Interacting with the 3D Viewports
These interaction modes are available from the Mode menu.
Matter has several interaction modes:
Icon | Mode | Behavior | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pan | Clicking and dragging in a 3D view allows you to slide the viewpoint in the plane of observation. The center of interest moves with along with the viewpoint. | Middle mouse button + drag the mouse |
| Orbit | Clicking and dragging in a 3D view allows you to rotate the viewpoint about the center of interest. The position of the center of interest remains unchanged. | Ctrl + Middle mouse button + drag the mouse |
| Zoom | Clicking and dragging in a 3D view brings the viewpoint closer to the center of interest, which has the effect of magnifying the objects located in the field of vision. | Ctrl + Shift + Middle mouse button + drag the mouse |
| Camera Roll | This mode rotates the product relative to the center of the screen. | |
| Focal Angle | This mode is similar to the zoom ring on a photo lens: it changes the field of view. The more the lens is opened, the smaller the product appears. If you approach too close to an object, it disappears. | Shift + Middle mouse button + drag the mouse |
| Fly Mode | As soon as this mode is enabled, navigation is in fly mode, and by simply moving the mouse (without clicking), you can make the viewpoint rotate about the center of interest. Clicking and holding down the left or right mouse buttons allows you to move forwards or backwards, respectively, which has the effect of magnifying the objects located in the field of vision. Click and dragging allows you to fly around the object. | |
| Walk mode | When this mode is enabled, moving the mouse allows you to rotate the viewpoint about the center of interest. Clicking and dragging gives you the illusion of walking (forwards or backwards) next to the object. Unlike Fly Mode, in Walk Mode, the altitude of the point of view remains constant. | |
| Head Mode | When this mode is enabled, moving the mouse (without clicking) allows you to make the world turn around the point of view. |
Some of these modes (Flight, Walk, Focal Angle) can only be used with a camera with a perspective view.
Tip
The shortcut Ctrl + Spacebar centers the camera by positioning the point on the surface below the cursor at the center of the viewport.
Tip
The reframing operation Zoom to fit (Z), in the Camera menu positions the point of observation in order to view the product as a whole while at the same time maintaining the direction of observation.