Change Your Unity Editor Layout To Be More Productive!
The Unity Editor is a powerful piece of software and, to get the most out of it, you should customize the layout to something that will help you build your games faster.
Now when you open up a new project, the layout of all the panels will look like this:
This is the Default layout of the editor. It’s great for starting out but as you dive further into game development, you’ll realize that this layout may seem a bit restrictive. The biggest reason for this is that Scene and Game windows are in the same area, thereby not allowing you to view both at the same time.
Before we set up our new layout, there are few things you need to know about the panels in Unity. The first being is that all the panels are movable:
In the above animation, you can see me moving the Hierarchy panel from the top-right, and docking it with the Project and Console panels on the bottom. All panels can be moved this way. Simply click and drag the panel’s name. Once the panel is over a certain area, you’ll see it dock into place.
You can even make panels float and move them to other screens if you so desire.
Feel free to play around with the panels. Knowing how to rearrange them around will allow you to set up the editor to your preference thereby speeding up your workflow.
Now, lets get started on getting a more productive layout.
Step 1:
In the layout dropdown, select “2 by 3”.
This is a great starting point. We can see both the Scene and Game panels, but to much space is being taken up by the other panels.
Step 2:
Drag the Project panel underneath the Hierarchy panel and resize the panels so that the Scene and Game panels take about 1/2 to 2/3rd’s the space of the full window.
Now we have plenty of space for our Scene and Game panels. Also, since the Hierarchy panel is close to our Inspector, dragging and dropping GameObjects into our components will be easier.
Step 3:
On the Project panel, click on the menu icon (the three vertical dots on the top-right of the panel) and select “One Column Layout.”
This will give you a more streamlined Project panel layout to make up for the lack of space from rearranging everything.
Step 4:
In the Game panel, at the top, you’ll see a dropdown that says “Free Aspect.” Click this and select “16:9 Aspect.”
Since most computer monitors nowadays are 16:9, doing this step will make sure that we see exactly what our players will see as we build our game.
Step 5:
Go up to the Layout dropdown and selecting “Save Layout.” Give it name and click “Save.”
Saving our layout will allow us to quickly rearrange the panels for our future projects.
That’s it! Now you’re all set to become a more productive game developer!
