topic Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar in AutoCAD Forum

Assign Pan to Spacebar

jlawlorSNLBE — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 18:17:15 GMT

Yet another (as I understand it) vote for a PC user of Autocad 2023 to be able to assign the spacebar to be 'pan'.

Please and thank you.

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

pendean — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 19:17:44 GMT

Greetings @jlawlorSNLBE

The Spacebar in AutoCAD is used as an <enter> as well as text entries: your wish is a very bad idea. Can you select another button or perhaps a little used or spare mouse button instead?

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

jlawlorSNLBE — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 20:18:48 GMT

@pendean bad as you seem to think it is, it does seem to be a popular request, and a feature that is possible on the Mac version of the app. Also, if [enter] and [spacebar] currently do the same thing, wouldn't it make more sense to maximize the amount of hotkeys available to users by not requiring two keys to do the same thing?

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

pendean — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 22:09:09 GMT

@jlawlorSNLBE Popular without an answer perhaps, not seeing any discussion about it over there in the dedicated MAC forum
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?filter=location&q=spacebar%20for%20pan&advanced=false&location=forum-board:520

BUT... the AutoCADforMAC forum is over here if that is what you need to use and you find that ability popular https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-for-mac/ct-p/4051

HTH

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

RobDraw — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 22:12:32 GMT

Yeah, don't think it's gonna happen.

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

Kent1Cooper — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 12:05:27 GMT

@jlawlorSNLBE wrote:

.... if [enter] and [spacebar] currently do the same thing....

They do only in certain circumstances. They don't in Text or Mtext or Dimension-text-override or Attribute-value entry, nor in entering Layer or Block names which are allowed to have spaces in them [that hasn't always been the case]. In the case of either Enter or space recalling the last-used command, I greatly prefer the space bar, which I can whap with my left thumb, rather than moving my hand over [or taking my right hand off the mouse] to get to the Enter key. Nor would I want to be required to use only Enter to conclude typing in a command name or alias.

Is your idea that the space bar would just be a space bar when following other typed content, but would call up the Pan command only when it's the first thing at a Command prompt?

If Macs don't have mouse wheels that let you Pan without using the keyboard at all, I imagine that's a reason the space bar calls up Pan, though I wonder how they decided what command to put there.

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

jlawlorSNLBE — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 15:01:59 GMT

@pendean I'm sure there's not a lot of requests in the Mac forum because they have the feature already. I'm hoping to bring it to the PC version, since it is an option in the Mac version.

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

jlawlorSNLBE — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 15:03:49 GMT

@RobDraw one can hope! They did it when they created the Mac version, so its not impossible. But after looking at people requesting this feature for at least the last 10 years, I agree that I shouldn't hold my breath! Gotta keep giving Autodesk the feedback though.

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

jlawlorSNLBE — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 15:05:47 GMT

@Kent1Cooper yes, it would act like a spacebar when I'm typing text, but be the pan tool otherwise. And I totally hear your preference, which is why I think Autodesk nailed it in the Mac version where its a user preference that you can select or not. I would select it. You would not 🙂

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

pendean — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 15:09:03 GMT

@jlawlorSNLBE The feature is on the MAC for a limitation reason: but if you want it for the Windows version, start scouring the web for a solution, you'll hate it once implemented as you gain more experience with the program.

you can also Open a support case with Autodesk if you are on subscription to seek out Autodesk Support's help, see if there is more shareable knowledge with their Tier1 Support teams:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/customer-service/account-management/users-software/support-options/web-support/submit-view-cases

Best wishes.

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

Kent1Cooper — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 17:27:32 GMT

@jlawlorSNLBE wrote:

... it would act like a spacebar when I'm typing text, but be the pan tool otherwise. .... in the Mac version where its a user preference .... I would select it. You would not

I might if I used a Mac, and couldn't Pan by press-and-drag with a mouse wheel [I think that's the "limitation reason" @pendean was referring to]. But how does it work? With no command active, you hit the space bar, and.... I'm not sure what you mean by "be the pan tool." Does is simply start a Pan command, the same as if you typed in the command name? Then you pick two points with the mouse for the Pan displacement? Does it show the Panning happening dynamically between those two point picks, so you can see where you'll end up? Or maybe you press-and-drag with the mouse? Something else?

Also, if you want to do another of whatever command [of any kind] you just used, is there a way to simply recall it [as the space bar does in the Windows version when no command is active]? Or do you need to type it in again, or navigate to a menu item somewhere and invoke it again?

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

jlawlorSNLBE — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 18:57:40 GMT

@Kent1Cooper I would like the space bar to act exactly like the middle button of a mouse in regards to pan (click and hold the spacebar and it starts panning. Release the spacebar and the curser goes back to being the curser again.) I use this app on a mac (home) and pc (work) and have a middle mouse button in both instances. There are, however, times when I'm mouse-less (working on a laptop) and I'm using the track pad on the machine. In that instance (no middle button access) on PC and Mac, I'd like to turn the spacebar into a pan tool. On a Mac, I can select this feature in preferences. In numerous other major drawing/drafting apps, I also have the option (if its not already the default behavior).

Whether the spacebar is the pan tool or not, the enter button would maintain its ability to recall the previously used tool, as it does now. Hope this clears up the desired behavior 🙂

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

Patchy — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 20:00:57 GMT

click and hold the spacebar and it starts panning. Release the spacebar and the curser goes back to being the curser again.

How does it know where to pan to L,R,U,D ? unless you hold down the arrow key too.

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

RobDraw — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 20:04:14 GMT

@jlawlorSNLBE wrote:
Gotta keep giving Autodesk the feedback though.

They don't look at this (user help) forum for feedback. Have you tried the Product Feedback page?

Re: Assign Pan to Spacebar

RobDraw — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 20:05:30 GMT

@Patchy wrote:
How does it know where to pan to L,R,U,D ?

Uhmmm... Move the mouse?

SMH...