About Pointing Devices

You can use a mouse, digitizing puck, or stylus as your pointing device, and it may have more than two buttons.

You can control this program with a pointing device such as a mouse, digitizing puck, or stylus. A pointing device may have a number of buttons. The first 10 buttons are automatically assigned by the program, except button 1 the pick button. The behavior of the buttons can be changed by modifying the main customization (CUIx) file. You can also change how mouse buttons function through the operating system.

Pointing Device Buttons

The first 10 pointing device buttons are automatically assigned; you can reassign all except button 1, the pick button.

On a two-button mouse, the left button is the pick button used to

• Specify locations
• Select objects for editing
• Choose menu options and dialog box buttons and fields

The operation of the right button on a mouse depends on context; it can be used to

• End a command in progress
• Display a shortcut menu
• Display the Object Snap menu

The contextual behavior of the right-click operation can be modified using the SHORTCUTMENU system variable. Additional buttons on a pointing device can be customized in the main customization (CUIx) file.

Mouse Wheel and Middle Button

Many mice provide left and right buttons in addition to a wheel located between the two buttons. You can use the wheel to pan and zoom in a drawing without using any commands.

By default, the zoom factor is set to 60 percent; each increment in the wheel rotation changes the zoom level by 60 percent. The ZOOMFACTOR system variable controls the incremental change; higher the number, the larger the change.

The following table lists the wheel mouse actions supported in this program.

To...	Do this...
Zoom in or out	Rotate the wheel forward to zoom in, backward to zoom out. Use the ZOOMWHEEL system variable to toggle the direction of the zoom operation when you rotate the wheel.
Zoom to drawing extents	Double-click the wheel button.
Pan	Hold down the wheel button and drag the mouse. The MBUTTONPAN system variable must be set to 1.
Pan (joystick)	Hold down Ctrl and the wheel button, and drag the mouse. The MBUTTONPAN system variable must be set to 1.
Swivel camera	Hold down Ctrl and the wheel button, and drag the mouse. The MBUTTONPAN system variable must be set to 0. (Not available in AutoCAD LT)
Free Orbit	Hold down Ctrl, Shift, and the wheel button, and drag the mouse. (Not available in AutoCAD LT)
Display the Object Snap menu	Click the wheel button. The MBUTTONPAN system variable must be set to 0.