SightLab Dashboard
A browsable, searchable interface for creating, discovering, launching, and managing SightLab projects, example scripts, apps, and more. Note: you can always click on the folder icon in the top right of the dashboard to access the SightLab2 folder and use the older workflow.
Getting Started
Launching the Dashboard
 |
Double-click either Desktop shortcut for "Sigthlab2" or the SightLab Dashboard.py file or executable at the workspace root (executable can't run Vizard embedded). |
User Interface Overview
Header Bar
- Vizard Editor — Opens the Vizard python editor
- SightLab GPT — Opens the SightLab VR Assistant chatbot
- Help Docs — Opens the SightLab documentation site
- Dark Mode — Toggle between light and dark themes (preference is saved)
Toolbar
- Search Bar — Filters cards across all tabs by title, description, tags, and category. When text is entered, tabs are replaced with a unified results grid. Clear the search to return to tabs.
- Card Size Slider — Adjusts card thumbnail size from 140px to 360px. Saved automatically.
- Refresh — Rescans the filesystem for new or modified examples and projects.
- Settings — Opens the Settings dialog.
Tabs
The main content is organized into category tabs:
| Tab | Contents |
|---|---|
| Projects | User projects scanned from the Projects folder (Can change directory) |
| Tools/Features | Tool and feature examples |
| Experiment Templates | Ready-made experiment scripts |
| Additional Examples | Extra example scripts |
| Uncategorized | Items without an assigned category |
| Favorites | All items you've marked as favorites |
| Apps | Shortcuts to external applications (Vizard, Inspector, etc.) |
- Custom categories can be created by editing an item's category (see Editing Metadata).
Cards & Navigation
Card Grid
Cards display a thumbnail, title, and brief description in a responsive grid that reflows as the window resizes. You can also click and drag or ctrl click to select multiple cards.
- Left-click an example card to open its Detail Page.
- Left-click a group card to navigate into it. A breadcrumb trail appears (e.g.,
ExampleScripts > How-To's > Video Processing) with clickable links to jump back to any level.
Card Context Menu (Right-Click)
Right-click any card for quick actions:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Run Primary Script | Launch the primary script in Vizard |
| Run: [name] | Launch an alternate or multi-user script |
| Replay | Run the session replay script |
| Edit Code | Open the primary script in the Vizard IDE |
| Open Folder | Open the folder in Windows Explorer |
| Make Copy | Copy the example folder to a destination |
| Copy Script Path | Copy the primary script's full path to the clipboard |
| Open Documentation | Open the example's documentation URL in a browser |
| Swap Thumbnail | Choose a new thumbnail image for this card |
Project cards have additional actions:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Rename | Rename the project folder |
| Duplicate | Create a copy of the project |
| Delete | Permanently delete the project |
Rename and Delete is not available for the built-in SampleProject template.
Detail Page
Click a card to view its full detail page with a large thumbnail, metadata, and all available actions. This is also where to run scripts (either embedded or in a separate window).
Metadata Fields
| Field | Editable | How to Edit |
|---|---|---|
| Title | No | Gets this value from what you initially name your project, or the folder name |
| Category | Yes | Click the ✏ button; select from dropdown or type a custom category |
| Folder Path | Yes | Click 📂 Locate Folder to point to a different directory |
| Description | Yes | Click the ✏ button; enter text in the dialog |
| Tags | Yes | Click the ✏ button; enter comma-separated tags |
| Favorite | Yes | Click the ❤/🤍 heart icon to toggle |
Available Actions
The action grid shows buttons for every operation available on the selected example:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| ▶ Run: [name] | Launch the primary script in Vizard (in a new window or embedded) |
| ▶ [Alternate] | Run an alternate script variant |
| ⟲ Replay | Run the session replay script |
| ⚙ Config | Open the configuration file in the editor |
| ⬇ Download | Download a remote example archive |
| ✏ Edit Code | Open the primary script in the Vizard IDE |
| 📁 Open Folder | Open the folder in Windows Explorer |
| 📋 Make Copy | Copy the folder to a chosen destination |
| 🔗 Documentation | Open the online documentation page |
| 🎬 Video (Link) | Open an external video URL |
| 🎬 Video (Local) | Play a local video file |
| 📖 ReadMe | Open a readme/documentation file |
| 📖 Add Actions | Add new actions such as videos and Readme files |
Managing Scripts
Right-click any script button in the action grid to:
- Set as Primary — Make this script the main "Run" action (the previous primary becomes an alternate).
