Locking to 2D/Top view - SpaceMouse Compact

Tom Foster

Using my SpaceMouse Compact 3D navigator, a click on its left side button brings up a thing a bit like the first version of Brics Quad - which originally was a circle with four clickable quadrants. With SpaceMouse, clicking the Properties quadrant opens something like a Brics right-click menu with checkboxes where I can turn on or off the ability of the SpaceMouse to a) Rotate, b) Pan and Zoom, and some other things.

When switching frequently between 2D and 3D in same dwg file, I click LookFrom>Top view to switch to 2D, plus it's essential to turn off the ability of the SpaceMouse to Rotate - seems to be no way to lock to 2D/Top view, other than preventing any Rotation, which can otherwise easily happen accidentally. Then, to go back to 3D, I need to do same steps to checkbox-reactivate the ability of the SpaceMouse to Rotate.

I would love there to be a simple keystroke(s), Proxy, macro, whatever, to lock/unlock to 2D/Top view, thus disable/re-enable SpaceMouse Rotation, as the series of manual and mouse clicks is slow, error-prone, an interruption.

Any ideas?

BTW, turning off the ability of the SpaceMouse to Rotate doesn't prevent Brics Real-Time Motion from causing rotation but luckily I have no Toolbar open that could accidentally trigger that.

Why can't there be a proper Brics 2D/Top view lock?

Michael Mayer

It works in VW.
In 2D Top Plan View (Num+0), I can zoom and pan but rotation is deactivated.
There is also a 3D Top View (Num+5), but it acts like any other 3D Side or Isometric
View (Num+1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9) - where SpaceMouse works full 3D including rotation.
There is no need to do any settings, it is hard coded.

So in an extended Settings Option Dialog for Bricscad, it could look like :
- 2D Mode : Prevent SpaceMice from rotation :
Never / in 2D Top View / in any 2D Orthogonal Side View
- 2D Mode : Switch Visual Style temporarily back to 2D Wireframe :
Never / in 2D Top View / in any 2D Orthogonal Side View
- 2D Mode : Prohibit any shifting in Z by locking to current XY Plane height :
Never / in XY Top Plane / in XY Top Plane AND all YZ/XZ Side Views
- 2D Mode : Set View Camera temporarily back from perspective to orthogonal
Never / in XY Top Plane / in XY Top Plane AND all YZ/XZ Side Views

Tom Foster

I think Microstation has such a lock. i know they'll say they can't do it, for Acad compatibility - but I notice that Brics goes its own way in many non-Acad respects!

And compatibility has many gaps, for instance I just discovered that Brics doesn't have REVERSE, which in Acad, 2010 at least, reverses the start/finish of a linear element, handy when I want to alter its length in Properties, but the wrong end changes.

Michael Mayer

I see many of you rely on 2D drawing in Top View and 2D Wireframe style.
(I personally spend more time in 3D only and Shaded styles)
Therefore I thought about that feature list.

Yes, I added my all time "2D Lock" rant for my own purposes
(But meanwhile can live mostly with Polar Lock or better Manipulator)

Tom Foster

Aha - in 3Dconnexion Settings I can reprogram its left hand button to turn rotation on/off with one click. That's better. But why not a lock native in Brics?

I have, after years of wearing out mouse middle button microswitches and injuring wrist with scroll-wheeling, finally got used to 2D pan/zooming (but rotation-locked) with the Spacemouse - or in fact SpaceMouse for the big moves, MMB for final precision. 3D skills finally merge with 2D ditto and it's much nicer.

Michael Mayer

I have an additional SM Enterprise here, currently on Windows.
It has an extra button for Rotation Lock.
But honestly, we do not want to manually lock or unlock,
we want Bricscad to Auto Lock temporarily when we are in a 2D view ...

Tom Foster

How does Brics know when it's in a 2D view? Not just Top view of a 3D, which doesn't want to get locked?

Michael Mayer

Because it sees you have chosen 2D Wireframe Style ?
No clue here ....

But I think in this special case it would be ok to manually
lock or unlock 3DConnexion Rotation, by a Bricscad Icon
or from status bar.

Tom Foster

On status bar wd be gd. But I can now live with a single click on the SpaceMouse.