In 3D views, a set of navigation controls and shortcut keys lets you change the way in which you view your scene. You can use these controls and keys to zoom in to and out of a scene, frame objects within a viewport, and orbit, track, and dolly the scene among other things.
Activating Navigation Tools
Most navigation tools have a corresponding shortcut key so you can quickly activate them from the keyboard. However, some tools are only available from a viewport’s camera icon menu. In either case, activating a navigation tool makes it the current tool for all 3D views, including object views which do not have an equivalent to the camera icon menu.
The following sections discuss the available navigation tools, listing keyboard shortcut where applicable.
Each viewport and object view has four “memo cams” (memory cameras), each of which can store the view’s current perspective or orthogonal view settings for quick access.
• Middle-click a memo cam box to store the current view settings. If the memo cam already has defined view settings, the new settings are not saved. Ctrl+middle-click to overwrite the current view settings.
• Left-click a memo cam box to switch to its stored view settings.
• Right-click a memo cam box to clear its settings.
Framing commands let you instantly zoom in to or out from selected objects in 3D geometry views. You can frame objects in two ways: framing selected objects or framing all objects in one or all 3D views.
To frame selected objects in a 3D view
• Do one of the following:
- Position the mouse pointer over a 3D view and press f.
or
- Choose Frame Selection from the camera icon 
menu.
To frame selected objects in a 3D view
• Do one of the following:
- Press Shift+f.
or
- From the main menu, choose View > Frame Selection (All 3D Views).
To frame all visible objects in a 3D views
• Do one of the following:
- Position the mouse pointer over a 3D view and press a.
or
- Choose Frame All from the camera icon 
menu.
To frame all visible objects in all 3D views
• Do one of the following:
- Press Shift+a.
or
- From the main menu, choose View > Frame All (All 3D Views).
You can zoom into and out of your scene or pan in all 3D views using the zoom controls.
Zooming and Panning
To pan and zoom
• Choose Pan & Zoom Tool from any viewport’s camera icon 
menu, or press the z supra key to activate the zoom tool. Then, in any 3D view, do any of the following:
- Click the left mouse button and drag to pan.
- Click and hold the middle mouse button to zoom in.
- Click and hold the right mouse button to zoom out.
- Press Esc to deactivate zoom mode.
By default, Softimage zooms into or out from the center of the view.
You can also zoom into or out from wherever the mouse pointer is located by activating the Zoom on Cursor feature: choose File > Preferences from the main menu to open the Preferences window, click the Tools > Camera icon in the explorer pane to open the Camera property editor, and activate the Pan/Zoom > Zoom On Cursor option.
|
Zooming in or out changes the view angle setting of the camera, the same as when you zoom with a real camera. |
1. From the main menu, choose File > Preferences to open the Preferences window. Then click the Tools > Camera icon in the explorer pane to open the Camera property editor.
2. Do any of the following:
- From the Nav options, set the Pan Speed parameter to adjust the pan speed. Higher values cause the camera to pan faster.
- From the Pan/Zoom options, set the Zoom In/Out (rate/sec) parameter to adjust the zoom speed. Higher values cause the camera to zoom more quickly.
Panning and Zooming
There is an alternative tool that allows you to zoom in or out by dragging the mouse right or left. Some users may prefer this style of interaction.
To zoom and pan
1. From the camera icon menu, choose Zoom Tool.
2. Do any of the following:
- Left-click+drag to the right to zoom in.
- Left-click+drag to the left to zoom out.
- Middle-click+drag to pan in the corresponding direction.
Zooming with the Mouse Wheel
By default, you can zoom using the mouse wheel. Scroll forward to zoom in and backward to zoom out. Press Ctrl to zoom quickly, Shift to zoom slowly, and Ctrl+Shift to zoom even more slowly.
However, you cannot use the mouse wheel in other tools, for example, to set the radius for the brush or proportional modification; instead, press r and drag the mouse to modify the radius.
If desired, you can disable the mouse wheel zoom or restrict it to the Navigation tool so that you can use the mouse wheel with other tools. See Mouse Wheel in Camera Preferences [Preference Reference].
Rectangular zooming lets you define a rectangular area that becomes the new magnification factor.
To zoom in an area
• Choose Rectangular Zoom Tool from the camera icon menu or press Shift+z to activate the rectangular zoom tool. Then do either of the following:
- Left-click+drag an area in the view to zoom in to that area.
