the surface. | | [**Roughness**](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StandardShaderMetallicVsSpecular.html) | Controls how shiny or matte the material appears. | | [**UV checkerboard**](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/LightingGiUvs.html) | Displays the UV layout to debug textures. | ### Wireframe settings Explore the properties in the **Wireframe** settings in the upper-right corner of the **3D preview** tab. | **Property** | **Description** | | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | **Off** | Hides the wireframe on the 3D asset. | | **Wireframe on shaded** | Shows the wireframe on the 3D asset. | | **Show bounding box** | Displays the bounding box around the selected asset. | | **Color** | Selects a color for the wireframe. | ### Grid settings Explore the properties in the Grid settings in the upper-right corner of the **3D preview** tab. | **Property** | **Description** | | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Grid** | Shows or hides the grid in the viewer. | | **Axes enabled** | Shows or hides the grid axes. | | **Snap to Model Ground Plane** | Turns alignment to the ground plane on or off to position the asset accurately. | | **Scale** | Sets the spacing between grid lines. | | **Size** | Sets the overall dimensions of the grid. | | **Opacity** | Adjusts the transparency of the grid. | | **Plane** | Selects the plane on which the grid is displayed. | ### Camera settings Explore the properties in the camera settings in the upper-right corner of the **3D preview** tab. | **Property** | **Description** | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Orthographic** | Sets the camera to an orthographic view to remove perspective distortion. | | **Perspective** | Sets the camera to a perspective view to display depth and distance. | | **Align** | Aligns the camera to a predefined viewpoint. | ### Viewer settings Explore the properties in the Viewer settings in the lower-right corner of the **3D preview** tab, for camera movement and clipping. | **Property** | **Description** | | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Camera easing** | Enables smooth camera movement when starting or stopping. | | **Camera acceleration** | Enables gradual increases in camera movement speed. | | **Camera speed** | Sets the base movement speed of the camera. | | **Max speed** | Sets the maximum movement speed the camera can reach. | | **Custom clipping** | Enables custom near and far clipping values. | | **Near clip** | Sets the minimum distance from the camera at which objects are visible. | | **Far clip** | Sets the maximum distance from the camera at which objects are visible. |