Rotating the view

You can use the rotate tools to access several modes for manipulating views within the viewport.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
Linking viewports for view manipulation
The rotate view tool
The view manipulation tools
Rescaling the view to fit the viewport

Context:

Use the rotate tool from the View Manipulation toolbar to rotate the view within the viewport. Hold Shift while using the rotate tool to access the alternate rotate mode. The alternate mode rotates the camera about itself instead of rotating it about the view center or the selected rotation center. The alternate mode is most useful when you use movie camera mode and position the camera inside of the model so that the model is surrounding the camera (for more information, see The rotate view tool). You can also specify a point in each viewport or select a location in each viewport to use as the center of rotation. Using the Auto-fit after rotations option in the Graphics Options dialog box, you can control whether or not Abaqus/CAE rescales your model to fit the viewport as you rotate.

Note:

You cannot rotate X–Y plots.

If the current viewport is linked to other viewports, Abaqus/CAE also rotates objects within all linked viewports in your session. For more information, see Linking viewports for view manipulation.

Rotate the view

  1. From the View Manipulation toolbar, click the rotate tool to enter rotate mode.

    Tip: You can also select ViewRotate from the main menu or press F3.

  2. By default, Abaqus/CAE rotates the view about the center of the viewport. You can change the center of rotation using one of the following methods:

    • Position the cursor at any location on the model or in the viewport, click mouse button 3, and select Set As Rotation Center.

    • Click Select in the prompt area. Select the center of rotation from the highlighted vertices in the viewport or enter coordinates to specify a point. In the Visualization module you can select a node and the center of rotation will remain on that node in both undeformed and deformed model states.

      When using this method, you can select a center of rotation only when there is existing geometry in the viewport. If you are working in the Sketcher, sketched points will not be available for selection.

    • Click mouse button 3 and select Use Default Rotation Center, or select Use Default in the prompt area to return to the default (center of viewport) rotation method.

    Your selected center of rotation persists in the viewport until you display another object in the viewport, select a new center of rotation, or return to the default rotation method.

  3. Position the cursor in the viewport whose view you want to change.

    A large circle appears in the viewport and the cursor changes to a right facing arrow. If you selected a center of rotation in the viewport, it is highlighted.

  4. Drag the cursor in any direction.

    The view rotates as you drag the cursor, and a rubberband line indicates the amount and direction of rotation.

    Tip: It is usually easier to achieve the desired orientation by performing a sequence of small rotations rather than a single large rotation.

    To rotate the view about the normal to the screen, move the cursor outside the circle and drag it clockwise or counterclockwise.

  5. Repeat Steps 2, 3, and 4 until you achieve the desired views.
  6. To exit rotate mode, do one of the following:

    • Click mouse button 2.

    • Click the cancel button in the prompt area.

    • Click the rotate tool.

    • Click any other view manipulation tool.

    Tip: Use the cycle view manipulation tool to return to the previous view.

Rescale the view to fit the viewport as you rotate

  1. From the main menu bar, select ViewGraphics Options.

    The Graphics Options dialog box appears.

  2. Toggle Auto-fit after rotations on to automatically rescale the view to fit the viewport as you rotate; toggle it off to disable automatic rescaling during rotation.
  3. Click OK to implement your changes and close the dialog box.

    Your changes are saved for the duration of the session.