SketchUp feature requst

[David Boulder]

It would be great if I could toggle through my SketchUp tools from the Space Navigator. I keep having to bring my hand back to the keybooard to switch to move, select, push/pull and other tools.

It would be great if one of the buttons could be used to toggle through the tools, or maybe single click of the button and then a twist of the dial. Better yet, maybe once in this mode pushing down at 12 on dial of click would give one tool, 2 or 3 on the hands of a clock would give another. When I get the tool I like, another click on the button sets it.

Another option of even having to go to the button is for the Space Navigator to recognize gestures (basically a sequence of moves like double tap, or quick up and down to carry out a command or enter into a different mode.)

[David Boulder]

OK, after seeing how the custom function works for the buttons this could almost work.

I see I can have a series of keystrokes. Once set when I click the button it runs through all of these.

What if instead of running through all of the programmed keystrokes, it could be set to only run one of them for each click, but will run through them in order. So first click brings up selection tool, next click, push/pool, etc. I could put all of my favorites there and easily access them.

[znissan]

Hi David:

Thank you for the suggestions. We've currently evaluating future development and will definitely consider your suggestions.

Ziva Nissan
3Dconnexion, Inc.

[GTWillemsen]

We've currently evaluating future development and will definitely consider your suggestions.

In that case,..
Maybe it is possible to consider more buttons on the (next) Pilot,
simply doubling the 1-6 buttons, by adding an extra row of buttons 7-12 on top of the 1-6 row.
And I really miss the Spacebar and TAB functionality.

And if the button row(s), which currently is separated by a small black buttonlike part, can be separated by a part made from a different material or with a different shape, or is simply lower, it will be easier to feel instead of whatching/searching for the right button. (think of tiny dot's or stripes on most keyboards at the F and J key).

There are a lot of applications, where you need to work with the keyboard, multibutton mouse and Pilot, but with some extra buttons on the Motion Controller, the keyboard can be put a side.

And at last, maybe I am wrongaccording to some people, but I think at the SpacePilot the "sensitivity" button doesn't need to be immediatly under your fingertips, by placing these left under the Alt, there is space free for four (extra) buttons, maybe small round ones like fit button.
these buttons can be used to function as Home - End - PageUp - PageDown or as the arrowkeys. (depending on programm or users interest), or offcourse any key wanted.

This offers in a lot of programs extra functionality, wherefor now it is necessarry to lift up your hand and place it to the far right of the most keyboards,..

minimum effort - maximum result.

I just got a new Pilot, but will purchase a 'Pilot' with this extra functionality straight away!

(offcourse I have more ideas, but these might be in the interest of most of us I think - and again,... supporting popular game engines like unreal engine, etc. hits two in one,.. the game developers + the financially interesting, really huge gaming community - they pay a lot for the best equipment, and really like to be faster, especially with less energy/RSI)

___
Edit:
And maybe it is possible to assign own functionality to the MotionController self aswell. Some (unsupported) programs, like MotionBuilder, the MotionController doesn't function, BUT if we could assign own functionality,
like;
CTRL+LMB+MouseUp/Down
(in MotionBuilder is this ZOOM In/Out) or similar example; CTRL+SHIFT+LMB+MouseLeft-Right
(in MotionBUilder is this ARC ROTATE)

This way a lot of programs can be supported, without being native supported, and for programs without 3D functionality, the MotionController still can help PANNING etc.

[ngomes]

Good stuff, GTWillemsen. It is very rewarding to hear that kind of comments.

Regarding your suggestion of (yet) more buttons ton the the SP. Have you tried using the "Config" button? If not, try this

1. Start SketchUp;
2. Open the 3DxWare Control Panel;
3. Select the "SketchUp" configuration;
4. Save it with a different title (say "SketchUp - bank 2") from the menu "Options", "Save As...";
5. Press the "Config" button: see how the driver cycles through the available configurations for SketchUp.

With two configurations, you can assign a different set of functions to the buttons and press the "Config" button to toggle between the two configurations.

[GTWillemsen]

(I was editting the first post)

Good stuff, GTWillemsen. It is very rewarding to hear that kind of comments.

