Allow viewport navigation during editing operations
Problem
Right now in Blender, when you're in the middle of a modal operation like Bevel , Extrude , Inset , etc. You're stuck with the current camera angle. You can't rotate, pan, or zoom the view until you confirm or cancel the operation. This becomes a real problem when you need to see what you're doing from another angle or get closer to fine-tune your work.
It often leads to frustrating workflows: cancel the operation, adjust the view, restart the operation... repeat. Not ideal.
Proposal
Let us use the middle mouse button (MMB) like we already do outside of modal tools to freely navigate the viewport (orbit, pan, zoom) while a modal operation is active .
How it could work:
-
Pressing
MMB
(or
Shift+MMB,Ctrl+MMB, scroll wheel) would temporarily pause the modal action. - The current state of the operation would be preserved while the user rotates, pans, or zooms.
- Once the navigation stops (mouse button released, scroll done), the modal operation resumes seamlessly where it left off.
This would feel 100% natural and native, requiring no new shortcuts , no overlays, no UI clutter, just a smoother experience.
Why it matters
- Better visibility : You can adjust your camera mid-operation to see exactly what you're doing no more guessing from a bad angle.
- No disruption : The operation continues right after navigation, so the creative flow stays intact.
- Consistent interaction : MMB is already the standard for navigating the 3D view. Extending this into modal tools makes Blender feel more responsive and modern.
- No need for extra learning curve : It’s just the same interaction we’re all used to, now available when we need it most.
Real-world example
You're beveling an edge on a complex model, but the current angle doesn't let you clearly see the result. Instead of canceling, adjusting the camera, and starting over you just rotate the view with MMB , take a better look, and continue adjusting the bevel smoothly. Much faster, much more natural.
Let the user navigate the view using MMB during modal operations , pausing the tool momentarily and resuming immediately after. No new keys, no weird modes just a small change that would massively improve fluidity in everyday modeling.
Would love to hear what others think!
1 Comment
If you extrude in Blender, you can visually do it first until you did something you roughly wanted. This is the first state of the process of extruding your object.
Then you can rotate the screen and it doesn't stop the current operation, however, it does stop the way how you originally did it by shortcut.
The way how Blender is meant to be used is that you do the extrusion first in a visual way, then you can navigate in the viewport. As long as you don't start any other operation or selection, you can still adjust the extrusion properties that are in the menu in bottom left to fine tune the extrusion with precise numbers.
However, I am not completely against of your idea, because at the moment there is no way to go back to that shortcut way of using the current tool, expect by starting over.
If you use the extrude gizmo from the tool panel with mouse, then you can continue the extrude operation even after you released the mouse by using that gizmo, or you can use the properties.