Manipulating Views

This task shows you how to constrain views, in order to set a specific viewpoint.

This command is available with the FreeStyle Optimizer and P2-only.
  By default, the Standard View Manipulation is active.
With this mode, the four main manipulations, used to define the 3D viewpoint, are available:
  • translation
  • zoom (in or out)
  • rotation
  • focusing on a specific point (double-click on mouse button 2).
Open the FreeStyle_Part_18.CATPart document.
When opening the document, you should see something like this:

  1. Press and hold button 2 then 1 of the mouse, and drag to rotate freely in space.

  1. Undock the whole Manipulating Mode toolbar (under the icon).

  1. Click the Rotation About Z Screen Axis: icon

  • Still holding both mouse keys, you can now only rotate about the Z screen axis.

  • If you release key 1, but still hold key 2, you are able to zoom as usual.

  1. To redefine the tuning, refer to the FreeStyle settings and the Setting the Manipulators Attenuation Factor chapters.
    The tuning defines the movement amplitude, i.e. if you decrease the value, movement will seem slower.
 

  • This is especially useful when working in Stretch view mode.

  • This attenuation step definition is also affected by the Tuning value defined in the Tools>Options>Shape>FreeStyle, General tab, Tuning section.

  1. Similarly you can click the Rotation About X Screen Axis  or Rotation About Y Screen Axis icon to rotate around the screen X or Y axis respectively.
 

  1. If you click the Zoom And Translate icon, no rotation is allowed.

  • Simply click the Standard View Manipulation icon to reset the default options.

  • Still holding down mouse keys 1 and 2, use keyboard shortcuts to manipulate views according to pre-set steps, select Rotation About Z Screen Axis or Rotation About X Screen Axis  or Rotation About Y Screen Axis:

    • Using the up and down arrows: 90° around the X screen axis.

    • Using the right and left arrows: 90° around the Y screen axis.

  • Still holding down mouse keys 2, using the right and left arrows, you can zoom in and out.

  • When changing viewpoints, you may wish to come back to a preceding viewpoint. To do this, simply click to move backward or  to move forward in the viewpoints.

If you define a manipulation mode in a multi-view configuration and you switch to another view, the selected mode is no longer active.