User Interface

If you are new to Factory I/O, it will be useful to get an introduction to a few basic concepts regarding the user interface and general workflow.

1. Toolbar

Button	Action
	Welcome Menu Provides quick access to Documentation, Tutorials, Scenes, Updates, etc.
	Run/Edit Switches the simulation mode (Edit/Run).
	Pause Pauses the simulation.
	Reset Resets the simulation.
	Time Scale Sets the simulation time scale (slow motion, normal speed or fast forward). When active displays a slider to change the timescale value.
	Orbit Camera Selects the Orbit Camera.
	Fly Camera Selects the Fly Camera.
	First Person Camera Selects the First Person Camera.
	Follow a Part Allows selecting a part to follow.
	Cameras Window Opens the Cameras Window.
	Sensor Tags Shows/hides the sensor's tags.
	Actuator Tags Shows/hides the actuator's tags.
	Palette Shows/hides the palette.

FILE
New	Creates an empty scene.
Open	Shows the Open menu, where you can find all previously saved scenes and a list of included scenes.
Save	Saves the current scene. By default, scenes are saved in Documents\FACTORY IO\MyScenes.
Save as...	Opens the Save menu, where you can give a name and a description to a scene before saving it.
Options	Opens the Options menu.
Driver Configuration	Opens the Driver Configuration window (refer to I/O Drivers for additional information).
Exit	Closes the application.

EDIT
Undo	Use it to undo the previously executed operation.
Redo	Returns the last undo to its previous state.
Copy	Copies the selected parts.
Paste	Places the copied parts into the scene.
Select All	Selects all parts in the scene.
Camera Auto Focus	Enables camera auto focus. Whenever a part (or parts selection) is moved, the point of interest is automatically set at the center of the part (press and hold Left shift to keep it at the original position).

VIEW
Palette	Shows the palette window.
Cameras	Shows the cameras window.
Camera Navigation	Shows the camera navigation gizmo.
Sensors Tags	Shows the sensors tags.
Actuators Tags	Shows the actuators tags.
Show Tags Address	Shows the tags addresses.
Dock All Tags	Docks all existing tags.
Clear Docked Tags	Clears all docked tags.
Show Sensors Range	Shows sensors range in Run mode.
Show Stats	Shows performance statistics.
Open Console	Shows the Console.

2. Palette

The Palette displays all parts available in Factory I/O. When creating a scene, you drag parts from the Palette into the 3D space. Select a category from the drop-down list to show only parts which belong to that category. You can filter parts by name using the Search input field.

3. Status Bar

Displays information about the current state of Factory I/O: current version, edition, scene name and selected driver.

Low-Performance Indicator

The low-performance indicator pops up when Factory I/O is unable to update the simulation above 15 frames per second. This may cause undesirable visual hiccups and errors in the physics simulation.

You can try to improve performance by:

• Lowering the screen resolution (Options > Video)
• Reducing the video quality (Options > Video)
• Disabling V-Sync (Options > Video)
• Decreasing the number of parts in the scene by deleting unused parts