OpenSCAD User Manual/First Steps/Opening an existing example model

A reviewed version of this page, approved on 3 July 2018, was based off this revision.

Open one of the many examples that come with OpenSCAD (File, Examples). Or you can copy and paste this simple example into the OpenSCAD window:

Usage example 1

difference() {
    cube(30, center=true);
    sphere(20);
}
translate([0, 0, 30]) {
    cylinder(h=40, r=10);
}

Then press F5 to get a graphical preview of what you typed (or press F6 to get a graphical view).

You get three types of movement in the preview frame:

Drag with left mouse button to rotate the view. The bottom line will change the rotate values.
Drag with any other mouse button (or control-drag under OSX) to translate (move) the view. The bottom line will change translate values.
Use the mouse scroll to zoom in and out. Alternatively you can use the + and - keys, or right-drag with the mouse while pressing a shift key (or control-shift-drag under OSX). The Viewport line at the bottom of the window will show a change in the distance value.

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