Regarding your suggestion of (yet) more buttons ton the the SP. Have you tried using the "Config" button? If not, try this

With two configurations, you can assign a different set of functions to the buttons and press the "Config" button to toggle between the two configurations.

Yes offcourse,..
I already use 4 configs only for 3ds Max, (animating/editting/creating/modelling) and 3 for MotionBuilder.
The biggest issue (for me) is that the buttons never are enough to cover 1 task, so I always have to reach for the keyboard (that's annoying).

Before I used the G185 keyboard, with 3 sets per program and different configs for diff. programs. This really worked well (and can use tasks as alt-ctrl-tab etc. aswell), but with 3D it didn't help and the combination of the SP with the G15 is only for extra wide people

Have DiNovo keyboard now, (a review of me here) which works fine, but missing all the extra buttons/functionality (and can't miss the F-keys).

I am active at a 3D community, where the most given comments are the lack of enough buttons.

[David Boulder]

I'm typically using center of rotation mode.

I've noticed that if I open up a second model it seems to act like it is in camera mode. If I leave it as is and then go back to my other model.

The original model stays in center of rotation mode.

If instead i take my second model and change it to center of rotation, then when I go back to the original model, it has now changed to camera mode.

I would think this is an un-intended bug. Can anyone replicate this?

[ngomes]

Hi David Boulder,

I would think this is an un-intended bug.

That would seem so, yes.
Could you please provide a step-by-step procedure on how to go about reproducing the issue? It would go a long way to help us in getting it fixed, specially if you can be as detailed as possible.

[GTWillemsen]

For the button suggestion, in this topic there's a similar situation. (pressing and releasing button functionality).
It might help in some cases, but should be standard functionality in my opinion.

[David Boulder]

OK, I think I figured out what is happening. I don't think I can attach files here but you can test this on your own with models of largely different scales with the origin at the corner of the model vs. the center.

You can make a model with a small cube. Save the model and then scale the model by factor of 50 (50 times bigger not twice or half). Drag it from the corner vs. center. Save that as another name.

BY default I can't seem to keep "Auto Center of rotation on" so when I go to a model I click the center of rotation button and then click where i want it to rotate. When I open a second model and tell it where to rotate that model from; that same position (relative to the origin) is carried back to the previous model. So going back and forth between a table and a city block, doesn't work well.

Once I turn on Auto-Center of rotation, it seems to stick until I quit SketchUp, but is lost on ext restart.

This is on a mac.

[ngomes]

BY default I can't seem to keep "Auto Center of rotation on"

Do you mean that, after saving, the option is turned off? If you go the menu "Plugins", "3DxSketchUp" is there a tick mark next to the option?

This is on a mac.

It does not seem to reproducible on Windows. We will investigate this further.

[David Boulder]

I can save the SketchUp file and the tickmark will stay there, but if I quit SketchUp and re-launch it the tickmark is gone.

There seem to be two issues. One is if I can get the tickmark to stick when I re-launch SketchUp.

Another issue would to have my manual setting of rotation not to translate from one file to another file, so each can have their own unique center of rotation; vs. passing a single one back and forth.

At least now that I know about auto-center of rotation I can get it to work fine until I quite SketchUp, and then I just need to go back and re-check auto center of rotation.

[ngomes]

I can save the SketchUp file and the tickmark will stay there, but if I quit SketchUp and re-launch it the tickmark is gone.

This is by design. That option is not saved between application sessions.

Another issue would to have my manual setting of rotation not to translate from one file to another file

I'm sot sure I follow. When you load or create a file, the manual setting of rotation will reset to the origin. The rotation centre setting is not saved in the document (navigating the document should force a document to be saved).

[David Boulder]

Another issue would to have my manual setting of rotation not to translate from one file to another file

I'm sot sure I follow. When you load or create a file, the manual setting of rotation will reset to the origin. The rotation centre setting is not saved in the document (navigating the document should force a document to be saved).[/quote]

But once you have two documents loaded and then manually set the center of rotation for one file, it changes it in the other file as well, no longer uses the axis

[ngomes]

But once you have two documents loaded and then manually set the center of rotation for one file, it changes it in the other file as well, no longer uses the axis

How do you go about loading the two documents?