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ViewCube tools

The Autodesk® ViewCube® tool is a persistent, clickable and draggable interface that you use to switch between standard and isometric/orthographic views of your model. By default, it displays in the top right corner of the perspective window.

While the ViewCube tool is inactive, it provides visual feedback about the current viewpoint as view changes occur.

When you position the cursor over the ViewCube tool, the tool becomes active and you can:

  • Click-drag on any part of the ViewCube to tumble the model view.
  • Click on a face (Front, Left, Top etc.) when highlighted, to switch to a Face View (which can be true othrographic view).
  • Click on an edge or corner when highlighted to switch to a preset angled view.
  • Click on the Home icon to return to a saved or default view.
  • Click on the More Settings icon to access the ViewCube menu.

Orthographic Face Views

Click on one of the six faces of the ViewCube to choose a preset view: top, bottom, front, back, left, and right.

If you have Perspective with Ortho Faces selected in the ViewCube More Settings menu (default), then the face view will be a true, 2D orthographic view.

This makes it easier to create geometry accurately in the 2D view plane.

To indicate that you are in a true orthographic planar or elevation view, the faces of ViewCube are highlighted green by default, and the word 'Orthographic' is displayed.

If you have Perspective selected in the ViewCube More Settings menu, then the face view will remain as a perspective view in the chosen direction, and the ViewCube face is not displayed in green.

This can be useful to display the real-world side or front views for example, for presentations or evaluation.

Mouse behavior for transform in orthographic face view.

When in an orthographic view, placements (CVs for example) and transforms (move, non-P scale) are constrained as follows:

Free across view plane

Constrained horizontally

Constrained vertically

Roll and turn icons

In a face view, click with the LMB on the roll arrows to rotate the current view 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise around the center of the view, or click the triangles to switch to one of the adjacent face views.

You can also use Shift + Alt + [Arrow Key] to rotate the face view to the next position.

ViewCube Home icon

The Home view is a single view stored with a model that makes it easy to return to a known or familiar view. You can define any view of the model as the Home view.

The default Home position is the starting orientation of the default 3D view.

  • To redefine Home view, orient the view as you want and then click the More Settings icon below-right of the ViewCube and select Set Current View as Home.
  • To apply the saved Home view, click the Home button above the ViewCube tool.
Note: If you wish to have many saved views, use Variants. See Windows > Variant Lister for more information on Variants.

ViewCube More Settings menu and Options

ViewCube More Settings

  • Perspective - When a ViewCube face view is selected, the view will remain in perspective view.

  • Perspective with Ortho Faces - When a ViewCube face view is selected, the view will change to a true orthographic view.

  • Camera Based Tumble - This is the default viewing mode when using Shift + Alt for viewing (not the ViewCube), and the mouse buttons behave as follows:

    • Left - Tumble
    • Middle - Pan
    • Right - Zoom
  • Object Based Tumble - Changes the mouse button behavior when using Shift + Alt for viewing (not the ViewCube)

    With Object Based Tumble (Azimuth/Twist ) the mouse buttons behave as follows:

    • Left - Moving the mouse horizontally controls the azimuth. Moving the mouse vertically controls the elevation.

    • Middle - Pans horizontally and vertically.

    • Right - Moving the mouse vertically zooms in and out. Moving the mouse horizontally twists.

      See Tumble, Pan and Zoom for more information on object-based tumble.

  • Set Current View as Home - To redefine Home view, orient the view as you want and then click the More Settings icon below-right of the ViewCube and select Set Current View as Home.

  • Show Axes on Point of Interest - When deselected, the point-of-interest is displayed as a small blue or yellow dot without the axes displayed. This can be useful if you don't want to have the view change when you accidentally click on an axis arrow, or you want the scene to look less cluttered.

  • Lock Point of Interest - When selected, a check mark appears. The current point of interest is now locked. You cannot change the point of interest by dragging the manipulator or clicking geometry, until you turn off the Locked option by selecting it again.

  • Radial Layout - Choose between a vertical layout or a radial layout for the Navbar. Only the radial layout can be unpinned to appear under the cursor.

  • Options - Opens the ViewCube options window - see below.

ViewCube Options

  • On-screen position - Place the ViewCube in any corner of the screen by selecting one of these options: Top Right, Bottom Right, Top Left, or Bottom Left.
  • ViewCube size - Set the ViewCube size to Automatic, Tiny, Small, Normal, or Large.
  • Inactive opacity - When the cursor is away from the ViewCube it is displayed at this reduced opacity.
  • Snap to closest view - While being dragged, the ViewCube and the model rotate. If Snap to closest view is selected, the viewpoint will snap to one of the fixed views when it is angularly close to one of the fixed views.

ViewCube Under Cursor / Pinned

The Under Cursor icon is only available in Radial Layout mode in the perspective view.

Click on the pin icon to set the ViewCube to floating mode. The ViewCube will then appear close to your cursor position when you press Shift + Alt.

In this mode you lose the ability to display the ViewCube and NavBar by moving the cursor close to it.

To return to a corner position, use Shift + Alt and select the pin icon.

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