New Navigation options

Layout and Modeler now have additional navigation controls. The Navigation Options window that was mainly used for 3D mice and other presentation tools has received an upgrade.

To engage the new options, make sure the Layout or Modeler windows are the active window and press the X key. When you press this key the first time, mouse input is captured and a notification appears at the top center of the viewport in which Navigation is engaged. In Layout, the information appears in each viewport. Some combinations will only work in particular viewports (for instance, orbiting the view won't work in an orthogonal viewport).

In this new navigation mode, the traditional game keys of W, A, S and D move in the X and Z directions with Shift speeding movement and Ctrl slowing it down. E and Q move in the Y axis, while mouse movement controls rotation around Y and X axes. The vertical scroll wheel controls the field of view, while in Layout, the horizontal scroll wheel controls the scene playhead.

If you wish to change keyboard assignments, set the device to keyboard and click Device Settings... at the top of the window. You can similarly change mouse movement and button assignment.

Pressing X a second time (or Esc) returns to standard LightWave navigation methods.

There are several Subjects above the individual settings and Styles below the settings pane:

• View - Acts like using the Viewport navigation controls. If the view is a camera or light you will be controlling the camera or light in the scene.
• Grab - This attempts to emulate grabbing the world as you see it.
• Orbit - This is similar to grab but rotates about a point of interest in front of the viewer.
• Helicopter - This attempts to emulate flying a helicopter
• Walk - The is similar to Helicopter but with limits on the pitch and bank. It attempts to emulate walking.
• Current Item - Moves and rotates the currently-selected object.
• Grab - This emulates grabbing the item relative to what the viewer sees.
• Helicopter - This emulates flying the item from the point of view of the item (as if the user were inside the item flying it like a helicopter).
• Timeline - A mode that uses the Twist on a Space Explorer, horizontal mouse movement or equivalent to act like a jog/shuttle dial on a video control surface. Holding the Alt key while rotating the device’s puck will result in faster scanning through the timeline.