3D Mouse Panning Without Shift
Anyone who owns a 3dConnexion SpaceMouse or similar will know the pain: Once you finally get it configured to be rotating around an object (and acting in a similar way to every other supported app and 3DC's own viewer), you realize you must hold shift to pan. Blender will not respond to this movement in the mouse without the shift key held down. This negates the efficiency gains of the 3D Mouse, for the most part. Considering how long 3D Mouse support has been available for Blender, it's a little disappointing that full control without the need for modifier keys is still not complete. The pivot point is movable, as shown by the navigator guide available in the 3D Mouse popup.
I have played with numerous options in both Blender 2.8 and 2.79b to get this to work, but they seem to simply not support it.
Now, this gentleman supposes to have solved the issue by creating a new build with modified code. Code is supplied: bazyd.com/blender-3d-connexion-3d-mouse-implementing-maya-navigation/
He was developing a plugin for such functionality to reduce the need for building Blender, but I suspect it was dropped. I don't have the coding skills to inspect or implement this code into a plugin or indeed Blender itself, but considering how basically anyone owning a 3D Mouse experiences this limitation I'm sure someone out there does.
I attach this in the hopes that one of said people finds this and can act upon it. I offer my assistance for testing, since I own a 3DConnexion device but due to my limited programming skills can't offer much beyond that.
It's a small thing, but considering the professional userbase utilizing these devices and Blender's push to become more capable I think it's an issue worthy of attention.
3 Comments
It took me a while to understand what you are saying, that you want to be able to pan in orthographic top/front/side views? I use a 3d mouse as well, and, I usually switch to 4 views with
shift+alt+qand in the ortho views, it does only pan. So, it would, indeed be nice to have a similar set up to work in all ortho non 3d views.I feel your pain. I too am a proponent of enhanced/programmable mice. I was looking into the connexion products and did not know of this limitation, so thank you for the info. When I found out you can't share profiles of the button you build between computer I lost interest in the connexion products. It does not surprise me, I've owned many devices some bad, some good. The one thing they all have in common is "Do the people who design them actually use them?". The ergonomics of button placement is just mind-boggling to me.
* @othoap * The issue in this case isn't as much the device as it is the support for it. It is lacking in Blender. I use a Spacemouse in 3D Coat and it is a complete revelation for 3D-space navigation. It is to 3D artists what a tablet is to a digital painter.
Believe me, this is one of the best specialty 3D devices out there, which is why I am pushing for better support in Blender. We are so close to having full support but only just short in one key area.