- Right-click to zoom out, and then drag diagonally to define the rectangle.
The track tool allows you to pan at varying speeds in any 3D view.
To track
• Choose Track from any viewport’s camera icon menu to activate the track tool. Then do any of the following:
- Press the left mouse button and drag to track normally.
- Press the middle button and drag to track slowly.
- Press the right button and drag to track quickly.
Orbiting rotates a camera, spotlight, or user viewpoint around its point of interest. This lets you study your scene’s overall “look” in any angle in any view. Orbiting is sometimes called tumbling or arc rotation.
|
Orbiting is only possible in the non-orthographic views (camera, user, and so on). |
To orbit
• Choose Orbit Tool from any viewport’s camera icon menu, or press the o supra key while in User view.
When you orbit, the left mouse button allows free rotation, the middle mouse button allows vertical rotation, and the right mouse button allows horizontal rotation.
1. From the main menu, choose File > Preferences to open the Preferences window. Then click the Tools > Camera icon in the explorer pane to open the Camera property editor.
2. From the Nav options, set the Orbit Speed parameter to adjust the orbiting speed. Higher values cause the camera to orbit faster.
You can set the orbit tool to orbit around selected objects or components, rather than around the normal camera interest.
1. From the main menu, choose File > Preferences to open the Preferences window. Then click the Tools > Camera item in the explorer pane to open the Camera property editor.
2. From the Nav section, set the Orbit Around Selection option to one of the following:
- Off — the orbit tool will always orbit around the camera’s point of interest.
- On — if you are in object selection mode, the orbit tool orbits the camera around the selected object, rather than the normal camera interest. If you are in component selection mode, using the orbit tool orbits the camera about the selected components.
- Components Only — if you are in object selection mode, the orbit tool orbits the camera around the normal camera interest. If you are in component selection mode, using the orbit tool orbits the camera about the selected components.
Pivoting is like orbiting in reverse; the point of interest rotates around its camera, spotlight, or user viewpoint. This is convenient when you want to precisely adjust the interest’s position.
|
Pivoting is only possible in the perspective views (camera, user, and so on). |
To pivot
• Choose the Pivot Tool from any viewport’s camera icon menu.
When you pivot, the left mouse button allows free rotation, the middle mouse button allows vertical rotation, and the right mouse button allows horizontal rotation.
You can dolly toward the camera interest in a perspective view or toward the center of the 3D view in an orthogonal view. Rolling is only possible in the perspective views.
• Choose Dolly Tool from any viewport’s camera icon menu or press the p supra key. Then, in any 3D view, do any of the following:
- Press the left mouse button and drag to track normally.
- Press the middle button and drag to track slowly.
- Press the right button and drag to track quickly.
To roll the camera about its Z axis
• Choose Roll Tool from any viewport’s camera icon menu or press the l (L) supra key. Then, in any 3D view, do any of the following:
- Press the left mouse button and drag to roll normally.
- Press the middle button and drag to roll slowly.
- Press the right button and drag to roll quickly.
Centering is similar to framing, but without any zooming or dollying. The camera is tracked horizontally and vertically so that the selected elements are at the center of the viewport.
To center the selection in a single view
Do one of the following:
• Move the pointer over the view and press Alt+c.
• Choose Center Selection from the view’s camera icon menu.
To center the selection in all open views
• Press Alt+Shift+c.
The walk and fly tools are first-person walkthrough camera tools that combine mouse movement with a custom key map to help you navigate precisely in perspective views. When you use the walk or fly tool, the mouse pivots the camera, while the custom key map controls camera movement. The key commands are:
|
Key |
Movement |
Key |
Movement |
|
q |
Move down |
a |
Move left |
|
w |
Move forward |
s |
Move back |
|
e |
Move up |
d |
Move right |
You must first hold down a mouse button for any of the key commands to work.
1. Choose Walk Tool from any viewport’s camera icon menu.
2. Then, in any 3D view, do any of the following:
- Press the left mouse button to walk normally.
- Press the middle button to walk slowly.
- Press the right button to walk quickly.
When you use the walk tool, movement is parallel to the ground.
1. Choose Fly Tool from any viewport’s camera icon menu.
2. Then, in any 3D view, do any of the following:
- Press the left mouse button to fly normally.
- Press the middle button to fly slowly.
- Press the right button to fly quickly.
When you use the fly tool, movement is toward the camera’s interest.
