How to make the rotate, move and scale tools more smooth

[vordermand]

It's impossible for me to rotate an object with infinite precission. I don't really need infinite precission, but I would like my rotate tool (and those other tools as well) to be more precise. Because a picture tells a 1000 words, here's a picture of my problem:

If I drag on the rotate widget a little bit, the object won't rotate smoothly, rather it rotates in tiny steps that are equal or larger to step snap rotation at 0.01 value.

As you can see I can't get this object to be rotated so that it's completely level with the planar surface underneath it, which itself is at a random angle. These are the 2 closest "steps" of rotation that Maya allows right now, with my settings. In effect my rotate tool has a tiny step snap that I can't turn off. How do I make my rotate, move and scale tools more precise/smooth? Or is there a better way to get this object level with the randomly slanted surface underneath it?

I already tried:

-Deleting history

-Freezing transformations

-Setting working units to centimeters instead of meters

-Fiddling around with the "tolerance" sliders on that same window

None of these things had any effect.

I'd rather not share the project file.

Thanks in advance,

-D

[brentmc · Accepted solution]

Hi,

There are a couple of options:

After selecting a manipulator handle you can middle-click and drag anywhere in the 3D view to rotate the object using indirect manipulation which will give you a larger drag area.

Alternatively you can bypass the rotation manip and use the channel box for more control:

1) click the small manipulator icon twice to disable the rotate manipulator

2) set the slider speed icon to the smallest value

3) select the rotate channel you want to manipulate

Then middle-click and drag in the view to rotate that channel.

Ctrl + middle-click-drag will give more precision or

Shift + Ctrl + middle-click drag for the highest level of precision.  

https://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2020/ENU/?guid=GUID-6F862011-4578-40A0-9902-786CA2A44AE5

Finally, don't forget to click the manipulator icon to turn the manipulator back on when you are done. 😉

--

Brent

[vordermand]

Thanks a lot! I saw a tutorial once where someone was middle dragging those values and I didn't know how he did it, now I do. I hope other people will find this forum post when they have the same problem.

[gaston8EALJ]

I already wrote about this on another thread but since any people have similar questions, I will reply here as well.

The Logitech G600 has a third button for your ring finger (like in the old days with 3 button mouses) that increases the mouse's sensitivity (and accuracy) so you can adjust any manipulator inside the viewport. Logitech's app allows you to control how much accuracy you get with said button. The app is optional but recommended. On top of that, the G600 has 12 more buttons on the side so you can assign those to Maya shortcuts. This mouse is an absolute pleasure to use with Maya. I still like a tablet better though.