- Hide — Remove this script from the action list. If the primary script is hidden, the next alternate is automatically promoted.
- Run Embedded - Run in an embedded window in the Dashboard
- Run in Vizard Window - Runs in a pop-up Vizard window
Hidden scripts and primary script selections persist across sessions.
Adding Videos, Documentation & ReadMe
Click the Add Actions button to open the Edit Actions dialog:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Video URL | Paste an external video link (YouTube, etc.) |
| Video (Local) | Browse for a local video file (.mp4, .avi, .mkv, .mov, .wmv, .webm) |
| ReadMe | Browse for a readme file (.md, .txt, .html, .pdf, .rst) |
Enable each field with its checkbox, then click OK. Corresponding buttons will appear in the action grid.
Locate Folder
Click the 📂 button next to the folder path to assign or reassign the example's working directory. This is useful when an example's scripts live in a different location than expected. The path is saved as a relative path when possible.
Swap Thumbnail
Either drag and drop from the assets (will use a thumbnail of the asset) or right-click the thumbnail on the detail page (or use "Swap Thumbnail" from the card context menu) to choose a new image. Supported formats: PNG, JPG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, WEBP.
- For Projects: The image is copied into the project folder as
_thumbnail.[ext]. - For other examples: The image is copied to the dashboard assets folder and the path is saved in overrides.
- Note that when running a new project it will run embedded and automatically capture the first 3d model or media file and make that the thumbnail.
Projects Tab
Creating a New Project
Click "New Project +" to create a new project:
- Enter a project name in the dialog.
- A copy of the SightLab Project template is created in your projects folder.
- Python files are automatically renamed to match the project name.
In the details page drag an asset into the preview window (or embedded Vizard/SightLab window) and click the pencil icon to edit the description. Click the + sign to add more trials and assets, adjust more options in the GUI and click "Continue" when you are done. See the documentation for more details on the GUI options.
Note, this will automatically start embedded, but if you uncheck that in the options, you will need to click "Edit and Run to edit the experiment".
Sorting Projects
Use the Sort dropdown to order projects:
| Sort Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Alphabetical | A–Z by project name |
| Last Modified | Most recently modified first |
| Last Accessed | Most recently accessed first |
The SampleProject is always pinned at the top.
Changing and Organizing Projects Folders
Open Settings and set the default Projects Folder path, or click Browse to select a directory. Leave empty to use the default Projects/ folder. Changes take effect immediately with an automatic refresh.
To add a new project folder path click the Folder dropdown and go to "Browse". Locate your specified folder and click the "Star" icon if you want to favorite it to always show in the list. You can manage and delete project paths by clicking the pencil icon.
Asset Browser
The SightLab Dashboard has a built-in Asset Browser that allows you to add, organize, manage and use assets. The default is showing the built-in assets (in C:\Program Files\WorldViz\Sightlab2\sightlab_resources) with any additional ones added to the "Assets" folder in your SightLab2 folder. You can also check "Hide Built-In" to not show the built in ones.
To add new assets you can simply drag and drop into the specific bin. There are bins for "3D Environments", "Objects", "Scene Objects","360 Media"and "Avatars" (Avatars as of SightLab 2.8.3)
Double clicking on any asset will open it up in the default program to open that file (Inspector for 3d models, media player for videos, photos for image)
Dragging from the Assets to the Preview window (Standard or Embedded) will automatically add that asset to the Project.
Searching with Sketchfab
In the assets browser you can also search and download directly in Sketchfab, where there are over 150,000 creative commons free models you can use. When you download it will save the thumbnail, convert the model and download the license. To use this you just need to input your Sketchfab API, which can be acquired here https://sketchfab.com/settings/password.
