Unity for Absolute Beginners（四）

Menus

The menu bar consists of seven menus,a few of which may already be familiar to you from other applications.

The File menu (Figure 1-8)is where you will save and load both scenes and projects. It is also where you will build, or compile, your game before sharing it with others.

Figure 1-8. The File menu

In the Edit menu (Figure 1-9),you will find the usual editing options: Undo,Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste,Duplicate,and Delete. The next couple of sections deal with functionality generally accessed through keyboard shortcuts or UI buttons, but that are useful for identifying the shortcuts. The Play options are fairly self-explanatory.You will investigate Find later in the chapter.The Edit menu is also where you can find access to Project and Render settings. These are settings that are not associated with any particular scene object. Preferences is where you can go to customize theUnity editor for matters other than layout.At the bottom ,you can gain access to the snap options to help with the arrangement of your scene assets. 

Figure 1-9. The Edit menu

In the Assets menu (Figure 1-10),you will see the various options for creating, importing, and exporting assets.This extremely useful menu can also be accessed in a couple of different places in the editor, as you will see throughout the book. Topping the list is the Create submenu. This is where you will create most of your Unity-specific assets,such as scripts, materials, and a variety of other useful things. Along with the menus for importing assets such as textures and 3Dmodels,you will find a mainstay of Unity game development: the means of importing and exporting Unity "packages." Packages are the vehicle for transferringall things Unity with their relationships and functionality intact. 

Figure 1-10. The Assets menu

In the GameObject menu(Figure 1-11), you will be able to create several types of pre-set objects,from the most basic of Unity objects, an "Empty GameObject," to primitives, lights, cameras,and a nice variety of 2D and 3D objects. Also of note in this menu are the bottom three commands. they are the means for positioning objects relative to one another, including Cameras and their views.In Unity,anything that is put in your scene or level is called a gameObject (lower case g).More than just Unity's

name for an object,gameObject specifically refers to an Object that inherits from the GameObject class (upper case G),that is the code that defines the top level object and its basic behavior.

Figure 1-11. The GameObject menu

The Component menu (Figure 1-12),is where you can add components to define or refine your gameObject's functionality. Any of the “ Create Other ” objects from the GameObject menu could be built from scratch by adding the appropriate components to an empty gameObject. 

Figure 1-12. The Component menu

The Window menu (Figure 1-13) is where you can go to open or change focus to Unity's standard and specialty views or editors. The shortcut keys are listed if they exist. Note the Asset Store item.This will take you directly through Unity's Asset Store,where you can import assets directly into your game. 

Figure 1-13. The Window menu

The Help menu (Figure 1-14),as expected,will provide you with the version number and license information of your Unity installation. In this menu, you can find access to the three main pieces of unity documentation:the Unity manual, where you can find information on the workings and concepts behind much of the Unity workflow and features; the Reference Manual, where you can get specific information on Unity components; and the Scripting Manual, where you can find Unity-specific API classes, examples, and scripting tips. Additionally, the menu supplies links to the unity Forum and Answers (when you just need a quick solution) and a means of reporting a bug should the need arise. 

Figure 1-14. The Help menu