SteeringWheels can save time by combining many of the common navigation tools into a single interface. SteeringWheels are task-specific, allowing you to navigate and orient a model in different views.
| 2D Steering Wheel |
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| Full Navigation Wheel | View Object Wheel (Basic Wheel) | Tour Building Wheel (Basic Wheel) |
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| Mini View Object Wheel | Mini Tour Building Wheel | Mini Full Navigation Wheel |
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First Contact Balloon
When you display SteeringWheels the first time and a 3D view is current, the First Contact balloon for the wheels is displayed. The First Contact balloon serves as an introduction to the purpose of the wheels and shows how to use them.
Display and Use Wheels
Pressing and dragging on a wedge of a wheel is the primary mode of interaction. After a wheel is displayed, click one of the wedges and hold down the button on the pointing device to activate the navigation tool. Drag to reorient the current view. Releasing the button returns you to the wheel.
Appearance of the Wheels
You can control the appearance of the wheels by switching between the different styles of wheels that are available, or by adjusting the size and opacity. Wheels (except the 2D Navigation wheel) are available in two different styles: big and mini.
The size of a wheel controls how large or small the wedges and labels appear on the wheel; the opacity level controls the visibility of the objects in the model behind the wheel.
Wheel Tooltips, Tool Messages, and Tool Cursor Text
Tooltips are displayed for each button on a wheel as the cursor is moved over them. The tooltips appear below the wheel and identify what action will be performed if the wedge or button is clicked.
Similar to tooltips, tool messages and cursor text are displayed when you use one of the navigation tools from a wheel. Tool messages are displayed when a navigation tool is active; they provide basic instructions about using the tool. Tool cursor text displays the name of the active navigation tool near the cursor. Disabling tool messages and cursor text only affects the messages that are displayed when using the mini wheels or the big Full Navigation wheel.
Use one of the following methods to display a wheel:
To display the currently selected SteeringWheels style
On the navigation bar, click 
or 
.
To display a selected SteeringWheel style
On the navigation bar, click the arrow below the SteeringWheel, and select a SteeringWheel style from the context menu.
To close a wheel
- Press Esc.
- Click the small x in the upper right-hand corner of the wheel.
- Right-click on the wheel and click Close Wheel.
- Press F8.
Use one of the following methods to close a wheel:
Options to access the Options dialog. To change the size of the wheels
- Display a wheel.
- Right-click on the wheel, and click Options.
- In the Options dialog, click the SteeringWheels tab, and under Big Wheel Appearance/Mini Wheel Appearance, for Size, select Small, Normal, or Large.
- Click OK.
To change the opacity of the wheels
- Display a wheel.
- Right-click on the wheel, and click Options.
- In the Options dialog, click the SteeringWheels tab, and under Big Wheel Appearance/Mini Wheel Appearance, select the level of transparency.
Select 90% to display SteeringWheels at the greatest opacity. The default setting is 50%.
- Click OK.
To enable tooltips for wheels
- Display a wheel.
- Right-click on the wheel, and click Options.
- In the Options dialog, on the SteeringWheels tab, click Show tooltips.
Tooltips are displayed for each wedge and button on a wheel when the cursor moves over the wheel.
- Click OK.
To enable cursor text for wheels
- Display a wheel.
- Right-click on the wheel, and click Options.
- In the Options dialog, on the SteeringWheels tab, click Show tool cursor text.
Text labels are displayed while selected tools are being used.
- Click OK.
To enable messages for wheels
- Display a wheel.
- Right-click on the wheel, and click Options.
- In the Options dialog, on the SteeringWheels tab, click Show tool messages.
Messages are displayed when you use the navigation tools.
- Click OK.