Setting your field of view

October 25, 2019

Aidan Chopra

Ever been inside your SketchUp model and wished you could see a wider-angle view? All you have to do is set your field of view (FOV):

Select the Zoom tool by pressing Z on your keyboard.
Type in an angle (in degrees) that represents how wide you'd like your view to be, and press Enter — this is your field of view. For a 45 degree FOV, you'd type 45deg. The larger the angle, the more you'll be able to see. SketchUp's default FOV is 35 degrees, but 60 degrees is much handier for interior views.

For a basic illustration of this concept, have a look at this SketchUp model in the 3D Warehouse.

Field of View lets you adjust how much you can see inside a small room. Check out this video to see how to do this in action.

If you're into photography, you might like to know that you can also express your FOV as a focal length, in mm. For example, you'd enter a 28mm focal length by typing 28mm (instead of deg after the number). Keep in mind that smaller numbers (like 18mm) yield wider fields of view, while larger numbers (like 300mm) result in very narrow ones.

Want to learn more skills? Check out our SketchUp community forums, more videos on our YouTube channel, or SketchUp Campus. Want to use SketchUp? View our different plans.

Read our blog for more learning content as well as industry insights from architects, interior designers, urban planners, and more.