Rotate Model with Middle Mouse Button

[Anonymous]

I've been researching this all day and I can't find anything that works for me.  Is there a way to change the middle mouse button from "Pan" to "Rotate" my model?  Currently, I hold "Shift" while holding down the middle mouse button and that rotates my model.  Can I incorporate that into my middle mouse button somehow without having to buy a 3D Connexion mouse?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

After making changes to suite me, I was flying like an ace fighter pilot within 5 minutes.

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Which model did you get?  My old boss/colleage/friend loves the Space Explorer and is convinced I should force myself to assimilate.

The problem I had is one of a perceived lack of precision (even after changing several settings from the default).  That is to say, when I move things with a mouse, the movement stops the instant my hand stops.  Similarly, the speed of the motion on screen is directly proportional to the speed of my hand.  It functions, conceptually, much the way I imagine an ideal exoskeleton would (i.e. like Ripley had in Aliens).

  In contrast, with the space explorer, the movement control was more along the lines of an on/off volume control.  That is, leaning the controller to one side initiates motion, and rocking it farther (or pulling it up like a helicoptor collective or what have you) causes faster motion on the screen.  To stop the motion, you have to return your hand to the center position (or let go).  This creates two mental conflicts for me.  One is that to start and stop require two distinct motions (vs one with the mouse).  The other is a switch from "speed controls speed" to "pressure controls speed", requiring a much higher degree of practice and fine motor control (taking concentration powers away from my task, and channeling them into what was formerly a completely intuitive tool).

Ultimately, my main point here is not reeally related to not being comfortable with the Space Explorer, et al.  It's about the software lacking what I perceive to be critical functionality (functionality which is present in apparently all the competing products).

I have about 4,000 hours or so on SW, and about... oh... 6... on Inventor by now.  So, one could say I'm fairly accustomed to how SW works.  And, while I can certainly understand that each software will have it's own unique way of doing things, it's perhaps extra frustrating because Inventor is SO similar to SW in so many ways, and yet at the same time I keep discovering these inexplicable gaps in what I consider essential functionality (i.e. the MMB thing, and also the inability to Exit Sketch without saving).

[LT.Rusty]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

After making changes to suite me, I was flying like an ace fighter pilot within 5 minutes.

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Which model did you get?  My old boss/colleage/friend loves the Space Explorer and is convinced I should force myself to assimilate.

The problem I had is one of a perceived lack of precision (even after changing several settings from the default).  That is to say, when I move things with a mouse, the movement stops the instant my hand stops.  Similarly, the speed of the motion on screen is directly proportional to the speed of my hand.  It functions, conceptually, much the way I imagine an ideal exoskeleton would (i.e. like Ripley had in Aliens).

  In contrast, with the space explorer, the movement control was more along the lines of an on/off volume control.  That is, leaning the controller to one side initiates motion, and rocking it farther (or pulling it up like a helicoptor collective or what have you) causes faster motion on the screen.  To stop the motion, you have to return your hand to the center position (or let go).  This creates two mental conflicts for me.  One is that to start and stop require two distinct motions (vs one with the mouse).  The other is a switch from "speed controls speed" to "pressure controls speed", requiring a much higher degree of practice and fine motor control (taking concentration powers away from my task, and channeling them into what was formerly a completely intuitive tool).

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snip

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also the inability to Exit Sketch without saving).

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I'm not sure how it takes any more manual dexterity or anything to use the SpacePilot, to be honest.  I do better with that than using the mouse.  After 3 years of using the SpacePilot, I simply cannot function without it.  It's really painful to try and use Inventor with only the mouse, anymore.

For me, it's like just reaching out and manipulating the object with my hand.  One thing I might suggest is that, when you're just starting out, you set it to use only the dominant axis of your movement.  It can cut down on the dizziness. 

Also, I find that I only use the zoom aspect of the SpacePilot for more large-scale zoom actions.  I use the mouse wheel for really fine in-out action.

As far as "inability to exit sketch without saving," do you mean "inability to save without exiting sketch?"  I haven't ever seen a prompt come up to save on exiting the sketch, but if I try and save while I'm editing a sketch, it will ask if I want to exit the sketch and continue saving.

