The Preview Scene Settings panel enables you to quickly assess what your assets will look like in multiple environments and light scenarios without having to set up these scenes within your level. Several different settings can be defined and applied from Skeletal Meshes to lighting and Post Process effects all within each of the Animation Tools inside the editor.
The location of the Preview Scene Settings panel can be found in the upper-right corner of the Animation Tool you are using.
If you close the Preview Scene Settings panel, you can re-enable it from the Window option from the menu toolbar.
You can also access the Preview Scene Setting panel from the Viewport Options drop-down menu.
Animation
The following options are available within the Animation section.
The Preview Controller enables you to define how the preview is animated.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Default | Defaults to the Animation Tool's setting |
| Reference Pose | Uses the reference pose for the Skeletal Mesh |
| Use Specific Animation | Enables you to define an animation to use. |
| Live Link Preview Controller | Enables you to preview using the Live Link settings. |
Mesh
This section enables you to change the Skeletal Mesh used for previewing.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Preview Mesh (Animation) | The Skeletal Mesh to use for previewing. |
Each type of asset, whether it's an Animation Sequence, Animation Blueprint, or a Skeleton can store and be overridden with different Preview Meshes. The order of overriding goes from Skeleton to Asset, so if an asset doesn't have an override, it defaults to the Skeleton's Preview Mesh.
Additional Meshes
This section enables you to include additional Skeletal Meshes to the preview scene as part of a Preview Mesh Collection.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Allow Different Skeletons | When selecting an additional mesh, whether or not to filter by the current Skeleton. |
| Allow Custom AnimBP Override | When using a preview collection, allow it to override custom Animation Blueprints. |
| Additional Meshes | The Preview Mesh Collection to use as included meshes for previewing. |
| Skeletal Meshes | The Skeletal Mesh assets that are included in the specified Preview Mesh Collection. |
Preview Mesh Collections are useful when you have several Skeletal Meshes that are related (like components of a character). Preview Mesh Collections are also very flexible and support the use of unsaved assets within an unsaved collection. They can also be extended by projects that might need to interface with other systems that can "build" a Skeletal Mesh out of other Skeletal Mesh parts.
Settings
This section contains various settings for Lighting, Environment, and Post Processing, that define the makeup of the viewport for previewing as well as establishing Profiles.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Profile Name | Name to identify the profile. |
| Shared Profile | Whether or not this profile should be stored in the project.ini file. |
Settings can be saved as a Profile and you can add or switch between Profiles from the Profiles menu at the bottom of the window.
Lighting
The following options are available for Lighting in the viewport.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Use Sky Lighting | Whether or not this profile should be stored in the project.ini file. |
| Directional Light Intensity | Manually set the directional light intensity (0.0 - 20.0). |
| Direction Light Color | Manually set the directional light color. |
| Sky Light Intensity | Manually set the sky light intensity (0.0 - 20.0). |
| Rotate Sky and Directional Lighting | Toggle rotating of the sky and directional lighting. Press K and drag for manual rotating of Sky and L for Directional Lighting. |
| Environment Intensity | The environment lighting intensity when Show Environment is disabled. |
| Lighting Rig Rotation | Current rotation value of the sky in degrees (0 - 360). |
| Rotation Speed | Speed at which the sky rotates when rotating is toggled. |
Environment
The following options are available for the Environment in the viewport.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Show Environment | Toggle the visibility of the environment sphere. |
| Show Floor | Toggle the visibility of the floor. |
| Environment Color | The color used for the environment if Show Environment is disabled. |
| Environment Cube Map | Sets environment cube map used for sky lighting and reflections. |
Post Processing
In the Post Processing section, you can apply various Post Processing effects or disable Post Processing effects entirely.
Please see the Post Processing documentation for more information.