Using view manipulation shortcuts

You can access the pan, rotate, and magnify view manipulation tools using combinations of keyboard and mouse actions. These shortcuts can make it easier and less interruptive to manipulate the view of a model while performing other tasks (for example, selecting elements to define a set). Abaqus/CAE activates the specified view manipulation tool as long as the associated combination of keyboard and mouse buttons is depressed; to exit the view manipulation tool, release the associated keyboard and mouse buttons.

Context:

In addition to the default Abaqus/CAE shortcuts, you can configure the view manipulation shortcuts to mimic five other common CAD applications, as outlined in Table 1. Change the shortcuts configuration by selecting ToolsOptions from the main menu bar and changing the View Manipulation options. Your configuration is saved for future Abaqus/CAE sessions.

Table 1. View manipulation shortcuts for available configurations (“MB” stands for “mouse button”).
Application Pan  Rotate  Zoom 
Abaqus/CAE (default) CtrlAltMB2 CtrlAltMB1 CtrlAltMB3
CATIA V5 MB2 MB2MB3; or MB2MB1 MB2MB3, then release MB3; or MB2MB1, then release MB1
SOLIDWORKS CtrlMB2 MB2 ShiftMB2
HyperView CtrlMB3 CtrlMB1 CtrlMB2
Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire ShiftMB2 MB2 CtrlMB2
UGS NX MB2MB3 MB2 MB2MB1
Note:

The HyperView key combination for rotation (CtrlMB1) conflicts with the Abaqus/CAE use of this combination to unselect objects in the viewport. To make complex viewport selections where unselecting individual objects may be useful, it is recommended that you choose one of the other shortcut configurations.

Nondefault configurations of the view manipulation shortcuts change the behavior of the magnify tool. In the default Abaqus/CAE configuration, the magnify tool operates by dragging the cursor horizontally; in all other configurations, the magnify tool operates by dragging the cursor vertically.

In the default Abaqus/CAE shortcuts configuration, you can access the alternate modes of the pan, rotate, and magnify tools by holding the Shift key in addition to the other shortcut keys (see The view manipulation tools, for details). This convention conflicts with some of the shortcut combinations in nondefault configurations; therefore, you cannot access alternate modes of the view manipulation tools while using nondefault shortcuts. The alternate modes are always available, regardless of your shortcuts configuration, if you access a view manipulation tool using the standard methods (selecting a tool from the View menu in the main menu bar or clicking a tool in the View Manipulation toolbar).

  1. From the main menu bar in any module, select ToolsOptions.

    The Options dialog box appears.

  2. Display the View Manipulation tabbed page.
  3. Select the Application whose view manipulation shortcuts you want to mimic. Refer to Table 1 for a summary of shortcuts in different applications.
  4. Click OK to apply your specified configuration and to close the Options dialog box.