[Anonymous]

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@LT.Rusty wrote:

I'm not sure how it takes any more manual dexterity or anything to use the SpacePilot, to be honest.

As far as "inability to exit sketch without saving," do you mean "inability to save without exiting sketch?"  I haven't ever seen a prompt come up to save on exiting the sketch, but if I try and save while I'm editing a sketch, it will ask if I want to exit the sketch and continue saving.

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What I mean by requiring finer motor control is that, for example, a half an once of extra force in one direction can mean the difference between spinning my model at a nice, watchable, comprehensible speed, and having it spin wildly out of control.  I appreciate that it is a tool with which one can improve and become more comfortable with over time.  I'm also aware that I seem to be the odd-ball who doesn't enjoy this particular tool, and I imagine I'll probably force myself to try it again some day.  That being said, the discussion of the space ball for me is bit of a red herring, since my main issue is that I would prefer the software just did what I wanted it to.  😛

As for the bit about exit sketch without saving, I'll explain a bit more (while running the risk of hijacking the thread).  Short version, I mean exit sketch without saving any of the changes just made in the sketch", and not saving the part before exiting the sketch.  Example:  If I go in to edit the sketch of an existing part (which, for sake of argument, we'll say is a part that's used in multiple assemblies).  If I go in and start changing things in the sketch and after a while of mucking about, things aren't going the way I wanted, and suddenly things become a big mess, and I want to bail out... I can do that in SW, and when I exit the sketch, I have the option of abandoning all changes I was making by simply NOT saving that sketch editing session (i.e. exit sketch without saving changes).  In Inventor, as far as I can tell, the only way to exit a sketch (without closing the part) is to use the Save Sketch button.  If I want to exit the sketch and abandon all changes, I have to close the whole part (and hope I had everything saved up until the point where I decided I needed to edit the sketch).  I hope that's more clear.

In any case, I don't mean to hijack this particular thread.  I've done hunting around in other threads/forums on this topic and found the available work-arounds.  I just mentioned it here as another example of something in Inventor that I was a bit mystified and frustrated by when I found it (particularly as a recent migrant from SW land).

[blair]

The actual "puck" is the same for all versions whether it's the small Traveler, Explorer or Pilot Pro. Setting up the speed to your personal preference is the biggest issue.

I'm sure if I compare the Pilot Pro I have at work to my Pilot at home and the Traveler for my laptop. The actual "puck" is the same for all three. Even my first CadMan used the same puck.

[LT.Rusty]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The actual "puck" is the same for all versions whether it's the small Traveler, Explorer or Pilot Pro. Setting up the speed to your personal preference is the biggest issue.

I'm sure if I compare the Pilot Pro I have at work to my Pilot at home and the Traveler for my laptop. The actual "puck" is the same for all three. Even my first CadMan used the same puck.

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Do you find that they respond differently?

My SP at home seems a lot more twitchy than the Pro at the work.

I'm on the edge of buying a Pro for home, too.  I have to double-check, but I think I can get a faculty discount at Studica, which would take a big chunk of the sting out of it ...

[JDMather]

I have three different models, mostely use the Space Navigator as that is what we have in the labs.

I change the zoom/pan behavior so that pan up/down matches pan right/left  motion (to me).

I speed it up to about 3/4 (I think slower might cause the twitchyness described above as you then have to apply too much force and you end up over doing it trying to get the model to move.

And like someone else wrote, to me it is exactly like having the actual model in my hand, except that I now have a bionic arm where weight doesn't matter.

Just try running Routed Systems without a 3D mouse, that should be outlawed as torture akin to water-boarding.
I use mine in Inventor, SolidWorks, Creo, Google Earth and every once in a while I try to give AutoCAD another chance (haven't tried with AutoCAD 2014 yet).

We have learned to Calibrate daily, and don't leave anything, not even a sheet of paper, rest against the puck overnight.

On SWx, not that this makes up for canceling a sketch or for not being able to save while in sketch environment, but in Inventor you can pretty much undo back to the beginning of a file and redo back to finished model.  In SWx you have to be careful what you Undo because a lot of stuff you can't Redo if you want to.

