Hi ZapWorks Community,
This next tech demo is designed to teach you the best practices you can use when creating projects in ZapWorks Studio to optimise your workflow, as well as some handy tips and tricks that will make your production that bit easier.
For a more in depth look at getting started with the Studio UI, please check out this article.
Navigating the Scene
There are a few ways you can navigate your scene - the controls for these can be found in the bottom-right corner of the viewport.
- View allows you to change the angle of your camera, as well as zoom in and out. This can also be performed with your right-click and scroll wheel.
- Pan allows you to move the camera in a 2D view.
- Orbit allows you to orbit around the central point of your cameras view.
Resetting the Viewport
There are times when your content disappears due to moving, panning or zooming the camera too far.
- Select the burger menu to the left of the Media Library.
- This will open up a menu - in which you can select to reset the camera back to the default state, or to a specific direction relative to the scene.
Using Groups
Groups are very useful to keep similar content together, organise your Hierarchy, as well as alter the properties of your nodes all at the same time.
To create your group, right-click on your root node (or if creating sub-groups, right-click an existing group) and select New → Group. To add content to this group, simply drag your node on top of your group.
Previewing
You can test experiences in Studio using the preview function.
- Select the ‘Preview’ button in the top left hand corner of Studio.
- A pop-up will appear prompting you to log in to your ZapWorks account through the browser. Please select Authorize in your browser to complete login.
- You project will be uploaded and a preview Zapcode will appear. This is a temporary Zapcode that only lasts for 5 minutes so be sure to scan it quickly!
As your preview Zapcode is only available for 5 minutes, please do not print this off or distribute this code.
Publishing
- Select the ‘Publish’ button along the top of the Studio GUI.
- A list of the projects on your workspace will appear. Select which project you wish to publish to. The project you select must be a Studio project.
If your ZapWorks account is part of multiple workspaces, you can change the workspace by clicking the drop-down menu.
Exporting
If you are looking to share a project with somebody else, send the project so support or even use one of the symbols in another project, then you can use Studio’s export function to create a .ZPP file.
- Select the ‘Export’ button in the top left hand corner of Studio.
- An export menu will now appear. Here, you can select whether to export your entire project, or just the symbol you currently have selected. You can also choose to include your commit history which can be useful for debugging purposes.
Importing
When you open ZapWorks Studio, you are given the option of importing a ZPP file. This is especially useful when sharing work with others, or working from a project template.
- Select the ‘Import a ZPP File’ box on the ZapWorks Studio opening menu.
- Navigate your file explorer and find the .ZPP file you wish to import.
- Choose a name for your project and select OK. Your project will now import to studio and will be listed under your projects.
Committing
Studio automatically saves your project, however, you can store a unique version of your project using the commit function. This allows you to revert back to that committed version at anytime.
- Select the ‘Commit’ button in the top left of Studio.
- A commit pop-up will appear. Choose the name of your commit and press enter.
- To revert your project back to a commit, select the lightning bolt in the top left of Studio → Commit History → Revert to Selected.
I hope this helps!
Please let us know on this thread if you have any specific demos you would like to see from us!
Adam