SpaceNavigator SE + Solidworks 2008: Zoom to Cursor issue.

[jandrews72]

Unless I'm missing how this function is suppose to work (Zoom to Cursor), my assumption is that where your mouse is on the screen is where you'll zoom to when you use the SpaceNavigator(SN).

It seams that when I zoom with the SN, it wants to only zoom to the center of the screen. It doesn't matter if I have the option "Zoom to Cursor' check or uncheck in the properties. I have remapped button 2 to 'Set Center Point' and that works well as the rotation point in the model but does not help to set a zoom point, and I figured it wouldn't. My main concern is to be able to zoom to the part that my mouse is hovering over. This would be more helpful then using the mouse scroll wheel when doing Explode Line Sketch, as the mouse wheel isn't as smooth to zoom with.

My setup:
HP 8710w Laptop
Solidworks Office Professional 2008 w/SP 2.1
SpaceNavigator SE
Release Version: 3.5.6
Driver: 6.5.5
Solidworks Add-In: 2.11.0

3Dcontrol Properties in Soldworks:
Checked: Z/Y Change, Move on Select, Keep Scale Constant, Zoom to Cursor, Show Banner on Start
Unchecked: Auto Rotation Center, Keep in View, Parts Moving on Select, Stop Part Detachment, Device Beeps on Start, Scroll Tree Views

[Fred]

Jandrews:

Check the box to activate the feature:
Press the middle mouse button and move the motion controller ball or cap straight up and down parallel to desk to activate fast zooming mode.

[jandrews72]

Thank you, that seams to work. I was hoping the zoom to cursor worked without additional input, but I can work with this.

[ngomes]

Hi jandrews72,

The alternative would be to have an "option" of sorts that would get toggled. That would mean -- say -- pressing a toolbar or device button to activate and again to turn it off.

[jwick]

I think he wants to always zoom toward the cursor even in 6DOF mode. Like the way Google Maps always zooms toward the cursor with the mouse wheel. I suppose this means that we would always have to change the center of rotation to what is under the cursor on every event. Casting a ray through the data to find an intersection at 60Hz would be rather expensive.

[jandrews72]

Currently in Solidworks, using the mouse wheel to zoom, it will zoom to where the mouse is pointing. However, as it is not a smooth zoom, it becomes a problem as it may jump to close because the system has to redraw the model as it jumps through the levels of zoom. On a very large model, its to easy to jump past the level of zoom you want with the scroll wheel while the system is attempting to redraw the model, thus the reason to use the smoother zoom of the SpaceNavigator.

This is built into the software when using a mouse and was hoping it would carry over to the SpaceNavigator while using the option 'Zoom to Cursor'. Holding the middle button down works, but wasn't the way I hoped "Zoom to Cursor" worked.

[ngomes]

Hi jandrews72,

Just to confirm, you'd like to have the 3D Mouse always zoom along the direction pointed by the cursor and, on top of that, maintain the ability to rotate (full 6DOF functionality). Is that correct?

[jandrews72]

The only function i would change with the current setup is that the zoom be tied to where the mouse is on the screen as opposed to zooming in on the center of the screen. Right now I can use the mouse wheel to zoom to the cursor anywhere on the screen, but the jumping of zoom combined with large models makes it to easy to over zoom while the model redraws. I can also hold down the middle mouse button, as mentioned earlier, and use the zoom on the SN to zoom to the same spot. I'm hoping there is a way to eliminate the holding of the middle mouse button to get the same function out of the SN. By default, zoom to where my mouse is pointing on the model.

Surely if the mouse wheel can zoom this way, there can be an option incorporated to act in a similar manner, or toggle the zoom function with a middle mouse button function as an option.

[ngomes]

Hi jandrews72,

It is not as easy as it seems at first: the 3D Mouse allows the user to navigate (control the view) independently. That means the user will normally use the normal mouse to "design" (active commands, select features, click-and-drag, etc). If the user is half way through such a "design" process, it may not be desirable to have to zoom direction changing with the mouse pointer.

[bobobo]

I was also disappointed when i found out that i had to push the mouse-scrollwheel to get the spacenavigator zoom to work the way i want.

[guttermonk]

I'm also disappointed to find that I can't set the default to "zoom to cursor" on the fly (without having to hold down any buttons). If I hold down the middle mouse button and accidentally move my mouse, my model rotates. So zooming with the middle mouse button depressed is impractical.

One of the main reasons I bought this was for zooming in and out in SolidWorks exactly how my mouse scroll wheel works. This could easily be a five star product, but I'll have to leave it four stars on Amazon since this feature is missing from the advanced settings menu. I'd be happy to change my review if this feature was added.