4.8. Navigation
There are several means of navigation in the viewports
keyboard Keyboard Navigation
left-mouse button Mouse
middle-mouse button Middle mouse button
viewport lines Viewport lines
orientation cube Orientation Cube
projection dialog Projection
4.8.1. Keyboard Navigation
Each viewport can be navigated with the keyboard once the mouse cursor is over the viewport
Keys |
Action |
---|---|
[arrows] |
pan viewport |
[Ctrl+arrows] |
orbit viewport around u,v axes |
[Ctrl+Shift+arrows] |
rotates by 90 deg. |
[PgUp] / [PgDn] |
pan viewport front/back |
[Ctrl + PgUp/PgDn] |
orbit viewport around w axis |
[=] ([+) / [-] |
zoom in / zoom out |
[o] |
open projection dialog Projection to set the origin/basis/save/recall etc… |
[Ctrl-0] (zero) |
Center to origin |
[Ctrl-1], [Ctrl-2] |
front [X:Y] / back [-X:Y] |
[Ctrl-3], [Ctrl-4] |
left [Z:Y] / right [-Z:Y] |
[Ctrl-5], [Ctrl-6] |
top [Z:X] / bottom [-Z:X] |
Naming: Viewport naming assumes
- Z:
direction of the beam (horizontal)
- X:
horizontal
- Y:
vertical
4.8.2. Mouse
The viewports can be navigates with the Left Mouse button by selecting before the appropriate action
4.8.2.1. Left mouse button
Icon |
Label |
Shortcut |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
Pan |
x |
Move viewport |
|
Zoom |
z |
zoom in/out. Clicking will zoom x2 or select the region to zoom by drawing a rectangle. To unzoom hold the Control key and click or draw a rectangle |
|
Orbit |
t |
orbit viewport |
Note
The default select action can be achieved with the
icon or with the shortcut [s]
4.8.2.2. Middle mouse button
A more handy way of navigating is with the use of the middle mouse button (or the right one in case of two, by activating the appropriate preference see below)
Pressing the middle mouse button, alone or with the following keys
Modifier |
Description |
---|---|
alone |
Pan/Move viewport |
+ [Right mouse] |
Orbit viewport |
+ [Ctrl] |
orbit projection using a virtual trackball |
+ [Ctrl-Middle-Shift] |
orbit projection using a virtual trackball with steps of 5 degrees |
+ [Shift] |
select rectangle region and zoom into |
+ [Shift-Middle-Ctrl] |
select rectangle region and zoom out |
4.8.2.3. Mouse wheel
With the mouse wheel
Modifier |
Description |
---|---|
alone |
zoom in/out |
Ctrl + Wheel |
pan/move forward or backward |
Ctrl+Shift+Wheel |
smoother pan/move forward/backward |
Shift + Wheel |
resize-cursor: when a body is selected the drag cursor dimensions can be changed with Shift + Wheel |
4.8.2.4. Right mouse button
If laptop mode is enabled, then it behaves like the middle button
Modifier |
Description |
---|---|
alone |
Opens a popup context menu |
+ [Ctrl] |
Opens the insert popup menu |
Note
Middle and Right button can be swapped by activating the laptop mode in the Preferences/Geometry
Wheel sense of zooming can be modified in the Preferences/Geometry
You are required to restart the Geometry Editor after changing the mouse preferences
4.8.3. Viewport lines
Each Viewport if visible in the other viewports it appears as a dashed colored line with a small rectangle showing the center of the viewport.

Using the select cursor you can move the
viewport lines which will result in moving the viewport. Each
line has several handles where actions can take place

Dashed lines represent the other viewport’s cross section on the current plot. The center is represented with a square. When the other-viewport is outside the view window, the viewport-line will be displayed on the closest edge.
Actions (select-tool + left mouse)
drag the center square (red square on the figure) to reposition the viewport
drag the line close to the center (green line) to reposition the viewport along the vertical axis-w of the viewport
drag the extremities (magenta on the figure) of the viewport-line to rotate the viewport
drag+shift the extremities (magenta on the figure) of the viewport to rotate by 5deg.
Press ESCape during dragging to cancel the action
Note
When repositioning the center of a viewport, the center is moved to lie on the current viewport. If you want to reposition the center without moving on the current viewport click the Control button at the same time
4.8.4. Orientation Cube
The orientation cube is the cube showing the axes system located on the bottom-left corner of each viewport
Hovering the mouse over the cube, it will enlarge in size and show more detail waiting for mouse click commands
The letter on each side corresponds to the name of the side. The naming follows the coordinate conversion that:
Z is horizontal and points the beam direction
Y is vertical (anti-gravity)
X is the horizontal (cross product of YxZ)
Letter
Name
Side description
F
Front
X-Y plane towards the positive Z
B
Back
X-Y plane towards the negative Z
U
Up
X-Z plane towards the positive Y
D
Down
X-Z plane towards the negative Y
L
Left
Y-Z plane towards the positive X
R
Right
Y-Z plane towards the negative Y
Element
Command
<center>
the center of each side it will align the viewport to the respective side
<edge>
the edge between two sides it will align the viewport at 45deg azimuthal between the two sides
<corners>
the corner from three sides it will align the viewport at 45deg azimuthal and 45deg polar between the 3 faces
<CW/CCW>
will perform a 90deg rotation clockwise or anti-clockwise versus the relative <w> vector (perpendicular to the screen)
<arrows>
move forward (right) or backward (left) in the view history of the viewport
<home>
will go the predefined system for each viewport
Red - Up
Green - Isometric
Blue - Right
Magenta - Front
<origin>
the origin-circle will move the viewport to 0,0,0
<x/y/z>
axis names, will align the clicked axis to become vertical or horizontal (what is nearest)
<MMB>
middle mouse button will toggle the trackball for orbiting the viewport