You can rotate the scene view in Unity primarily by clicking and dragging with the right mouse button.
Here's a breakdown of the different methods and settings that influence scene view rotation:
Rotating the Scene View with the Mouse
- Right-Click and Drag: The most common way to rotate the scene view is to hold down the right mouse button and drag the mouse. This rotates the camera around the point it's currently focused on.
Scene Gizmo and Rotation Lock
- Scene Gizmo: Look at the top-right corner of the Scene view. You'll see a small gizmo with colored axes. Clicking and dragging on the colored cones of this gizmo will snap the scene view to a specific orthographic view (e.g., top, front, side). Clicking on the center cube toggles between perspective and orthographic views.
- Rotation Lock (Padlock): Critically, the Scene Gizmo also has a padlock icon.
- Padlock Enabled (Locked): When the padlock is unlocked (default state), right-clicking and dragging rotates the scene.
- Padlock Disabled (Unlocked): When the padlock is locked, right-clicking and dragging pans the scene view instead of rotating it. This is useful for fine-tuning your view position without accidentally changing the rotation.
Orbiting Around a Specific Object
- Frame Selected (F Key): Select an object in the Hierarchy or Scene view and press the "F" key. This focuses the scene view on that object. Now, when you right-click and drag, the camera will orbit around that object. This is extremely helpful for inspecting specific objects from all angles.
Alternative Input Methods
- Alt/Option + Left Click and Drag: In some Unity versions, holding Alt/Option and left-clicking and dragging might also provide scene view rotation capabilities. However, the right-click method is the standard and more reliable approach.
- Middle Mouse Button (MMB) Pan: While not rotation, the middle mouse button (or pressing the scroll wheel) usually pans the view. This can be helpful in conjunction with rotation for getting the exact view you need.
In summary, use the right mouse button (with the padlock unlocked on the scene gizmo) or the 'F' key combined with the right mouse button to orbit around an object. The scene gizmo's padlock controls whether right-clicking rotates or pans.
