Move the view, then move the objects.
Your first hour in Blender: orbit, pan and zoom around a scene, frame what you need and jump to the axis views. Then select objects and move, rotate and scale them with G, R and S, along an axis and with exact values. The keys are the real ones: they work the same in Blender.
STAGE
MMB orbit · Shift MMB pan · Wheel zoom
KEY IDEAS
The view is not the scene
Orbit, pan and zoom move your eye. G, R and S move the objects. Mixing them up is the first mistake of every beginner.
- Orbit · Pan · Zoom
- Middle mouse button, Shift + middle, the wheel. Orbit turns around the centre of the view; pan moves that centre.
- Frame
- Numpad . frames the selection and puts the orbit centre on it. Home frames everything.
- Axis views
- Numpad 1, 3 and 7: Front, Right and Top; with Ctrl, the opposite side. Numpad 5 switches Perspective and Orthographic.
- Selection
- Click, Shift + click, B for a box, A for all, Alt A for none. The active object is the last one clicked: lighter orange.
- G · R · S
- Grab (move), rotate and scale. Then X, Y or Z for an axis, Shift + axis to lock it, a number for an exact value.
- Confirm · Cancel · Undo
- Click or Enter confirms, right-click or Esc cancels. Ctrl Z undoes what you already confirmed.