Viewport Smooth Zoom
Hold Alt and drag with the right mouse button to dolly the viewport camera smoothly toward its pivot.
Wanting a smoother viewport zooming experience? Then give the ALT + hold right mouse button + drag the mouse shortcut a shot. Both horizontal and vertical mouse movement drive the zoom.
The mouse wheel moves the camera forward and backward in fixed steps, however, ALT + right mouse drag dollies the camera continuously toward or away from its pivot point, so you can stop at exactly the distance you want.
This little shortcut has been invaluable over the years~
How do I zoom toward a specific actor?
The dolly moves the camera along the line between the camera and its pivot, and zooming in stops at the pivot instead of flying through it.
So press F to focus the selected actor first. That sets the pivot, and the dolly then zooms toward that actor.
Here are the other ALT camera shortcuts that work alongside it:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
ALT + Left Mouse Drag | Orbit around the pivot |
ALT + Middle Mouse Drag | Track the camera left, right, up, and down |
ALT + Right Mouse Drag | Dolly toward or away from the pivot |
| Mouse Wheel | Move forward or backward in steps |
Holding the left and middle mouse buttons together with ALT also dollies the camera.
Frequently asked questions
How can I change the dolly speed?
The dolly speed follows the viewport’s camera speed setting. You can also enable Use distance-scaled camera speed in the advanced options of Editor Preferences > Level Editor > Viewports > Controls, which scales the dolly by how far the camera is from the pivot. It’s off by default.
Can I flip the drag direction?
Yes. Enable Invert Right Mouse Dolly Y Axis in Editor Preferences > Level Editor > Viewports > Controls to flip the vertical drag direction.
Links
Check out the following resources to learn more about the subject.
Unreal Directive is free and ad-free.
If it saved you time, you can help keep it that way.