The Unreal Engine editor is built around a collection of docked panels that together give developers full control over the level, its contents, and the underlying project assets. The Content Browser, usually docked at the bottom of the editor, presents the project's /Content folder structure and lists every imported or authored asset, including meshes, textures, materials, Blueprints, and sounds. From here, artists and programmers can create folders, rename and move assets, import new content, and double-click an asset to open its dedicated editor. The World Outliner, on the other hand, shows the actors currently present in the open level, organized hierarchically so that grouped or parented actors are easy to navigate; selecting an entry also selects and focuses the corresponding actor in the viewport.
When an actor or asset is selected, its editable properties appear in the Details panel, which exposes variables, transforms, components, and assorted flags. The Details panel is the primary place to tweak instance-level behavior without opening a Blueprint. To add a new actor to a level, developers use the Place Actors panel or right-click inside the viewport to choose an actor class. Once placed, an actor can be duplicated with Ctrl+W or by Alt-dragging, moved with the transform gizmo, and focused in the viewport with the F key. Navigation between editor panels is typically done through the Window menu, which also opens specialized tools like the Output Log for inspecting runtime messages, warnings, and Print String output during play.
Several global configuration points shape every level and Blueprint in the project. The Project Settings menu, accessed from Edit → Project Settings, stores engine-wide options such as rendering features, input mappings, default classes, physics settings, collision channels, packaging options, and platform-specific behavior. Changes made here are persisted into files like DefaultEngine.ini and DefaultGame.ini. The Maps & Modes section in particular sets the default Editor Startup Map, Game Default Map, and default GameMode, Pawn, PlayerController, HUD, GameState, and PlayerState classes that the engine uses when a level opens or play begins. The World Settings panel, in contrast, exposes level-specific overrides such as the active GameMode override, NavMesh settings, lightmass quality, and kill Z; these only affect the currently open level.