SOLIDWORKS always emphasize on how to enhance user performance and provides many features to ease user operation such as Command Manager, Shortcut Bar and Context Toolbars.
These features help to simplify user operation. However, if users need a quicker and easier way to improve the efficiency, the Mouse Gestures is a good choice as it is easier to use during modelling.
You might not think about using mouse gestures at first, but after getting used to it, you will never want to give them up. Now let’s have a look about mouse gesture!
Why Mouse Gestures?
Since there are just 24 hours in a day and seems like everyone lack of use in time. With a fixed amount of time, the only way to save more time is to find a way to increase efficiency. SOLIDWORKS Mouse Gestures is one of the tools that allows user to save time and increase efficiency. Users can activate a command by just swiping the mouse and when user use mouse gestures, it’s like you don’t slow down for even a second as you go from one thing to the next. After a little practice, you will be familiar with mouse gestures and sometime you won’t even see the wheel appear.
Customization of Mouse Gestures
Mouse Gestures is a completely customizable and context sensitive which mean user may have a different set of commands for sketch, part, assembly and drawing mode. However, some commands are unable to use in drawing mode as some features do not allow in drawing mode.
For instance, the CTRL key does not need to be held while holding the scroll wheel to pan since the view of a drawing cannot be rotated. Figure 1 and 2 show some example about Mouse Gestures Guide.
Figure 1: Guide with Four Gestures
Figure 2: Guide with Twelve Gestures
In customization, user can enable or disable Mouse Gestures as well as choose the number of gestures from 2, 3, 4, 8 or 12 and assign commands on each part of the Mouse Gesture Guide. To add a command to the gesture wheel, simply drag the Command lit onto the spot on the wheel where you want it. By default, mouse gestures are enabled and display four gestures in the mouse gestures guide. Figure 3 shows the interface of Mouse Gestures Settings.
Figure 3: Interface of Mouse Gestures Settings
Note that zoom direction can be customized in Mouse Gestures too. By default, the view will zoom in when the mouse wheel is rolled backward (towards user) vice versa. If users willing to reverse these commands, they can modify the settings in System Options and then choose the View from the list. Next, check the box which indicates “Reverse mouse wheel zoom direction” and make a change on it.
How to call out Mouse Gestures?
We had known how to customize the feature now, but how it works? It is very simple to call out the function, users just need to press and hold the right mouse button while still editing the example sketch from last sections.
At the same time, if users slowly move the mouse in any direction, a wheel will be appeared with several different commands according to the setting of user. To select a command, move the mouse pointer to the highlighted command on the guide. Lastly, the guide will disappear and the command will become active and ready to use.
Basic Functions of Mouse Gestures
In this section, some basic function about SOLIDWORKS Mouse Gestures will be introduced. One of the main functions of Mouse Gesture is to manipulate the views. By using Mouse Gesture, users can gain the ability to rotate, pan and zoom in as well as out in graphics area. For example, by hold down the wheel and move the mouse around, users can activate the rotation of view.
Moreover, users can also rotate view around a vertex, edge or face in a part or assembly. It can be done by selecting a face of model by pressing and releasing the scroll wheel with the mouse pointer on the face. Once the mouse pointer changes to show that the rotate view is limited, press and hold down the wheel then move the mouse around while still holding the wheel to rotate the view in relation to the face.
Furthermore, to pan in a part or assembly, users may press and hold both the CTRL key and scroll wheel. Move mouse around now allows user to pan the view in relation to the viewing plane. In this case, the mouse pointer will change to show that you are in the pan mode.
According to the above steps and explanations, Mouse Gestures significantly helps users for easier control during modelling.
Check out our previous entry on how to view 3D CAD files with eDrawing Viewer at no cost! Click Here
