Quick Start
Creating a Studio Project​
- To get started with a Studio project, click the "Start a new Project" button from the Workspace page.
- If your workspace is on a
Pro plan, you'll need to select a project type. Select Studio:
- Select a Template: When you open the new project, you will be presented with a few Project Templates to help you get started, including gaming-oriented and AR-oriented templates. These project templates showcase different functionalities, and can be easily modified by swapping in your own assets. Create a project using one of the available templates or create a project from the Empty template.
When your project has loaded everything it needs for you to begin, you can start creating.
Navigating the Interface​
Limit your project to a single browser tab. Having multiple tabs of the same project open simultaneously can cause unexpected issues during the build process. To avoid potential problems, ensure only one tab of your project is active at a time.
Studio features a rich editor interface made up of a number of different tools and views, each of which are essential when developing your project.
The sections below showcase the main Studio editor interface elements, with the fundamental features highlighted.
Hierarchy​
View the entities and objects included in the space, and change their nesting. You can reparent or unparent the object by clicking and dragging it to another position in the hierarchy. Right click to duplicate or delete objects. Add new objects to your space. Search and filter for different objects.
Assets​
Files & Assets can be managed from the lower left panel. Upload your own 3D models, 2D images, audio files, custom scripts and more. Create folders and drag files to reorganize their placement. You can also drag and drop an asset into the Viewport or the Hierarchy to add the entity into your scene. To learn more about using and optimizing 3D Modules in GLB/GLTF format please see Your 3D Models on the Web.
Viewport​
Add, position, update, and work with objects and lighting in the space. Use the lower perspective gizmo to change the view of the scene, change lighting and shadow visibility, and switch from orthographic to perspective view. Use the top toolbar to change the position, rotation, or scale of a selected object, or to undo and redo edits.
Viewport Navigation Shortcuts​
| Function | Keyboard Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Camera Orbit | ⌥ Left Click+Drag |
| Camera Pan | ⌥ Right Click+Drag, Right Click+Drag, Middle Click+Drag |
| Camera Zoom | Scroll Wheel |
| Focus on Selected Object | F |
| Translate | W |
| Rotate | E |
| Scale | R |
| Hide/Show UI Layer | ⌘\ |
| Delete Object | Delete |
| Duplicate | ⌘D |
| Copy Object | ⌘C |
| Paste Object | ⌘V |
| Undo | ⌘Z |
| Redo | ⌘⇧Z, ⌘Y |
Simulator & Preview Links​
Simulator​
When you go to play your scene - it connects a Simulator instance. Your viewport will remotely reflect the playback happening in the Simulator. You can see spawned or procedural objects that are happening in playback in the space hierarchy. You can make edits to the entities in your space and see those immediately reflected in the client view. In your Space settings, if you have Persist Changes while in Play Mode turned on, those changes will persist after the play state is disconnected. The currently connected client is indicated with the plug icon.
The Simulator also lets you test and view project changes across different device viewport sizes and simulated real-world environments without needing to leave Studio. The Simulator works by running the 8th Wall AR Engine in realtime on top of the included collection of pre-recorded AR sequences. You may open as many Simulator instances as you want, allowing you to test project changes across a diverse range of scenarios. The Simulator has a number of playback controls and convenience features like:
- Play bar, scrubber and in/out handles: Allow you to set up loop points, giving you granular control over the selected sequence.
- Recenter button (lower right): Recenters the camera feed to its origin. NOTE: Recenter is also called each time the sequence loops and each time a new sequence is selected.
- Refresh button (top right): Refreshes the page, retaining cached content. Holding SHIFT and clicking the refresh button will perform a full reload, ignoring any cached content.
Preview Links​
Instantly preview projects on mobile, desktop, or headset device or in another browser window as you develop via link/QR code.
Using Live Preview​
- At the top of the Cloud Editor window, click the Connect new device button.
- Scan the QR code with your mobile device to open a web browser and look at a live preview of the WebAR project. Or click on the QR code to open a new tab in your current browser
- When the page loads, if your project uses Web AR, you'll be prompted for access to motion and orientation sensors (on some devices) and the camera (all devices). Click Allow for all permission prompts. You will be taken to the private development URL for the project.
- Note: The "Preview" QR code displayed within the Cloud Editor is a temporary, one-time use QR code only meant for use by the developer while actively working in the Cloud Editor. This QR code takes you to a private, development URL, and isn't accessible by others. To share your work with others, please see the section below on Publishing your project.