To set Walk/Fly tool options
1. From the main menu, choose File > Preferences to open the Preferences window. Then click the Tools > Camera icon in the explorer pane to open the Camera property editor.
2. Set the following Walk/Fly options:
- Look Speed (units/sec) sets the speed at which the Walk/Fly tool “looks” when you move the mouse.
- Forward/Sideways (units/sec) sets the speed at which the Walk/Fly tool moves forwards and backwards (w and s keys), or left and right (a and d keys).
- Slow/Fast Multiplier specifies the factor by which speed is adjusted when you use fast (right mouse button) and slow (left mouse button) interaction.
The drive tool is a first-person walkthrough camera tool that is similar to the walk and fly tools, but has more versatile mouse controls and additional visual feedback.
When the drive tool is active, left-clicking or middle-clicking anywhere in the view displays a guide icon, which delineates the different movement zones. Dragging the mouse into any of those zones moves the camera in the corresponding direction and changes the mouse pointer to indicate the type and direction of the movement. As you move the mouse further from the center, the movement speed increases and the guide icon fades to transparency.
The type of movement depends on which mouse button you press: the left-mouse button is for turning movements and the middle-mouse button is for sliding movements, as shown below:
In addition to the mouse commands, you can use a custom keymap to move the camera. The key commands are:
|
Key |
Movement |
Key |
Movement |
|
q |
Move down |
a |
Look left |
|
w |
Look up |
s |
Look down |
|
e |
Move up |
d |
Look right |
The right-mouse button pivots the camera but does not display the guide icon or activate the custom keymap.
To activate the drive tool
• Choose Drive Tool from any viewport’s camera icon menu.
To set Drive tool options
1. From the main menu, choose File > Preferences to open the Preferences window. Then click the Tools > Camera icon in the explorer pane to open the Camera property editor.
2. Set the following Drive options:
- Speed sets the speed of Drive tool mouse interaction.
- Turn (deg/sec) sets the speed at which the Drive tool “turns” when you use the mouse to turn or rotate.
- Up/Down (units/sec) sets the speed at which the Drive tool moves up and down (e and q keys).
- Show Guide specifies whether the Drive tool guide is displayed in the viewports when the tool is activated.
The Navigation tool combines a number of different viewport navigation tools into one.
To activate the navigation tool
• Choose Navigation Tool from the camera icon menu or press the s supra key in a viewport perspective view. Then do any of the following:
- Left-click to track (pan).
- Middle-click to dolly.
- Right-click to orbit.
• Press Shift and click as follows:
- Left-click to track (pan) horizontally/vertically.
- Middle-click to roll.
- Right-click to orbit horizontally/vertically.
• Press Ctrl and click as follows:
- Left-click to zoom in using the rectangular zoom tool.
- Middle-click to zoom out using the rectangular zoom tool.
Setting Maya Mouse Mapping
You can set the navigation tool to use the same mouse button behavior as in Maya.
To set Maya mouse mapping for the navigation tool
1. From the main menu, choose File > Preferences to open the Preferences window. Then click the Tools > Camera item in the explorer pane to open the Camera property editor.
2. In the Nav section, set the Mouse Mapping option to Maya.
When the Maya mapping is set, the mouse controls change to the following:
• Right-click to orbit.
• Left-click to track (pan).
• Middle-click to dolly.
Press Shift and click as follows:
• Right-click to orbit horizontally/vertically.
• Left-click to track (pan) horizontally/vertically.
• Middle-click to roll.
Press Ctrl and click as follows:
• Left-click to zoom in using the rectangular zoom tool.
• Middle-click to zoom out using the rectangular zoom tool.
You can reset the camera and other 3D views so that their global point of origin (X = 0, Y = 0, Z = 0) is in the center of the 3D view.
To reset the camera and view coordinates
• Choose Reset from the camera icon menu or press r.
You can isolate selected objects so that only those objects are displayed. Other objects are hidden (similar to using an object view which is described in Object Views). This is useful when you are only working on a few elements in a large scene.
When objects are isolated in a viewport, the following controls appear in the top left corner:
To isolate the selection in a viewport
1. Select the objects to isolate.
2. Choose Isolate Selection from the view’s camera icon menu.
To display all objects again, toggle Isolate Selection off or use the on-screen control.
To isolate other objects
1. Select the objects to isolate in another view.
2. Choose Update Isolated from the view’s camera icon menu, or use the on-screen control.
Autodesk Softimage v.7.5