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Game Controller for Alibre

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Anonymous

Guest
Game Controller for Alibre

I don't know if many of you have seen this new game controller http://www.tomshardware.com/game/200403061/ from Belkin, but I think it is a godsend. It has 104 programmable buttons with an easy to use macro recorder. I have it programmed to do all kinds of things in Alibre. Some of the functions I programmed it to do are Isoview, regenerate, save, open, close, zoom-fit, previous/next views, orient to plane, Dimension, view shaded, view wire-frame, view visible edges, symmetric constraint, collinear constraint, coincident constraint, Auto dimension, etc. It has eliminated my mouse clicks by probably 40-50%. It is also a lot cheaper than a spaceball. I got mine at Best Buy for $40, but I see them on Ebay for $10-$15. Check it out.
 
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barrykingwill

Senior Member


I have a 120 button PC controller as well.

Ohhh hang on, it says "keyboard" on the back!




Sorry, could not resist. :D :) :eek: :lol: :D :) :eek: :lol:
 
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Gaspar

Alibre Super User


Hey Barry, I got one just like yours :D

Now, seriously, sounds like a great idea. I'll start searching for one. Thanks for sharing :!:
 
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Gaspar

Alibre Super User


Hey,

I'm sure I wrote this before and it doesn't seem to be here :?: :?:

Any way, I'm about to purchase the Game Controller as you suggested. If you could provide any aditional info about how is it helping you, I would surely appreciate it.
 
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Brian Rasley

Member
a game control pad works great!

Please refer to my post "Speeding up drawing"

The game pad is "Nostromo" and made by Belkin.
 
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Bryce

New Member


Hello,

is it possible to rotate 3D-objects with this game controller with the Tax cross and zoom in and zoom out with the wheel on the controller without pressing additional keys.

thanks,
Bryce
 
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MilesH

Alibre Super User


OK. No-one else has answered this, so I'll have a go...

Yes you can rotate objects with the 8 way directional pad on the Belkin N52. You program a macro of shift/arrow for each direction and set it to repeat for as long as that part of the pad is held down. For the 45 deg rotation of the intermediate positions you program the corresponding shift/horiz. plus shift/vert. and they alternate as the macro repeats.

I don't use this system for rotating as I have a Cadman for that, but I've just verified that it works. You can zoom with your mousewheel or the wheel on the N52. This would be even better with cursor-centric zooming... hint hint :)

I can really recommend using the Cadman and N52 together. Because the Cadman has a low profile "knob" they are more or less level with each other and it's easy for the hand to slide across from one to the other.

Hope this helps,

Miles
 
Mibe

Mibe

Alibre Super User


The new "Spacepilot" from 3DConnexion is the deal and has all that functionality in one product. And it's high quality as well - Belkin is not!

My little gem is the coolest computer related product ever and I can't live without it :)
 
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Gaspar

Alibre Super User


Hey Michael,

How about a link to the product's page and comments about which model are you using, how much did it cost, etc.... :wink:
 
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MilesH

Alibre Super User


Mibe, interesting to hear your feedback on that. It came out after I bought my combination solution. I was a bit doubtful about the positioning of the buttons on it. Also the way the display relates to the buttons seems less than intuitive... Have you tried the Belkin? It only has cheap keyboard switches, but it works fine. It's great for other programs, as well.

Miles
 
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MilesH

Alibre Super User


One advantage of using the Belkin is that you can program in a normal key press - with the 3D connexion controllers everything has to be programmed as a macro. I find it incredibly useful to have the following on adjacent keys on my N52: Control key - Select (macro) - Shift key. Really speeds up sketching.

Miles
 
Mibe

Mibe

Alibre Super User


The Spacepilot has all these keys "pre programmed" already... Check out the link some posts up... Sorry for forgetting the URL :oops:

A pal of mine tested it and stated "It feels like having an Audi on the desktop" :)... What can I say, the quality is outstanding...
 
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MilesH

Alibre Super User


Yeah, it was my link :)

I forgot it had dedicated control and shift keys. That's a great improvement over the others. Still think the way the display relates to the buttons is daft....

I look forward to trying one , though....... :)

Miles
 
Mibe

Mibe

Alibre Super User
Re:

MilesH said:
Only an Audi? :)
Click to expand...

Hehe... Audi surpassed Mercedes a couple of years ago... BMW does not stand a chance :)

Ok... he (and I) likes Audi a lot. Perhaps a Lexus is equal in quality ;-)

PS... Quality can be measured in two way. Real quality and the sensation of Quality. German and Swedish cars are the latter, East Asian cars are the first :)
 
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