MoonRay GUI Viewer V2
The moonray_gui_v2 executable is the successor to moonray_gui, which is the interactive counterpart to moonray. It leverages imgui as the graphical interface library in order to remove the more bloated QT dependency. It also includes a number of new features to make the tool easier to use.
The same core concepts are true for moonray_gui_v2 as they are for moonray_gui, so you can refer to the moonray_gui page for general information for now. This page will be dedicated to the differences coming with moonray_gui_v2, including 1) how to invoke it, 2) additions, and 3) hotkeys.
Usage
Here are some instructions on how to invoke moonray_gui_v2:
Prior to refplat-vfx2025
You can use the moonray_gui executable for v1, and the moonray_gui_v2 executable for v2.
refplat-vfx2025+
moonray_gui_v2 is the default from this point onward, because we do not support QT6. Using the moonray_gui
executable will cause moonray_gui_v2 to run. The goal is to deprecate moonray_gui v1.
Additions for moonray_gui_v2
We’ve added a number of new features for moonray_gui_v2:
Status Bar
Instead of printing information about the status of the application to the terminal, we now display it in a bar at the bottom of the window. It includes information like:
- Current pixel under the mouse
- Channel mode
- Fast progressive mode
- Denoiser mode & buffers
- Camera type (Orbit or Free)
- Render output name
We also included a “?” button that opens a help menu. This help menu includes comprehensive information about the app and how to use it.
Image Navigation
The window is now re-sizable, instead of fixed-size, and we’ve added panning and zooming features. We also display the xyz axes to help users understand their scene’s camera orientation.
Inspectors
The pixel inspector allows users to investigate the RGB value of the pixel underneath their cursor. The scene inspector, which once printed results to the terminal, now has its own UI element and displays interactive updates.
Key Bindings
The key bindings menu allows you to view current hotkey bindings, and set custom bindings based on user preferences.
Snapshot Viewer
The snapshot viewer displays snapshots in your given snapshot directory path, and allows you to toggle between them for easy image comparison.
Hotkeys
Any keys that have changed between moonray_gui and moonray_gui_v2 have been marked with a star.
Camera Hotkeys
| Action | Hotkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Camera Type | O |
|
| Forward | W |
|
| Backward | S |
|
| Left | A |
|
| Right | D |
|
| Up | SPACE |
|
| Down | C |
|
| Slow Down | Q |
|
| Speed Up | E |
|
| Reset | R |
|
| Recenter | F |
|
| Frame Scene | SHIFT+F |
new in v2 |
| Print Matrices* | M |
Previously T |
| Set Up Vector | U |
|
| Orbit* | ALT+LMB |
FreeCam previously used LMB only |
| Dolly | ALT+RMB |
|
| Pan | ALT+MMB |
|
| Roll* | CTRL+LMB |
Previously ALT+LMB+RMB |
Denoising Hotkeys
| Action | Hotkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle On/Off | N |
|
| Toggle Mode | SHIFT+N |
|
| Select Buffers | B |
Channel Hotkeys
| Action | Hotkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RGB | ` |
|
| Red | 1 |
|
| Green | 2 |
|
| Blue | 3 |
|
| Alpha | 4 |
|
| Luminance | 5 |
|
| RGB Normalized* | 6 |
Previously 7 |
| Num Samples* | 7 |
Previously 8 |
Color Management Hotkeys
| Action | Hotkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure Increase | UP |
|
| Exposure Decrease | DOWN |
|
| Exposure Adjust | X+LMB |
|
| Exposure Reset | SHIFT+X |
|
| Gamma Adjust | Y+LMB |
|
| Gamma Reset | SHIFT+Y |
Fast Progressive Mode Hotkeys
| Action | Hotkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle On/Off | L |
|
| Next Mode | ALT+UP |
|
| Previous Mode | ALT+DOWN |
Window Hotkeys
| Action | Hotkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open/Close Key Bindings Editor | G |
new in v2 |
| Open/Close Pixel Inspector | P |
new in v2 |
| Open/Close Scene Inspector | I |
now opens a window instead of printing info to console |
| Open/Close Snapshot Viewer | ALT+K |
new in v2 |
| Open/Close Status Bar | ALT+S |
new in v2 |
| Open/Close Exposure Editor* | ALT+X |
Previously X |
| Open/Close Gamma Editor* | ALT+Y |
Previously Y |
| Open/Close Path Visualizer | V |
|
| Open/Close Axis Display | SHIFT+A |
new in v2 |
Path Visualizer
| Action | Hotkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle On/Off | SHIFT+V |
|
| Pick pixel | LMB |
just click the pixel you want to see the ray tree for |
| Previous Node | SHIFT+LEFT |
selects the previous node (displays path vertex information in the path visualizer menu) |
| Next Node | SHIFT+RIGHT |
selects the next node (displays path vertex information in the path visualizer menu) |
Miscellaneous Hotkeys
| Action | Hotkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Render Output Previous | , |
|
| Render Output Next | . |
|
| Save Image | CTRL+S |
new in v2 |
| Take Snapshot | K |
|
| Next Snapshot | RIGHT |
new in v2, toggle next snapshot |
| Prev Snapshot | LEFT |
new in v2, toggle prev snapshot |
| Tile Progress Toggle* | T |
Previously P |
| Print Key Bindings | H |
prints keybindings to console |