keeping a 3d object in front of the view
 

Is there an easy way to have a 3d object (say a 3dtext)
be constantly displayed a certain distance away from the
view (say 1m) and always facing the view even as the view
is rotated or moved around?

For example, display 3dtext and a 3d box in the upper left
corner of the view no matter where you look.

Hi,

Yes this is possible. Take a look at the tutorial in the documentation under Tutorials -> Adding 2D & 3D Text. You can also attach a 3d object to the viewpoint like so: