Free Orbit NOT the same as SolidWorks, and therefore is horrible

[Anonymous]

I was looking into switching to Fusion 360 for our company, and upon playing with the demo, changing the settings to be like SolidWorks, and gave it a shot.  I will not purchase the software because the free orbit is unusable.  It doesn't pick the CG of the part, it doesn't pick the center of the mouse, it picks some random spot in space, so my whole model is whipping off the screen when I try to rotate it.  It works perfectly in SolidWorks, but is infuriating to the point where I have given up.  Thought I'd share in case you care about fixing broken things.

[roambotics_scott]

Yeah it's definitely a bit frustrating that it's so random and inconsistent. Manipulating the viewpoint should almost go through a major re-thinking.

[ylevine]

Tip: first shift+middle click to set your rotation point, then shift+middle drag to orbit. I agree this could be improved.

Fusion is not supposed to be the "same" as SolidWorks; it's supposed to be different and better. There are some areas where it's better and some areas where it's not. Things like easy collaboration, integrated version control, and upcoming cloud simulation are better but different. It's up to you to decide which you prefer.

[roambotics_scott]

I don't think they're really asking for «same» so much as «sane» there.

[WyzeOwl]

Having to use a mouse and a key to orbit is a problem for me. Orbiting seems like a feature (to me anyways) that is in use constantly and should be accessible through mouse only actuations - of perhaps simultaneous left/right buttons held down while dragging to orbit. Lesser cad systems have this, which I am switching from. Mousing to orbit is much easier than mouse and shift key.

[kb9ydn]

Yeah, if you're used to constantly orbiting around like you can do in SWX, you will hate Fusion at first. 

The first problem is that you *cannot* set the pivot point when using the SWX keyboard shortcuts for pan/zoom/orbit.  It literally does not work at all.  <Shift> + MMB is for zoom and that's what you get.

The second problem is that when you do set the pivot point (using something other than the SWX key shortcuts) you have to click MMB, then release, then click again to actually orbit.  But don't don't click too fast or it will zoom to fit screen instead.

The third problem is that the set point sticks for some (??) period of time unless you set it again.  It would be better if it cleared right away.

After a year or so I've settled down from seriously irritated to just moderately annoyed (although this post is bringing me back to seriously irritated).  I've brought this up in multiple forum posts and in the ideastation, and not many people (users) seem to care, therefore it's not a priority for AD to make it better.  At least there is an item in the bug database to fix the issue with being able to set the pivot point when using the SWX key shortcuts.

C|

[WyzeOwl]

I found that when switching preferences Pan/Zoom/Orbit to Solidworks, the orbit issues that I originally had went away. I didn't realize that changing the preference to SWX activated the MMB to orbit. My original issue/complaint was that I did not like having to use SHIFT and a mouse to orbit - which is the default setting in preferences for Fusion.

[ylevine]

@cekuhnen, I want to pont out this thread in regard to our discussion at http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/ideastation-request-a-feature-or/shortcuts-for-model-view-cube/idc-p/5....

Here, sextant08 is also asking for better access to Orbit with mouse-only interface (no keyboard). It's a pretty obvious -- and obtrusive -- problem. If you look around other threads, there are probably a lot of people who have a similar complaint.

Thanks!

[haughec]

We agree that our Orbit behavior needs improvement, and we're well into a project to improve the way it works.

The problems we're trying to address:

• Fusion relies heavily on users to select the center point for Orbit operations (by clicking Shift + Middle Mouse).  If you don't set the pivot point (or don't know to set it), Fusion's Orbit behavior can feel unpredictable - especially when zoomed in.
• What's worse is that this shortcut is not available in our SolidWorks navigation mode.
  

What we're doing to address them:

• First & foremost, we're revising the Orbit behavior to be more intuitive & predictable without the need to manually set a pivot point.  The new behavior will work as follows:
  • When the entire model is visible on the screen, Orbit will pivot about the center of the model.
  • When zoomed in, Orbit will pivot about the closest point to the cursor when the Middle Mouse button is pressed.
• In the event that the above behavior doesn't resolve Orbit predictability completely, we're also going to provide the ability to set a pivot point manually in all navigation modes (Including SolidWorks nav mode).  This Set/Reset Pivot behavior will be available from the context menu.

Timeframe:

We have an initial implementation that we're testing now, and we're expecting to release it in coming months (if not weeks...).  We'll be looking forward to feedback once the new behavior is available.

Thanks for all of your input.

Charles

[haughec]

Orbit behavior was updated in the Feb 25 release, and should feel much better when using a mouse.  Please let us know what you think!

Thanks,

Charles

[roambotics_scott]

Slightly improved but still pretty awful with a mouse or trackpad

http://youtu.be/apfeoe8rQS8

[kb9ydn]

It's ok until you get to higher zoom levels, where it starts to fall apart.  Unfortunately this is where you need it the most.  But now that the basic functionality is in place it can be improved on.

C|

[roambotics_scott]

Yeah hopefully it's just a matter of iterating and dialing it in but just to be clear, it breaks down as soon as you get to just a few x. We're not talking about going to 100x or more magnification here (though that should work too)

[smallfavor]

I'm just now looking into the app and I find the orbiting to be a bit of a nisance.  I normally orbit my model holding down the right mouse button.  Is there a way to manage the navigation?  I'm not very impressed with the preferences options.

[ylevine]

@smallfavor Press shift+middle mouse button or change to a different mouse-button scheme in settings.

I set the extra, side button on my Logitech mouse to work as "shift" when in Fusion 360.

[Anonymous]

This appears to be behaving the same as Solidworks for me.

Thanks for the implementation!