Viewing Your Warehouse in 3D

What the 3D View Shows

The 3D view is the same map you built in 2D, stood up to its real heights: pallet racking with beams and shelf decks, shelving, walls, dock doors, stairs rising to the mezzanine, a lift shaft, pallet stacks and roll cages. Every location code on the map appears as a plate on the beam of its bay. It is a view for checking, explaining and exploring; editing stays in 2D.

Example: a new team leader is starting on Monday. Rather than walk them round a busy floor, the manager opens the site map in 3D, switches on Other levels so the mezzanine is visible, and talks through the layout aisle by aisle, clicking bays to show which locations hold what.

Switching to 3D

1. In the editor header click 3D on the 2D / 3D toggle.

2. The camera opens over the same part of the map you were looking at, then rises into an angled view.

3. Click 2D to return. Your 2D position and zoom are kept.

In 3D the editing tools, Measure and the zoom buttons are hidden, and the header level selector is disabled in favour of the level picker on the right.

Moving the Camera

• Drag with the left mouse button to pan across the floor.

• Right-drag or middle-drag to rotate around the point you are looking at. Holding Ctrl while left-dragging also rotates.

• Scroll to zoom towards the cursor.

• On a touch screen, one finger pans and two fingers pinch to zoom and rotate.

• Reset view (top right) fits the camera to the current level again.

A hint at the bottom of the view repeats the controls until you are used to them.

View Toggles

The buttons at the top right switch parts of the scene on and off:

On a multi-level map a Level picker sits above the toggles. Click a level name to fly the camera to that floor; the level name flashes briefly in the centre of the view.

Location Plates & Stock Details

Each location code assigned on the map appears as a dark plate on the beam of its shelf, on the pick face. A green strip along the bottom of the plate means the location holds stock; grey means it is empty or has no data. Plates appear on racks within about 18 m of the camera, so zoom in to read them.

1. Hover a bay. The whole bay face highlights and the cursor becomes a pointer.

2. Click anywhere on the bay to open its details in the centre of the screen.

3. The popup shows:

   1. the location code, with its Helm zone;

   2. the quantity and, where a capacity is known, Qty 18 / 20 and a percentage full;

   3. each SKU on the location with its description and quantity, largest first;

   4. pick counts, where Helm supplies them. Locations Helm knows but has nothing in show Empty location; codes Helm does not recognise show No stock data.

4. Close it with the X, or press Esc.

Heatmaps in 3D

Any heatmap you switch on under View options > Heatmap is shown in 3D too, as a translucent colour over each rack, with the legend in the bottom-left corner. Helm zones is the most useful in 3D, since it shows at a glance how the zones fall across the racking. See View Options, Search & Heatmaps.

Best Practices

Walls & Roof Off While You Check the Layout

Both hide part of the view. Turn them on for a presentation shot; leave them off while you are checking racking and codes.

Zoom In to Read Plates

Plates are drawn for nearby racks only, to keep the view fast. Fly down to an aisle to see codes, or use walk mode to read them at eye level. See Walking Your Warehouse in 3D.

FAQ

Can I move racks in 3D?

No. Switch to 2D to edit. The 3D view reflects every change as soon as you switch back.

Why are some plates grey?

Grey means the location is empty, or Helm has not supplied stock for it. Green means it holds stock.

The 3D view is slow on my machine.

Turn off Stock, Walls and Roof, and view one level at a time. Very large sites with thousands of bays are heaviest with Stock on.

If the 3D view fails to load, refresh the page and try again; if it keeps failing, contact Helm support with your browser and device details.