Is there a way to view the normals so they can be fixed before the project gets complicated? After creating a particle system, I then realized the normals needed to be flipped. I found Mesh>Normals>Flip in Edit mode, but I'd like to be able to find the problem before this point, or when things just aren't working right, be able to check them. v2.76, Cycles

If not displayed press the "N" key to show the tool settings sidebar. Make sure you are in edit mode, and scroll down the sidebar until you find the "Mesh Display" tab. Click on it if the tab isn't already open. You should now see an area that says "Normals". Click on the faces option and you should now see lines coming out of your model in the direction of the face normals. By adjusting the "Size" slider you can change the length of the lines.

Once you visualize the normals, if any problems become apparent, a good rule of thumb might be to memorize CTRL+N and CTRL+SHIFT+N hotkeys. Ctrl+N will recalculate the normals to the outside, and Ctrl+Shift+N recalculates them inside. Select all faces in the volume, and recalculate respectively in the direction you need.

Thank you. I thought it must be something simple, but I could not find a hint of this in the manual.