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Handling without a Mouse

urs_egger099urs_egger099 Member Posts: 11 ✭✭

Hi there,

I'm trying to handling my models and drawings on a business notebook with trackpad and touchscreen - but without a mouse. That is the case while being travelling at the airport, on a train or so. Usually there is also no table and I have my notebook on my knees.

Rotate: right trackpad button + trackpad --> not so easy to handle but let's say that's okay

Pan: Ctrl + right trackpad button + trackpad --> seriously? that's horrible handling

Zoom: Pinch trackpad --> way too sensitive, cannot accurately zoom to the region I want

Using the touchscreen doesn't work at all (neither in pc mode nor in tablet mode - it just zooms all browser content)


Does anybody know another way to handle my 3d space without the mouse?


Thanks a lot for your feedback

Urs

Best Answer

Answers

  • urs_egger099urs_egger099 Member Posts: 11 ✭✭
    Thank you Bradley,
    That is a good workaround. Needs some training though. 

    But is there some way to use my touchscreen directly as I would on a Android or iOS tablet?

    regards,
    Urs
  • bradley_saulnbradley_sauln Moderator, Onshape Employees, Developers Posts: 373
    Thank you Bradley,
    That is a good workaround. Needs some training though. 

    But is there some way to use my touchscreen directly as I would on a Android or iOS tablet?

    regards,
    Urs
    This is something I am waiting for myself. Right now the mouse/keyboard for the browser and touch controls for the mobile apps are independent of each other. The current functionality has to do with what works best for the form factor but I know more and more devices are supporting touch screens/monitors. I will add you the improvement request for this.
    Engineer | Adventurer | Tinkerer
    Twitter: @bradleysauln


  • alnisalnis Member, Developers Posts: 447 EDU
    I actually often find myself using my trackpad instead of my mouse to navigate, especially after typing some value because my hand is closer to the trackpad than it is to the mouse. At least on my computer, here's what using my trackpad is like with Onshape:
    • Click and drag with two fingers (right-click) -> rotate
    • Click and drag with three fingers (middle-click) -> pan
    • Swipe up and down with two fingers (scroll) -> zoom in and out smoothly respectively
    However, I am using Pop!_OS (a Linux distribution), so it's possible that not all of these touchpad gestures work the same on your system. I know that they also work on ChromeOS. Also, not all touchpads support these sorts of multitouch gestures, and they do require a "click anywhere" touchpad rather than one with distinct buttons. If your touchpad does have separate left/right-click buttons, it might be possible to click them both at the same time to input a middle-click.
    Student at University of Washington | Get in touch: contact@alnis.dev | My personal site: https://alnis.dev | Currently an Onshape intern: asmidchens@onshape.com
  • brian_bradybrian_brady Member, Developers Posts: 505 EDU
    I actually often find myself using my trackpad instead of my mouse to navigate, especially after typing some value because my hand is closer to the trackpad than it is to the mouse. At least on my computer, here's what using my trackpad is like with Onshape:
    • Click and drag with two fingers (right-click) -> rotate
    • Click and drag with three fingers (middle-click) -> pan
    • Swipe up and down with two fingers (scroll) -> zoom in and out smoothly respectively
    However, I am using Pop!_OS (a Linux distribution), so it's possible that not all of these touchpad gestures work the same on your system. I know that they also work on ChromeOS. Also, not all touchpads support these sorts of multitouch gestures, and they do require a "click anywhere" touchpad rather than one with distinct buttons. If your touchpad does have separate left/right-click buttons, it might be possible to click them both at the same time to input a middle-click.
    I do the same on my MacBook Pro. I have not used a mouse for CAD when teaching for over 5 years. They feel so strange now when I try. However, the MacBook Pro trackpads are super large and handle multi-touch gestures very well. Not all Windows-based trackpads do since MS seems to leave a lot of that up to the manufacturer instead of baking it into the OS.
  • steve_shubinsteve_shubin Member Posts: 1,066 ✭✭✭✭
    I agree with @brian_brady

    My 2017 MacBook Pro trackpad works like a champ when using Onshape

    PAN
    ROTATE
    ZOOM

    all work great on MacBook Pro

    To zoom — a lot of times I just FLICK two fingers and it does a nice smooth zoom. Then a two finger touch to stop the zoom


  • tim_hess427tim_hess427 Member Posts: 648 ✭✭✭✭
    Unfortunately, I don't have the same luck with my windows machine. 

    I can use two fingers to "right-click", but it doesn't seem to recognize "right-click+drag". Its a similar story with the three-finger gestures as a replacement for the middle mouse button. 

