Standardize "Zoom to Selected" to MMB
Proposal: Make Middle Mouse Button (MMB) the default shortcut for Zoom to Selected / Frame Selected in the 3D Viewport.
The modifier combinations Shift + MMB, Ctrl + MMB, and Alt + MMB could then be used for the other navigation functions, following Blender's existing navigation conventions.
Why this matters:
Binding direct viewport focus to MMB aligns with navigation paradigms across several 3D software suites. Viewport navigation is one of the most frequently repeated actions in a 3D workflow. Because it is performed thousands of times during modeling, sculpting, UV work, animation, and scene editing, even a small improvement in navigation can have a significant effect on overall workflow speed. Having it directly accessible from MMB would make the action quick, consistent, and easy to build into muscle memory.
MMB → Zoom / Frame to Selection
- Shift + MMB → Navigation function
- Ctrl + MMB → Navigation function
- Alt + MMB → Navigation function
3D artists constantly switch between selecting geometry and bringing that selection into focus. When the focus command requires an additional keyboard shortcut, the hand must leave the mouse or the user must remember another key combination. Would make the sequence more natural. LMB Select → MMB Focus
Cross-software consistency
A standardized viewport-navigation language would also benefit artists who work across multiple 3D applications.
3 Comments
I've never used another 3D software that had the feature you're requesting.
I tried to Assign Shortcut, just the MMB-Click (unsure what would be the right one here: on Click maybe, not on Release) to the Frame Selected Operation ⇽ View Menu ⇽ Header Region ⇽ 3D Viewport Editor; but that doesn't work (which is a shame!): to be fair, that's a whole hardware functionality (1 Mouse Button to just Click) that is being lost to the void, while it could be turned instead in something useful for the UI in various ways (including the proposal).
Clearly, previous than this particular Feature Resquest, this fact I experience (in Blender 5.2.1 LTS), of an Unshortcutable MMB-Click, corresponds, if not to a Bug, to what they call an inconsistency --at least, I have memory of games in which just MMB-Clicks do not conflict with MMB-Hold, whether used for 'Hold-Scrolling' or not; if that would be an internal limitation of Blender).
Thus, I couldn't even test, in order to see, if the resulting Shortcut would be handy or not in Workflow. Theoretically, it sounds a good idea to me. I also am not aware of the other softwares... and if mimicking them wouldn't pose any legal issue to Blender (?).
I think the author of the proposal, SOARING Simulator, should mention which software(s) use this Shortcut.
Personally, I use MMB to pan around the view. There is no "everyone does this" situation here.