- Click the headset icon to generate a link for a headset device.
Testing your project on multiple devices ensures that users will see a consistent experience across a variety of screen sizes and platforms.
Launch Toolbar​
Studio will automatically save your progress as you work on a project, however, key stages in development can be marked by manually building your project, landing your changes as commits, and publishing your project.
Build: Click Build to save your work and initiate a new cloud build of your project.
Land or Sync: Once satisfied with your changes, land the updated code into Studio's integrated source control. At the top-right of the Studio window, click Land. The button will be green, indicating that there are changes in your project that have not yet been landed into source control. "Sync" indicates that your project is not up to date with the latest landed changes in source control (example: another team member has landed project changes into the source control).
Publish: The final step is to publish your updated and landed project code using 8th Wall's Built-in Hosting. Public allows the project to be viewed publicly by anyone on the internet. Staging allows those with a passcode to view your project.
Once you are ready to publish your project you will need a description and cover image. To learn more about the Publishing Flow and Featuring a Project for public viewing please see the Publishing Section in the general 8th Wall Documentation.
Inspector & Space Settings​
View and configure object-specific components, as well as adjust overall settings for the editor.
General Settings​
When no object is selected you will see general settings for your project.
Space Settings​
Style your Space’s Skybox. Skyboxes are a wrapper around your entire scene that shows what the world looks like beyond your geometry. If your project is configured to use AR on an AR-compatible device, (see XR) the Skybox will not be rendered.
Source Control​
Manage different versions of your project and change history. Creating a new client creates a new version of your project which can be helpful for testing changes without affecting your main version. You can also access a history of the project’s previous Landed changes by selecting the Project History function.
Inputs​
Use the Input Manager to set up experiences that work across different devices inputs like keyboards, gamepad controls, trackpads, and touch screen actions. Create your event action and set up a mapping (or binding) to different inputs. Learn more the Input system
Code Editor​
Choose from different usability settings like light/dark modes, keybindings, and code save settings.
Play Mode​
If you have the Live Sync setting turned on, changes you make in the Editor will persist after the Simulator or Live Preview is disconnected. With this setting turned off, you can make edits in the Editor and see those edits reflected in the Simulator but those edits will not be saved once the Simulator is disconnected. For more information on the Simulator see the Simulator section. Persist Changes is on by default.
Inspector​
Inspect and configure an entity and its components. Learn more about entities and components in Key Concepts.
By default every entity displays a Transform component in the Inspector. Different types of entities may display different components, for example a Primitive will display a Mesh component with configurable options like geometry shape settings, materials, textures, etc.
Adding a Component​
You can add a component using the "+ New Component" button. There are several types of built-in components in Studio, including Physics, Lighting, Audio, Animations, and more. Custom components can also be added - Learn more about Custom Components. Once set up, your custom component will appear in the Custom category. Click the three dots to remove a component.
Console​
Debug your project build actions and runtime. Debug Mode is an advanced Studio feature that provides logging, performance information, and enhanced visualizations directly on your device.
Code Editor​
The 8th Wall Code Editor equips developers with a set of coding tools to create, collaborate and publish web-based XR content. Our powerful IDE includes the code editor, integrated source control, commit history, live preview, wireless remote debugging and push-button hosting on a global CDN. Other Code Editor features include:
- Intellisense
- Command Palette
- Code Peek
- Light/Dark Themes
Modules​
8th Wall Modules is a powerful 8th Wall feature designed to dramatically increase the efficiency of project development. 8th Wall Modules allow you to save and reuse components (code, assets, files) within your Workspace and also find and import 8th Wall created Modules into your project.
Learn more about 8th Wall Modules.
Landing Page Module​
Next to the Files Browser you will see a tab called Modules. Each of the sample projects including the basic Empty project come with the "Landing Page" module. To learn more about Modules in general see our 8th Wall Modules overview.
Landing Pages are customizable with the Module configurator. All Landing Page templates are optimized for branding and education with various layouts, an improved QR code design and support for key media.
Landing Pages ensure that your users have a meaningful experience no matter what device they are on. They appear on devices that are not allowed or capable of accessing the Web AR experience directly.
Landing Pages intelligently adapt to your configuration. For example:
We recommend all projects use the Landing Page Module to ensure a consistent experience across devices.