    The best I can do with my computer - my touchpad does have a "right-click area" in the bottom right corner. So, I can click that corner with one finger (or a thumb) and drag the other finger around to rotate. But there's no option for middle-click and drag.
  • urs_egger099urs_egger099 Member Posts: 11 ✭✭
    Hi there, 
    Just tried the same on a Microsoft surface. It is the same as with a standard notebook.

  • nick_papageorge073nick_papageorge073 Member, csevp Posts: 659 PRO
    I agree with @brian_brady

    My 2017 MacBook Pro trackpad works like a champ when using Onshape

    PAN
    ROTATE
    ZOOM

    all work great on MacBook Pro

    To zoom — a lot of times I just FLICK two fingers and it does a nice smooth zoom. Then a two finger touch to stop the zoom


    Hi, I'm on an M1 MacBook. I can't figure out the gestures for pan or rotate for the life of me. Zoom works. Can you list how you do it? I tried what Alnis mentioned, and had no luck. Thank you.
  • nick_papageorge073nick_papageorge073 Member, csevp Posts: 659 PRO
    edited January 2021
    I just tried on my 2013 Intel MacBook Pro and pan and rotate also do not work. I have the trackpad set so you don't have to physically push it, and a 2 fingered click is a right click. Right clicking works in Onshape, as it brings up the contextual Onshape specific right click menu. But doing anything after that does not rotate or pan. I also tried both Firefox and Safari. No difference. I can use the trackpad fine in Fusion360 for view manipulation. I'm scratching my head at this one.
  • steve_shubinsteve_shubin Member Posts: 1,066 ✭✭✭✭
    @nick_papageorge073

    ZOOM OUT & IN

    2 finger brush away

    2 finger brush towards me


    PAN

    Hold CONTROL then 2 finger press & hold while sliding


    ROTATE

    Hold OPTION then 2 finger press & hold while sliding



  • nick_papageorge073nick_papageorge073 Member, csevp Posts: 659 PRO
    @nick_papageorge073

    ZOOM OUT & IN

    2 finger brush away

    2 finger brush towards me


    PAN

    Hold CONTROL then 2 finger press & hold while sliding


    ROTATE

    Hold OPTION then 2 finger press & hold while sliding




    Thanks. Unfortunately pan and rotate don't work. It just zooms in/out since I have two fingers on the trackpad. Tried a force click with two fingers, and a tap with two fingers. Nothing. I've been using apple track pads for 15 years now, I'm very familiar with them. And these gestures (similar) work great in Fusion. I must have some setting wrong somewhere.
  • nick_papageorge073nick_papageorge073 Member, csevp Posts: 659 PRO
    I found the issue finally! I had my mouse control preferences set to Creo, which uses the middle mouse button for both pan and rotate. There is no middle mouse button equivalent in the mac trackpad. When I switched my preferences to onshape default, the trackpad worked. I think I will open a feature request to allow separate settings for a physical mouse and a trackpad.
  • rogerroger Member Posts: 8
    Both Creo and SolidWorks use the middle mouse button drag to rotate. Thus, if Onshape's mouse settings are set to either Creo or SolidWorks, you will be unable to rotate the model when on a trackpad. nick_papageorge073, did you ever open a feature request to allow separate settings for mouse and trackpad?
  • S1monS1mon Member Posts: 2,321 PRO
    I would strongly support separate settings for mouse and trackpad. I set the movement to Solidworks settings back in 2015 so quickly I don’t even remember what the default Onshape settings are like. I’m used to having my scrolling set to Apple’s “natural” for the trackpad (matching touchscreen behavior) but I use Logitech drivers for my mouse and set it so it scrolls the traditional way.
  • nick_papageorge073nick_papageorge073 Member, csevp Posts: 659 PRO
    roger said:
    Both Creo and SolidWorks use the middle mouse button drag to rotate. Thus, if Onshape's mouse settings are set to either Creo or SolidWorks, you will be unable to rotate the model when on a trackpad. nick_papageorge073, did you ever open a feature request to allow separate settings for mouse and trackpad?
    I thought I did, but in my 6 pages of feedback/questions to support I did not find it. They are probably sick of me:) Incidentally, my fix was just to put Onshape in default mouse mode. I ended up getting used to it in a matter of minutes on my 3 button mouse, and it works for the trackpad too. This, after using Creo since the 1990's.
  • david_teresidavid_teresi Member Posts: 2
    Blender's trackpad controls work really well - pinch to zoom and two finger drag (without clicking) to rotate. Would love something like this for Onshape
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