Running Vizard and SightLab Scripts Embedded
In addition to launching Vizard and SightLab scripts in a separate window, you can also choose to run them embedded if you check that option in the settings. Note that server and client (Multi-User) scripts do not work embedded and must be run in a separate window. You can either right click on any script (except for a server or client script) and choose "Run Embedded" or can set that option to run all scripts embedded in the settings. When running embedded can either press F2 or click and drag the divider bar to see the window larger.
New projects open embedded by default so you can quickly drag in assets, continue adding more assets, and configure trials without switching windows. Use separate window launch when you want a larger run view.
Favorites
Adding & Removing Favorites
- Click the ❤ heart icon on any detail page to toggle favorite status.
- Favorites appear in the Favorites tab at the top level.
Exporting Favorites
Click "Export Favorites" in the Favorites tab to save your favorites list as a JSON file. This can be shared or backed up.
Importing Favorites
Click "Import Favorites" to load a previously exported JSON file. This replaces all current favorites with the imported list.
Clearing All Favorites
Click "Clear All" to remove all favorites (with confirmation).
Apps Tab
The Apps tab provides quick-launch tiles for frequently used applications.
Built-in Shortcuts
| App | Description |
|---|---|
| Vizard | Opens the Vizard IDE |
| Inspector | Opens the SightLab Inspector tool |
| E-Learning Lab | Opens E-Learning Lab (only if the ELearning folder exists) |
Adding Custom Shortcuts
Click "Add Shortcut +" to add your own application:
- Enter a display name.
- Browse for the executable (.exe, .bat, or .py).
- Optionally browse for a custom icon.
Removing Custom Shortcuts
Right-click a custom shortcut tile and select "Remove Shortcut".
Multi-User Scripts
Scripts in the Multi User ExamplesScripts/ folder are automatically matched to corresponding single-user examples by folder name and appended as alternate actions with a "(Multi)" prefix. Server scripts are listed before client scripts.
Editing Metadata
Several metadata fields can be customized per-example and persist across sessions:
| What | How | Saved To |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ✏ button on detail page | overrides.json |
| Description | ✏ button on detail page | overrides.json (or _description.txt for projects) |
| Tags | ✏ button on detail page | overrides.json |
| Thumbnail | Right-click → Swap Thumbnail | overrides.json (or _thumbnail.* for projects) |
| Primary Script | Right-click script button → Set as Primary | overrides.json |
| Hidden Scripts | Right-click script button → Hide | overrides.json |
| Folder Location | 📂 Locate Folder button | overrides.json |
| Videos/ReadMe | ✏ button on Available Actions header | overrides.json |
| Favorites | ❤ heart icon | overrides.json |
| App Shortcuts | Add/Remove in Apps tab | overrides.json |
Downloadable Examples
Some examples are hosted remotely and appear with a ⬇ Download button instead of Run. When downloaded:
- Drag the zip download into the Details window
- The archive is extracted to
ExampleScripts/_downloaded/. - The example will then have full Run/Edit/Open actions.
- Downloaded examples are treated like any other local example.
Settings
Click ⚙ Settings to configure:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Vizard Executable | Path to winviz.exe for running scripts |
| Vizard Editor | Path to Vizard.exe IDE for editing code |
| Projects Folder | Custom projects directory (empty = default Projects/ folder) |
| Copy Destination | Default folder for the "Make Copy" action |
| Font Size Offset | Increase or decrease the size of fonts |
| Run Embedded | Run Vizard and SightLab scripts directly in the Dashboard (doesn't work if running from the exe) |
| Run Embedded on New Project | Open a new project with an embedded window (checked by default) |
Click Restore Defaults to reset all settings to factory values.
Adding Your Own Content
Example Scripts
Add folders to the ExampleScripts/ directory. They appear under "Uncategorized" by default — use the category editor on the detail page to assign them to a tab.
Projects
Add folders to the Projects/ directory (or your custom projects folder). They automatically appear in the Projects tab.
Script Detection
The dashboard automatically classifies Python files in each folder:
| Pattern | Classification |
|---|---|
| Named after parent folder | Primary script |
SightLab_VR.py |
Primary script |
| Contains "main" or "gui" | Primary script (ranked) |
| Contains "replay" | Replay action |
| Starts with "config" | Config action |
| Contains "readme" or "help" | ReadMe action |
| All others | Alternate scripts |