Camera View

The Camera View is the rectangular window that, by default, is in the bottom half of the Course Architect's interface.

Using the Camera View is like walking around a golf course wearing high-tech goggles and a rocket pack. You can travel the course in a single bound, hover at any height and adjust your field of view. This window provides your eyes while you build your masterpiece.
Controlling where you are, and in turn what you see, in the Camera View is achieved by using cameras in the Top View. Please see the section on Cameras for an explanation of the Camera controls.

Main Sections of the Camera View:

1. Concept
2. Moving Around the Course
2. Editing and Placing Objects
3. Terrain Editing
4. Right-click Menu
5. Panorama Editing

Concept

The Camera View lets you see the terrain changes you make.

What you see in the Camera View is primarily controlled by manipulating the cameras in the Top View.

With the Default Tool active, clicking on any terrain in the Camera View will display the red and white Surveyor's Pole,

which represents a constant height, no matter where on the course it is. If it appears small, then you know the spot it's on is far away.

As you move the pole around, information changes in the Status Bar at the lower left-hand side of the window.

Moving Around the Course

You can "walk around" and look at details of your course by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. The up and down arrows let you walk forward and backward, while left and right keys let you turn (oddly enough) left and right. Hold down the Shift key when you want to take larger steps.

Moving the camera in the Top View is a straightforward way to move large distances. Click on the colored camera box and drag it where you want to go.

The quickest way to get to a pin or tee that you can't see is to choose Go to Hole… from the View menu. This will change the Camera View instantly to the flagstick or tee of the hole of your choice.

You can also double-click in the Camera View window to bring up a camera control triangle similar to the one in the Top View. See Cameras for more information.

Editing and Placing Objects

One nice thing about the Camera View is that you can immediately see the objects you place on the course. To place trees, rocks and other objects, double-click on that object in the Objects View, then click on the spot in the Camera View where you want the object to be.

To place a number of the same type of object, click multiple times or use the Place Objects Tool.
To move an object, choose Objects from the Edit menu. Drag the object to its new position in the Camera View.
To edit an object or delete it altogether, choose Objects from the Edit menu. Right-click on the selected object and choose either Properties... to edit the object or Delete Object to remove it. See also Editing a Library Object and Deleting a Library Object.

Terrain Editing

You can raise mountains, dig valleys, cry rivers and see it all in the Camera View.
Use the Shape and Area Selector tools

to select different areas of your course in the Top View. Selected terrain shows up in both the Top and Camera Views as white dashes snaking around the selection's borders.

Right-click on the white Control Square

to get a pop up menu for de-selecting and other variables.
Once an area is selected, the Fill, Smooth, Sculpt and Object Tools all work in the Camera View.
If no area is selected, each click will affect only one small grid square. This is good for sculpting your course bit by bit.
You can also edit the grid in the Camera View. Choose Grid from the Edit menu. This will activate the course's grid pattern. By clicking and dragging a grid unit's vertex, you can change the shape of that unit (but not on the borderline between two different types of terrain). If you hold down the Shift key while you drag a vertex, the vertex moves up and down, rather than back and forth across its original plane. This gives you a simple method of changing a spot's altitude on a small scale.

Right-click Menu

With the Default Tool active, right-click anywhere in the Camera View window to display the pop-up menu.

Detail Level

This command lets you control your range of visibility and the level of detail you can see in the Camera View. Selecting it brings up a dialog box:

In the "How far you can see" box, there are three sliding bars. The farther to the right the sliders are set, the more resources your computer must use to comply with your request. Depending on the capacity of your computer, this may slow it down considerably. You may need to do some experimentation to find a good compromise between computer speed and screen resolution.
Maximum
This controls the maximum distance your camera can see. If this is set for 400 yards, you will only be able to see terrain and objects up to 400 yards away.
Detailed Terrain
This controls the range in which terrain is drawn by the computer at a high level of detail. If this is set for 200 yards, you will see fully detailed terrain (that is, no jagged lines on rivers, cart paths and so forth) up to 200 yards away.
Auto Checkbox
If this box is checked, the distance for all settings will increase as you raise the camera height, or decrease as you lower it. This could end up moving the sliders and using more computing power.
Objects
This controls the range at which you can see objects (trees, bushes and so forth). If this is set for 200 yards, you will not see any objects on your course past 200 yards, even though they're there.
Show Panorama
If checked, this displays a background of mountains or other scenery on the horizon of your course. This takes up a bit of the computer's memory, so you might try leaving it unchecked if you're having some problems.

Move Camera

This command brings up the camera triangle and control handles. See Camera for how to use the controls.

Show Objects

This command controls whether or not you can see trees, houses and other objects in the Camera View. Your computer will move faster if it doesn't have to worry about drawing all the objects -- but the course is so much prettier with the objects in there. Your choice.

Normalize Camera

This command resets the active camera to the defaults of 16 feet high and a tilt angle of about 80 degrees.

Panorama Editing

Yes, together we CAN move mountains!

Sometimes when you're setting up for a shot, those mountains on the horizon can break your concentration. Frankly, they're in the way. Here's what you can do if you encounter this problem.

Choose Panorama from the Edit menu. In the Camera View, your cursor will become a mountain icon when it's placed over any point above the horizon. Click and drag the horizon to the left or right. The panorama will slide in the direction you drag. While pressing the shift key, click and drag up or down. The panorama will slide up and down.

Mary, Queen of Scots, was one of the first well-known historical figures to publicly take up the game of golf.