Light Hotspot

Activate a Light viewport. > Viewport navigation controls > Light Hotspot

The streetlight has a narrow hotspot but a wide falloff area.

Widening the hotspot creates a brighter light.

Light Hotspot lets you adjust the angle of a light's hotspot. This button replaces the Zoom All button when a light viewport is active.

Click this button, then move the mouse in the light viewport to make the cone of the hotspot narrower or wider (the hotspot cone is shown in blue, the falloff cone is in gray).

Hold down the CTRL key while moving the mouse to lock the initial angle separation of the hotspot and falloff cones.

You can't adjust the hotspot larger than the falloff, because that would change the falloff value. Likewise, when you reduce the falloff, it stops at the hotspot size.

To override the separation of the hotspot and falloff parameters and cause the parameters to affect each other, hold down the SHIFT key.

Procedure

To change a light's hotspot:

  1. Set up a Perspective viewport so you can see the light in 3D space.

  2. Activate a Light viewport.

  3. Press H to display the Select Objects dialog. Select the light.

    The light and its cones should be visible in the Perspective viewport.

  4. Click Light Hotspot.

    The button turns green when it is on.

  5. Drag in the Light viewport to change the hotspot angle.

    The blue hotspot cone expands and contracts as you drag.

  6. Press ESC or right-click to turn off the button.