sketchucation logo sketchucation
    • Login
    ℹ️ Licensed Extensions | FredoBatch, ElevationProfile, FredoSketch, LayOps, MatSim and Pic2Shape will require license from Sept 1st More Info

    Does anyone know the purpose of ctrl + orbit?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved SketchUp Discussions
    sketchup
    13 Posts 10 Posters 3.2k Views 10 Watching
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • T Offline
      tomsdesk
      last edited by

      Well I'll be...this old dog thanks you for the new trick!

      http://www.tomsdesk.moonfruit.com/
      2.5D Trees & Shrubs!

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • jeff hammondJ Offline
        jeff hammond
        last edited by

        must be a pc thing?

        dotdotdot

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • F Offline
          fbartels
          last edited by

          @unknownuser said:

          must be a pc thing?

          Jeff, It is Option on the Mac. This was also a new one for me. Thanks Gaieus! Fred

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • GaieusG Offline
            Gaieus
            last edited by

            @tomsdesk said:

            Well I'll be...this old dog thanks you for the new trick!

            😉 One learns new trick every day. I have learnt a lot from you, Tom, for instance at the old forums! 👍

            @unknownuser said:

            must be a pc thing?

            Hm... I don't know much about Macs but there the Option key is usually used for what the Ctrl is on a PC.


            Well, Fred beat me - still I'm not sure about Macs

            Gai...

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Wo3DanW Offline
              Wo3Dan
              last edited by

              @mxabucknell said:

              As the title says, I was wondering about the use of this function. I have known about it for a while, but it isn't listed anywhere obvious in sketchup.

              Is it just a glitch or does it have some use I am not getting?...

              mxabucknell,

              This feature is most certainly described in Sketchup User's Guide.

              @unknownuser said:

              Suspending the Gravity Setting
              The Orbit Tool is designed to maintain a sense of gravity by keeping vertical edges pointed up and down. Press and hold the Ctrl key during orbit to suspend this gravity setting and to roll the camera on its side.

              There are more than one 'reasons' to use the option 'Orbit+[Ctrl]'.
              One is to be able to see your model from any angle you wish with rotated camera. Obvious!
              You can then save these scenes for as Gaieus wrote, the rotated camera setting is not stable. Releasing Ctrl will bring the camera in vertical position again.
              This feature can also be very useful when you need to make special selections dragging a window 'around' part of the model that you want to select. Often you can only do so after more or less rotating your model in the right position.
              Now you can do that even better with the option 'Orbit+[Ctrl]' to align that part (the geometry) vertical/horizontal to the screen, like the selection window is aligned. (SU hasn't the best options for selections).
              Try to 'Orbit+[Ctrl]' your model clockwise or couter-clockwise to have other geometry vertical/horizontal aligned , combined with 'Wire Frame' back and forth etc. to see how much more you can do when selecting certain geometry.

              Wo3Dan

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • jeff hammondJ Offline
                jeff hammond
                last edited by

                @fbartels said:

                @unknownuser said:

                must be a pc thing?

                Jeff, It is Option on the Mac. This was also a new one for me. Thanks Gaieus! Fred

                whoa! me likes

                dotdotdot

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • T Offline
                  twharvey
                  last edited by

                  @gaieus said:

                  When NOT Ctrl+Orbiting, SU tends to keep the objects "vertical" so that architects (who see things in this way and for whom the software was primarily made) can be comfortable with it.

                  With Ctrl pressed however, you can orbit around the object vertically very easuily as well (try doing it and then release the Ctrl button - SU will "Jump" back to vertical position).

                  You know what's odd? My Orbit tool has worked as you describe Ctrl+Orbit since It was first installed. Is there a way to turn this off (I've checked preferences,but maybe I missed it.) Some times it would be useful to only orbit verically.

                  tom

                  Tom

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • GaieusG Offline
                    Gaieus
                    last edited by

                    Tom, I think Wodan (and the SU Guide) explained it more precisely than me. This term "gravity" expresses it well - so it is not vertical orbiting really but orbiting horizontally around the model while it tends to stay verical (unless you deliberately orbit really out of the middle, horizontal stripe of the screen or how to explain it).

                    I would really go nuts if I always had the orbit behave like when Ctrl orbiting (it's like being drunk) 😄 but unfortunately I know about no setting or such to fix this.

                    Gai...

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • P Offline
                      phsmith
                      last edited by

                      'Gravity' in Sketchup keeps the horizon, visible or not, horizontal in drawings. Whether it is visible or not depends on the template in use, when you select a template some show a horizon in the thumbnail. The effect is that when orbiting a model with gravity active the horizon will remain level however you move the orbit icon, if you suspend gravity you can tilt the horizon. As soon as gravity is restored and you orbit the model further the horizon will return to horizontal. I have yet to find a situation where I couldn't edit the model as I wanted with gravity active.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • Dave RD Offline
                        Dave R
                        last edited by

                        Thanks for dredging up this old thread. It's nine years old. Interesting to see some names from the past.

                        Etaoin Shrdlu

                        %

                        (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

                        G28 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.0

                        M30

                        %

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • pbacotP Offline
                          pbacot
                          last edited by

                          the golden age!

                          MacOSX MojaveSketchUp Pro v19 Twilight v2 Thea v3 PowerCADD

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • 1 / 1
                          • First post
                            Last post
                          Buy SketchPlus
                          Buy SUbD
                          Buy WrapR
                          Buy eBook
                          Buy Modelur
                          Buy Vertex Tools
                          Buy SketchCuisine
                          Buy FormFonts

                          Advertisement