After a while of jumping from one program to another (I teach all 4 depending on class) I realized I had to simply accept the differences and ignore momentary frustration. 

[Anonymous]

 I realized I had to simply accept the differences and ignore momentary frustration. 

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The Zen is strong with this one.

I have a class in Autodesk starting, but not for a couple weeks.  In the meanwhile, I decided to just jump in, do the tutorials, play with sample files, and see if I couldn't do something useful at work in the mean time.  

If nothing else, it gives me a break from studying turbine reaction blading.

[blair]

I really can't say that I can tell any difference with the actual controller. Possibly with the Traveler the "Puck" is not in the same position due to the lack of any wrist rest with the Pilot or Pro.

[LT.Rusty]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The Zen is strong with this one.

I have a class in Autodesk starting, but not for a couple weeks.  In the meanwhile, I decided to just jump in, do the tutorials, play with sample files, and see if I couldn't do something useful at work in the mean time.  

If nothing else, it gives me a break from studying turbine reaction blading.

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Whose class are you taking, just out of curiosity?

[Anonymous]

I'm taking a class with a company called MecSoft.  I'm guessing you likely wouldn't recognize them, though... I live in Costa Rica.

[whunter · Accepted solution]

I find that {SHIFT}{MMB} in combination with option 3 During (press on down, release on up) works better for me.

Great little app though, kudos for suggesting it.

Inventor Pro 2014 SP1 Update 3, Win 7 64-bit.
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Please mark this as Solved if it answered your question, other people may find it useful too.

[jyager]

Not really relevant to the original question...but I couldn't imagine using this software w/o my SpaceMouse Pro. I had to become a real nuissance for about 3 mos before they finally caved, but at this point taking it away would be the equivalent of taking away my mouse or keyboard.

I find myself getting annoyed at software that doesn't encompass the technology now...like our 3D scanner we have where you have to navigate the point cloud with your normal mouse and antiquated pan/orbit tools.

[ACEDeSmedt]

And the winning combination goes to:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Here is the best solution for you

1-download X-mouse

2-after you install, go to setup

3-layer name , type anything you like

4-click middle botton and scrool down till you see simulated keys

5-type: {F4}

6-choose option 8 Sticky (held down......)

9-accept

now try and see

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@whunter wrote:

I find that {SHIFT}{MMB} in combination with option 3 During (press on down, release on up) works better for me.

Great little app though, kudos for suggesting it.

Inventor Pro 2014 SP1 Update 3, Win 7 64-bit.
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Please mark this as Solved if it answered your question, other people may find it useful too.

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[Anonymous]

Could not agree with this statement more! I have been a ProE / Creo user for 10 years. I have also had a space navigator for 6 years. I never use it. It is another peripheral that I have to use a second hand for. Why should I need to use 2 hands to do something simple like rotate a model. Just dumb to hard code. Give us config options. I am finding it difficult to accept this migration to Autodesk.

[Anonymous]

Exact same beef from a Creo user transitioning to Inventor. In fact I have just attempted to make a sketch and decide, no I want this to go away. Save sketch, then delete the sketch from the model tree... Why so much extra work and not just a cancel function?

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Another possible solution is similiar to the "X-mouse" solution suggested earlier.  I have a Logitech mouse and you can program different functions.  As can be seen in the picture, I mapped the back button on the side of the mouse to shift so I can hold that with my thumb and use the middle mouse to rotate.  I also programmed the forward button to "home view" which has proved convenient on occasion.

[Anonymous]

Click on your name i Top-Right corner, select Preferences, go to General and under Pan, Zoom, Orbit shortcuts select Solidworks.

[ACEDeSmedt]

@Anonymous I think you need to be more clear in witch software (version) you are talking about because I can't find the Preference options not under my name (Inventor 2015)

[Anonymous]

Just apply this guy's hack, it work for me: http://jjanstad.tumblr.com/post/108251526033/autohotkey-mouse-fixes-for-inventor-catia-and

[Anonymous]

Now thats a disappointment. Because you can "pan" with zoom and you can not rotate with zoom. Might migrate from NX to Inventor. But so far its just the costs that wins 🙂