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jerrylynnb · 10th September 2007, 10:16 PM

I'm having fits with this - I am used to using 3dBrowser and it is very confusing. The rotate feature (left click mouse and move mouse left/right) seems to ONLY spin the selected model along the axix going from my eyes straight through the screen along the axis normal to the screen at the pixel where the mouse is when you press left-mouse down (this is like creating a new Z axis going throught the mouse).

That means rotate doesn't bring ANY part of the object into view that isn't already in view (it just spins it like a globe where you are looking straight down from the north pole). So I guess what I am looking for is "tumble" - that is, I really want to see portions of the object currently behind something (that makes it hidden from view), and so I want to either tumble it (along the Y axis (so it will "spin" the top towards me and the bottom away from me"), or "veer"(??) it, so that the left part of the object will spin towards me and the right part of the model will spin away from me. That way, I can make tiny adjustments to my object that make sense to me when I am trying to make delicate changes.

The rotate boxes on the left (where you type in a value and then click on rotate) are so cumbersome that I can't see getting much done having to interface that way every time I want to make a tiny tumble or left/right veer.

Surely AC3D (v6.0) has a way for me to change the axis of rotation from the currnet Z axis (straighr into the screen thought the starting point of the mouse) to either the X (spin it left to right), or the Y axis (tumble it top to bottom) and then I can use the left-mouse button down with careful mouse movements to see my retults as I go - this is all done in the ortho view, of course.

So is there a way to select either the X or Y axis instead of the defalut Z axis for the rotate feature while staying in the ortho view?

My reason for staying in the ortho view is because I need the maximun screen size to see my model from whichever angle that best shows what I am working on, and, it is just too cumbersome to be having to change views every time I want to adjust the orientation of the objects view (left/right or top/bottom). The ability to rotate it along the Z axis is something I would almost never use - I can't understand why that was chosen to be the default axis of rotation.

10th September 2007, 10:16 PM	#1
jerrylynnb Member Advanced member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 30	Rotate vs Tumble vs Veer I'm having fits with this - I am used to using 3dBrowser and it is very confusing. The rotate feature (left click mouse and move mouse left/right) seems to ONLY spin the selected model along the axix going from my eyes straight through the screen along the axis normal to the screen at the pixel where the mouse is when you press left-mouse down (this is like creating a new Z axis going throught the mouse). That means rotate doesn't bring ANY part of the object into view that isn't already in view (it just spins it like a globe where you are looking straight down from the north pole). So I guess what I am looking for is "tumble" - that is, I really want to see portions of the object currently behind something (that makes it hidden from view), and so I want to either tumble it (along the Y axis (so it will "spin" the top towards me and the bottom away from me"), or "veer"(??) it, so that the left part of the object will spin towards me and the right part of the model will spin away from me. That way, I can make tiny adjustments to my object that make sense to me when I am trying to make delicate changes. The rotate boxes on the left (where you type in a value and then click on rotate) are so cumbersome that I can't see getting much done having to interface that way every time I want to make a tiny tumble or left/right veer. Surely AC3D (v6.0) has a way for me to change the axis of rotation from the currnet Z axis (straighr into the screen thought the starting point of the mouse) to either the X (spin it left to right), or the Y axis (tumble it top to bottom) and then I can use the left-mouse button down with careful mouse movements to see my retults as I go - this is all done in the ortho view, of course. So is there a way to select either the X or Y axis instead of the defalut Z axis for the rotate feature while staying in the ortho view? My reason for staying in the ortho view is because I need the maximun screen size to see my model from whichever angle that best shows what I am working on, and, it is just too cumbersome to be having to change views every time I want to adjust the orientation of the objects view (left/right or top/bottom). The ability to rotate it along the Z axis is something I would almost never use - I can't understand why that was chosen to be the default axis of rotation.