Change Rhino for Max style viewport control?

[KBOC]

You've got to be kidding me!

Rhino has the absolute best, fastest, easiest interface of any 3D software period! Why would you want to gimp it?

[Teyon]

Max's interface has always been a little clunky but if you want to remap the mouse buttons in Rhino, I think there's a way to do it. Or maybe there was just a way to map pop ups to it?....hmmm I can't recall.

[KBOC]

Max's interface has always been a little clunky

Only Blender's is worse...

[Teyon]

lol, I haven't used blender so I can't comment but I'll take your word for it. I first learned poly modeling in MAX, so I've had a bit of experience with it and Rhino is just cooler in the layout department. I would like to remap the middle mouse button in Rhino for zoom and rotate though after using programs like WINGS and Silo. I've been promised version 4 is going to have alot of user requested features so I'm hoping customizable mouse control is in there and better polygon hangling. If it is, I may put down my poly apps and play with Rhino more.

[KBOC]

Max's interface is the big reason I didn't bother to learn it.

I very quickly got used to the command line in Rhino... talk about speed! If you manage to get used to it, you can whip out stuff increadibly fast! I only wish Cinema had a command line in its modeller...

[andrewjohn81]

I like the command line in Rhino, but it is no where near the best as far as navigation goes. Max isn't either, but it's not as bad as it use to be.

Rhino has problems like only being able to zoom in to a certain point. If you don't have any geometry to zoom further to then you can create a couple points and zoom selected to those. Then you can zoom further. I don't know any program that has that problem.

If you want to see some sweet navigation then check out Studio Tools. I'm hoping someone creates a plugin for rhino that will do something similar. Wherever you click on a surface, that's the pivot of the camera. So that's where you zoom, that's where you rotate around as well. If you don't click on any object it just remembers the last pivot point. If you want to change the pivot for the camera in rhino you have to zoom selected.

[elagman]

I like the command line in Rhino, but it is no where near the best as far as navigation goes. Max isn't either, but it's not as bad as it use to be.

Rhino has problems like only being able to zoom in to a certain point. If you don't have any geometry to zoom further to then you can create a couple points and zoom selected to those. Then you can zoom further. I don't know any program that has that problem.

If you want to see some sweet navigation then check out Studio Tools. I'm hoping someone creates a plugin for rhino that will do something similar. Wherever you click on a surface, that's the pivot of the camera. So that's where you zoom, that's where you rotate around as well. If you don't click on any object it just remembers the last pivot point. If you want to change the pivot for the camera in rhino you have to zoom selected.

I thought rhino does this. My mouse wheel zooms to where I have clicked, I guess it only rotates about the world or object axis though. I agree about the zoom issue. It gets stuck once you go in so far and has to crawl out, or hit fit to viewport. I asked them about this, and they told me it can't be fixed or something. No other program sticks like this when zoomed in, so I believe it never should have been broken to begin with. Aside from those minor issues the interface is one of the best out there.

[andrewjohn81]

I think it still has alot of catching up to do. A few of the better programs use gestures, quad menues, or hotboxes. They are all similar, but the only thing close to that Rhino has is the popup box. I can't figure out why Rhino is also the only people who don't have their popup menu as right mouse. It is actually the only program I have ever used that doesn't have the popup menu on the right mouse button.

[Dimos]

Rhino has problems like only being able to zoom in to a certain point. If you don't have any geometry to zoom further to then you can create a couple points and zoom selected to those. Then you can zoom further. I don't know any program that has that problem.


There is a tool I wrote about in another thread, the "zoom target" command which is easily accessible by right clicking on the icon with a rectangle and a magnifier (being on the lower left corner of the rectangle) on the standard toolbar. Then you left click where you want the target of the camera to be and you define how large the zoom should be. It is very usefull because you can focus on an area of an object instead of the whole object and go very close.

[andrewjohn81]

I tried the tool once and forgot about it because it didn't work the first time. I need to stop doing that.

It only works good if you have osnap on and in many cases you'll need the near box selected.

Yes, that tool does do it.

The problem I was talking about, though, is that you can't zoom in all that far. If you are in the middle of using a tool then you can't switch tools and switch back or you will loose your operation. Imagine trying to do a sweep2 and it is very long, but has a very small radius. That's not a perfect example because you can still use the selection menu, but I just thought of it quickly. You should get the idea.

[tilite]

ok so this may not be excatly on target to where this thread is going but i did want to bring up a few points.. first i love rhinos navigation and selection tools... to take full advantage of this ur left hand has to be glued to shift+ctrl+alt all at the same time... but as soon as u pick it up it just becomes instantanious to navigate wherever you wnat (excusing the occasional zoom select.. i supose if u set that macro to run thre your middle mouse button you would be set tho) and select anything you wnat no matter hom much crap is infront of it behind it intersceting it... its all good... ok im going to write these down... actually i find these some of the most useful shortcuts in rhino so im going to start a thread on lil personal shortcuts and tips... this could be good :D

ok now im extremly side tracked

ok i honestly cant remember what i was going to post about..:blush:

omg thats just embarrasing.. then agian i dont have to hit the submit reply button..hmmm

[Hypernaut]

I think it still has alot of catching up to do. A few of the better programs use gestures, quad menues, or hotboxes. They are all similar, but the only thing close to that Rhino has is the popup box. I can't figure out why Rhino is also the only people who don't have their popup menu as right mouse. It is actually the only program I have ever used that doesn't have the popup menu on the right mouse button.

@andrewjohn81:
Actually you can have a pop up menu on the right mouse - additionally to the repeat-function !!!
Menu --> Render --> Properties --> Rhino Options --> Mouse

on the bottom you see the "Right Bouse Button" options; just check the box, if u want the context menu (and add a delay at your comfort). Then the repeat option still is in use as usual but additionally you now get the context menu, when you hold the right mouse button (as long as you determined the delay time in that menu)...

on the upper part you see a similar option for the "Middle Mouse Button". The second and third option are self explaining, as is the the first one. But there are some customizable features for the first which are not visible there. Go up one menu point to --> Rhino options --> General; the options in the upper block refers to the mentioned middle mouse button popup menu!
You can determine
a.) what commands should be constantly appear in the popup menu (very useful when used for e.g. the most used commands like move, copy, split/trim, explode/join, boolean union/difference etc.)
b.) how many most recently used commands shall appear there (similar to the list of most recent opened files)

This is really a great advantage to speed up work flow - especially when doing repeating work (which can't done by macros/scripts)

Have fun'n'joy

[andrewjohn81]

those are some sweet tips. I hadn't realized a few of them.
I don't like the popup, cause it always get's in my way. I use move alot, so just have the middle button set to that, but that is a good tip.

I didn't really know about the right mouse button menu. That wasn't what I was looking for, but it's very useful. I couldn't find a way to customize what was on that. Do you know if that's possible?

[Hypernaut]

@andrewjohn81:
- only the middle mouse button menu is customizeable
- for the right mouse button you can only choose to have the repeat and/or the context pop up menu (you can also choose to have only the pop up function instead of the repeat function when you choose zero as delay time); within the context menu you have two choices: when you have an object selcted then the context menu refers to that object, otherwise when everything is deselected, then the context menu refers to viewport properties

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