Visual Space manual, Live Apps, Build And Export A Poly Scene

You will build a small local 3D scene, organize and inspect it, test one reversible edit, and download the supported result as a `.gltf` file. The finished export can carry visible Poly primitives, groups, transforms, and basic materials, but **it is not a saved Poly project** and cannot preserve the whole editing session.

You will build a small local 3D scene, organize and inspect it, test one reversible edit, and download the supported result as a .gltf file. The finished export can carry visible Poly primitives, groups, transforms, and basic materials, but it is not a saved Poly project and cannot preserve the whole editing session.

Decide Whether to Start This Session

Poly currently keeps the draft, scene objects, imported references, materials, and History only in the active app session. Refreshing, leaving the editor, opening the draft on another device, or returning later will not restore the scene. Plan to build and verify the export before you leave.

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Confirm your access - Sign in, join the space, and open the area where the draft belongs. Creating a draft requires standalone Poly access, Designer Pack access, or Engineer Pack access.

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Set aside one focused session - Keep Poly open until the downloaded file has been checked. History can correct mistakes while the session is active, but it is not autosave or recovery.

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Choose a compact first scene - A ground plane, two arranged shapes, and one group are enough to test the important workflow without making the partial export difficult to review.

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Choose the right workspace - Use Poly when you want to judge a scene visually. If the result depends on dimensions, constraints, or engineering intent, use Blueprints instead.

This walkthrough is for individual local editing. Poly does not currently provide meeting launch, collaborator presence, live multi-user editing, or shared History.

Open a Blank Poly Draft

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Open Poly - From the current space area, choose Apps, then Poly. The explorer shows the Poly scene entries associated with that area.

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Create the draft - Choose New scene. Poly adds a local draft entry and opens its focused editor.

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Confirm the blank state - Check that the viewport contains only its grid and axes and that Scene has no objects. History should have no local actions, and Undo and Redo should be unavailable.

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Accept the local boundary - Do not treat the explorer entry as proof that the scene is saved. The entry can remain visible even though the objects and edits inside this session are not durable.

The grid and axes are viewing guides, not exportable scene objects. Everything you want in the .gltf must be created as supported visible scene content.

Build a Small Representative Scene

Use Assets for predictable starter content. Each object you create is added to Scene, selected, and shown in Inspector, so pause briefly after each action and confirm that all three surfaces agree.

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Create a ground plane - Open Assets, find Primitives, and create a Plane. Select Scale, then enlarge it with the viewport handles. You can enable snapping or enter an exact value during an active transform when a predictable size matters.

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Add the main shape - In Assets, create a Cube. Use Move to lift and offset it above the plane, then use Rotate or Scale to give it a clear visual role. Watch Inspector to confirm that the selected object's transform changes with the viewport edit.

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Try Push/Pull if useful - Select the unlocked cube or plane, choose Push/Pull, and drag a visible flat face or enter a finite distance. Confirm the shape changes before committing. Push/Pull is limited to supported flat faces on cubes and planes; it is not general mesh editing.

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Create a companion shape - Add a Sphere or Teapot, then move it to the other side of the composition. Keep it visible and separated from the cube so the exported arrangement is easy to recognize.

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Duplicate during a move - Select one editable object, choose Move, then hold Alt on Windows or Linux or Option on macOS as the move begins. Place the duplicate where it remains distinct from the source. Poly records the duplication and move as one local action.

At this checkpoint, Scene should list the plane and at least two visible shapes. Selecting any row should focus the same object in the viewport and Inspector. If an object is locked, unlock it before trying another transform.

Organize the Hierarchy

Grouping lets the exported file keep a useful parent-and-child structure instead of flattening every supported object at the scene root.

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Select related shapes - In Scene, select the first shape, then use Command or Control to add another individual row. Shift can extend the selection across a visible range when the intended rows are adjacent.

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Create the group - Choose Group from an available selected-object or hierarchy action. A parent group should appear around the selected objects in Scene.

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Inspect the result - Expand and collapse the group to check its children. Reopen it before continuing so you can see which primitives will travel with the hierarchy.

