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Alternate between design and preview to rapidly iterate on a prototype.
Testing little an often, even when working alone, is crucial to quickly refining a design. Just like jumping to preview and back in Figma, or Webflow, the same can be done in matchboxxr.
You can do this by simply clicking on the 'preview' button in the top right of the Editor. It has a 'play' icon and reveals 'preview' on hover.
You are met with a modal asking what device you are using. You can do the same things using either desktop or VR preview modes. Pick your device, for this guide we are using desktop. If you are on desktop, you'll need to click on the dot in the screen centre. For a VR headset, you may need to allow permission for the website to access VR mode.
And that's it for entering preview. You can see the contents of the scene and look around. You can select the edit button to return to edit. It has a pencil icon and reveals 'editor' on hover.
Let's explore some of the other things you can do in preview mode.
You can see other previewing users. They will be alongside you, represented by a head in a VR headset.
You can also see the cursors of editing users. They zoom around the scene as the editors move their mouse and reposition their perspective.
You can move around a scene by walking freely if you own a VR headset that allows this. But if you don't, you can move around a scene while sitting or standing still. Use teleport to do this.
This uses blink teleportation, meaning there is no gradual transition. Please do get in touch if this causes disorientation or sickness. And be mindful of advising users to employ this technique if they are sensitive to motion sickness. Here's a video of teleportation in action.
If you want to change scenes, you do this by selecting an interactive model (another way of changing scene is coming soon). You change scenes by using matchboxxr's rudimentary interactivity feature.
To trigger a scene change, simply select an interactive item. If something is interactive, the desktop reticule will expand from a dot to a circle, on hover. For a VR headset user, a line appears from the controller to the object, representing the raycaster of the controller being activated.
Select the third person preview button from the first person preview, to switch perspectives. The button has a globe icon and reveals 'switch to orbit' on hover.
Then you can view a preview of a prototype from third person, useful for guests who do not have edit access. You can also change scene using the 'back' and 'next' buttons.
Click the 'VR preview' button to return to first person preview. It has an eye icon and reveals 'switch to VR' on hover.