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Mousing Standards


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Tool Handle

modo employs a great number of keyboard based shortcut keys, despite this fact, users will still largely interact with the application by way of the mouse (or pen and tablet if that's what is preferred). When working in the various 3D viewports, modo has two main styles of mouse input, 'hauling' and 'handle manipulation'. Hauling is when users press the left mouse button (referred in these docs as LMB) and click holding down the button, and then drag anywhere within a 3D viewport while a tool is active (meaning selected, activated tools will be highlighted in the toolbox). Handle manipulation is is when users hover over a tools manipulator handle, which is present in the viewport when a tool is active, this action highlights the handle yellow wherein user may then LMB+click and drag the handle, constraining the action to the particular function the handle represents.

To make users workflow more fluid, modo employs a set of standards for all mouse behaviors depending on the type of tool. These standards allow us to leverage all three mouse buttons and qualifier key combinations to produce variations on tool behaviors. There are several basic types of tools - geometry creation tools, geometry editing (transform) tools and curve creation tools. The standards for mousing are slightly different between these categories so that we have mapped the most commonly desired behaviors to the primary mouse inputs for each style of tool. When you activate a tool in modo you can always see the mousing behaviors listed at the bottom of the modo interface in the Tool Tips viewport.

Status Bar Sample
The Status Bar appears at the bottom of the default interface providing feedback on the current tool.


The basic rules of mousing are quite simple. Understanding these rules will allow you to take full advantage of the flexibility and speed of the tools. The following tables quickly illustrate the various modes, followed by detailed descriptions and examples of each operation type.

Transform Tools

LMB MMB RMB Shift+LMB Ctrl+LMB
Reset tool and
haul parameters
Clone and haul
parameters
None (reserved for
falloff modifiers
)
Continue hauling parameters w/o reset Constrain parameters

Reset tool and haul parameters.
Definition: At the mouse click the tool properties are reset. As the mouse is dragged the values are changed.
Example: When using the Axis Rotate tool with the Automatic Action Center, clicking in the 3D viewport sets the pivot position for the rotation. LMB click and drag will reset the tool properties to 0° and set the pivot for the rotation under the mouse. Dragging will then change the amount of rotation.

Clone and haul parameters
Definition: Re-applies the current/last properties of the tool and allows continued editing from those values.
Example: The Axis Rotate tool has been used to rotate the selection by 45 degrees. Using clone and haul parameters will reapply that rotation so the selection will then be at 90 degrees from its' original position. The tool widget will still be at 45 degrees since the value was cloned. You are now able to continue hauling to edit the value.

None
Definition: The right mouse button when transforming geometry has no direct action. This option is reserved for setting the action center and defining the range of an active falloff.

Continue hauling parameters without reset.
Definition: The tool properties are edited from the current value without resetting any of the tools parameters or action center info.
Example: When using Axis Rotate, this mode will leave the current rotation amount in place as well as the rotate tools pivot. Dragging the mouse in this mode will simply increase or decrease the rotation value.

Constrain parameters
Definition: Uses initial mouse drag to determine which properties to edit and constrains the mouse to only edit those values.
Example: When hauling the Move tool, two properties are edited simultaneously depending on the current Work Plane. If you are editing on the XY plane, hauling will edit both the X and Y move value. Using Constrain parameters, the first direction the mouse is moved determines the editable axis. In this case, holding CTRL and dragging to the right will edit the X move value and the Y value will remain unchanged.

 

Geometry Creation Tools

LMB MMB RMB Shift+LMB Ctrl+LMB
Haul parameters Clone and haul
parameters
Haul alternate parameters Reset tool and haul
parameters
Constrain parameters

Haul parameters
Definition: The tool properties are edited from the current value without resetting any of the tools parameters or action center info.
Example: Using the Polygon Bevel tool, the first click activates and allows you to haul both the inset and shift values freely. Subsequent clicks will simply add to the existing edit values. This enables you to click and drag repeatedly on a single bevel to edit the values.

Clone and haul parameters
Definition: Re-applies the current properties of the tool and allows continued editing from those values.
Example: The polygon bevel tool can be applied repeatedly with the same inset and shift properties by using Clone and haul parameters without additional dragging.

Haul alternate parameters
Definition: Some creation tools provide hauling edits for secondary properties via the RMB.
Example: The Cube primitive tool allows the segment value to be edited by dragging the RMB while the tool is active. The axis is determined by the orientation of the work plane.

Reset Tool and Haul Parameters
Definition: Any current tool action is applied, the tool properties are reset and a new application of the tool begins.
Example: When using the polygon bevel tool this behavior allows you to begin a new bevel and immediately haul the inset and shift values. With this method you can quickly apply a series of bevels, each with its own inset and shift values.

Constrain parameters
Definition: Constrains multiple parameters of the geometry creation tool simultaneously.
Example: When creating a sphere, holding down the 'Ctrl' key constrains all three axes to the same value creating an equally sized sphere.

 

Curve tools

LMB MMB RMB Shift+LMB Ctrl+LMB
Create new curve
node
Delete Node None Drag Node+Child Node Move Constrained

Create New Curve Node
Definition: LMB clicking with a curve-type tool (Curve, Bezier, Tube, etc) will create a new curve point after the currently selected point. To add a point between two existing points, first select the point that you intend to be “behind” the new point. LMB click/dragging on a curve point will edit the location of that point.
Example: The Tube tool allows you to click repeatedly in the 3D viewport to define new tube control points. Clicking on an existing point will select it so that you can add new points in the middle of the tube.

Delete Node
Definition: MMB clicking directly on a curve handle will delete it immediately.
Example: When working with the Curve tool you may add more nodes that you need. Simply MMB clicking on a node will delete it from the curve.

None
Definition: Right mouse button has no direct action wehn editing curves.

Drag Node and Child Nodes
Definition: Holding down the Shift key while using the LMB to move a curve node will also move any nodes that are “children” of that node.
Example: When using Solid Sketch you may want to move an entire “branch”. To do this, simply hold the Shift key while LMB dragging the node.

Move Constrained
Definition: Ctrl-LMB dragging a curve control point will constrain your movement along the first axis you drag toward.
Example: When using the Tube tool, hold the CTRL key down and click on a control point in the tube. Dragging along an axis will constrain the move to that axis so that you can not adjust the position of the point on the other axis.

 

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agora11 May 18, 2011 at 12:11 PM

Typos:
Create New Curve Node
Definition: LMB clicking with a curve-type tool (Curve, Bezier, Tube, etc) will create a new curve point after the currently selected point. To add a point between two existing points, first select the point that you intend to be “behind” the new point.

Drag Node and Child Nodes
Definition: Holding down the Shift key while using the LMB to move a curve node will also move any nodes that are “children” of that node.
Example: When using Solid Sketch you may want to move an entire “branch”.

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