I am starting to get used to the Abaqus interface, but still having trouble with view settings. I would like to select views normal to the planes (e.g. x-y plane, etc).
You can use the toolbar (that is not shown by default).
Select the option from the top menu: View - Toolbars - Views, then you can dock the toolbar wherever you want. It has the standard views preset, plus the ability to create three "User views"