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Move the set only if needed - With the grouped objects selected, use Move, Rotate, or Scale to adjust them together. Their relative spacing should remain intact.

Do not rely on renaming for this workflow. Rename is currently shown as unavailable, while grouping and transforms are supported session edits.

Give the Scene a Material Read

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Select a supported primitive - Choose the cube, sphere, plane, or teapot in Scene or directly in the viewport. Groups, cameras, lights, and imported references do not offer the same primitive material controls.

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Open Materials - Choose Materials, then apply one of the named scene material swatches. Confirm that the selection remains on the intended primitive.

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Adjust the finish - Change the available Roughness or Metallic value if it helps distinguish the object. Keep the adjustment modest enough that the color and form remain clear.

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Style another shape differently - Select a companion primitive and assign a contrasting material. This makes it easier to verify that basic material data reached the exported file.

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Switch to Material - Choose the Material display mode to check the assigned appearance while retaining editing guides.

Material edits appear in local History and are included for supported exported primitives. They still disappear from Poly when the current session ends.

Use the Scene hierarchy, Flutter Scene viewport, and Inspector together to confirm the selected supported object and its editing context.

Frame and Inspect the Scene

Camera controls change how you inspect the scene; they do not replace or rearrange the scene hierarchy.

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Frame all visible geometry - Open Camera and choose the action that fits the scene. Orbit, pan, or zoom until the plane and arranged shapes are easy to read together.

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Focus a detail - Select one object and use the focus or fit-selected action when you want to inspect its placement. Return to a full-scene view before the final export check.

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Compare the display modes - Use Wireframe to read edges and editing structure, Solid to check the forms, Material to review their assigned surfaces, and Rendered preview for a cleaner presentation without editing guides.

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Return to an editing view - Switch back to Material or Solid if you need to correct a transform. Changing the camera, projection, standard view, or display mode does not rewrite the scene.

Keyboard movement with WASD or the arrow keys is available for scene exploration, but orbit, pan, fit, and focus are usually enough for this compact composition.

Rendered preview keeps supported scene geometry on Flutter Scene while removing editing guides for a cleaner inspection checkpoint.

Check Local History Before Export

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Open History - Choose History and confirm that meaningful actions such as creation, transforms, grouping, material changes, or Push/Pull appear in the Undo stack.

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Undo a harmless recent edit - Reverse the last material or placement change and check the viewport, Scene, and Inspector. They should return together to the earlier state.

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Redo the edit - Use Redo and confirm that the intended result returns. If you make a different edit after Undo, the abandoned Redo branch is cleared.

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Keep the boundary clear - Treat this check as protection against an immediate mistake only. History is local to the current session and is neither a saved version record nor a shared activity log.

You are ready to continue when the final visible arrangement has returned and the expected supported primitives are still present.

Optionally Validate a Local Import

Import is useful when you need to check whether a local 3D file meets Poly's current input rules. It does not add a displayed editable mesh to this scene.

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Choose a suitable file - Prepare one .glb or .gltf file no larger than 50 MB. It must use GLB 2.0 or GLTF 2.0. A .gltf must contain its required data inside the file rather than depending on separate buffers, images, or other sidecar files.

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Start the validation - Open Assets, choose Import GLB/GLTF, and select one local file. Poly rejects empty, oversized, malformed, unsupported, or externally dependent input with an explanation.

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Check an accepted reference - If validation succeeds, confirm that a selected imported reference appears in Scene and that the import appears in History.

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Expect an empty viewport result - The imported mesh itself is not currently displayed or editable. Poly also does not upload or preserve the imported bytes for another session.

An accepted import is reference-only. It will be skipped during export, so do not use it as evidence that the source mesh has been converted or included in the downloaded .gltf.

Prepare Only Supported Visible Content

The export action becomes useful once the scene contains at least one exportable primitive. Before choosing it, separate what will be carried from what will be omitted.

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Keep intended primitives visible - In Scene, confirm that the plane, cube, sphere, or teapot you want to hand off is visible. A hidden object and its hidden descendants are not exported.

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Preserve the useful group - Leave the group and its supported visible children in the hierarchy. Export can include groups, their transforms, and their supported child relationships.

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Recognize skipped content - Lights, camera objects, imported references, hidden objects, and other unsupported content can remain in Scene, but Poly will omit them and report skips.

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Do not confuse view with content - The editor camera, selected display mode, grid, axes, editing guides, History, and active selection are not a saved Poly project state in the export.

If every primitive is hidden or the scene contains only unsupported items, Poly cannot produce a useful export. Show or create at least one supported primitive first.

Export and Verify the GLTF

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Choose the export action - Use Export this Poly scene as local GLTF from the viewport actions. The control is temporarily unavailable while an export is already running.

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Complete the save - Allow the browser download or choose a destination when your platform opens a save dialog. Do not cancel the dialog if you intend to verify the handoff.

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Read the result summary - Wait for Poly to report the number of exported GLTF nodes. If content was omitted, the same status reports how many unsupported items were skipped.

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Interpret the node count carefully - Exported nodes can include supported primitives and exportable groups. The total is not a promise that every row in Scene was included.

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Review skipped items - If the summary reports skips, compare it with the hidden objects, lights, camera objects, or imported references in the scene. Make a required primitive visible and export again if it was omitted accidentally.

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Find the file - Locate the downloaded file and confirm that its name ends in .gltf. The file is JSON and includes embedded data for the supported geometry, so it does not depend on a separate geometry buffer created by this export.

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Open it in a compatible viewer when available - Confirm that the intended visible shapes, arrangement, group relationship, transforms, and basic materials appear. A different application's lighting or presentation may vary; check the scene content rather than expecting Poly's editor view to be reproduced exactly.

Do not leave Poly merely because the download started. The export is complete for this walkthrough only after the file exists, the summary is understood, and the supported content has been checked as far as your available tools allow.

Finish Without Mistaking Export for Save

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Export again before a risky change - If you correct visibility, placement, hierarchy, or materials after verification, create and check a new .gltf before refreshing or leaving.

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Keep the artifact where it belongs - Move the verified file into the storage or handoff location your team uses for 3D assets. Poly does not retain the download for you.

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Accept what will be lost - Leaving the active session discards the Poly scene, its History, imported references, selection, editor camera, and other unsupported project context.

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Do not plan a round trip - The .gltf is a partial handoff of supported visible scene content, not a Poly project file that can reopen this draft with full fidelity.

You are finished when the downloaded .gltf contains the supported scene you intended to share and you understand every skipped item in Poly's summary.

Fix Common Problems

New scene asks for access.

Creating a draft requires standalone Poly access, Designer Pack access, or Engineer Pack access. Confirm the active account and entitlement before starting a session you expect to edit.

A transform handle does not change the object.

Confirm that an editable primitive or supported selection is active and unlocked. Unsupported or locked selections can suppress the transform handles.

Push/Pull does not begin.

Select an unlocked cube or plane, then target a visible flat face. Spheres, teapots, groups, imported references, and broad edge or vertex editing are outside the current Push/Pull workflow.

The imported file is rejected.

Check the extension, 50 MB limit, format version, and file contents. GLTF files that refer to separate buffers or images are not accepted; use an embedded-data GLTF or a valid GLB 2.0 file.

The import appears in Scene but not in the viewport.

That is the current reference-only behavior. The mesh is not displayed or editable, and the imported reference is not included in export.

Export is unavailable.

The scene needs at least one supported exportable primitive. Create or show a cube, sphere, plane, or teapot, then try the export action again.

The summary reports skipped content.

Check for hidden rows, lights, camera objects, and imported references. This is expected when those items are present. Make an intended primitive visible and re-export if it was skipped by mistake.

The scene is gone after a refresh or later visit.

Poly's current draft contents are session-only. The .gltf can preserve the supported handoff, but it cannot restore the complete Poly editor session or History.

Continue From Here

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Read Poly for the full workspace, access, modeling, import, export, and session boundaries.

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Compare Blueprints when the next task depends on measurements, constraints, or design intent.

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Return to Live Apps to choose another focused creative or collaborative workspace.