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Talk about your input devices...

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GaretDH

Senior Member
After seeing this thread http://alibre.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8542, a new thread seemed appropriate (thanks for the pointing, Miles).

What are you using for input devices, besides your standard mouse and 104 windows keyboard? Are you using a secondary input device, like the SpacePilot or similar? A special keyboard? A game controller like the Belkin N52? What are your favorite key map choices for Alibre? Can/do you use multiple maps for different programs? Do you find things easier and more efficient overall?

And what would be yours, if only you could afford it or justify the cost?

Thanks

GaretDH
 
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wathavy4

Alibre Super User
With Alibre, I would say no.
Space Navigator is so good only when it works with fly out rotation mode.
Which is not yet available with Alibre currently. :cry:
 
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GaretDH

Senior Member
Does anyone use keyboard extenders or game pads for their macro programmability? Has it workd out for you? I use Alibre of course, but some of the other CAD pakcages I use are a nightmare of CTRL+keys for shortcuts and darn long menu navigations for simple things... is this the kind of thing that can be programmed using macros and an extra input device?

Garet
 
NateLiquidGravity

NateLiquidGravity

Alibre Super User
I think I'm the guy for this answer: AutoHotkey http://www.autohotkey.com/
AutoHotkey is a free, open-source utility for Windows. With it, you can:
* Automate almost anything by sending keystrokes and mouse clicks. You can write a mouse or keyboard macro by hand or use the macro recorder.
* Create hotkeys for keyboard, joystick, and mouse. Virtually any key, button, or combination can become a hotkey.
* Expand abbreviations as you type them. For example, typing "btw" can automatically produce "by the way".
* Create custom data-entry forms, user interfaces, and menu bars. See GUI for details.
* Remap keys and buttons on your keyboard, joystick, and mouse.
* Respond to signals from hand-held remote controls via the WinLIRC client script.
* Run existing AutoIt v2 scripts and enhance them with new capabilities.
* Convert any script into an EXE file that can be run on computers that don't have AutoHotkey installed.
Click to expand...
You can find quite a few already made for Alibre in this topic: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4311
Note that not all of them will work with every version of Alibre.
 
M

MilesH

Alibre Super User
For Toshi:

This is a quickish way of moving between chosen rotation points.

Select the first custom point and name it 1

Thereafter:

Pick/Ctrl R/Return/2/Return
Pick/Ctrl R/Return/3/Return.....etc etc

I sometimes leave the dialog box tucked away in the corner and Alt Tab to re-focus on it.
If you've closed it - Ctrl R, as above.
 
M

MilesH

Alibre Super User
Nate,

Could you reduce my keystroke method above to 1 keystroke with AHK?

It would then be: select point - press macro key :D
 
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sigseven

Senior Member
I think he might mean the V11 feature of rotating about the specific entity your cursor is hovering over. ie. if you start rotating with your mouse over a specific part in an assembly or face in a part and so on, the rotation will be centered on that object.

Personally, I just use a dell keyboard and a Logitech MX 518 mouse. I can see the advantage of having programmable keys when you have to deal with several different programs all with their own shortcuts though.

Another option to get programmable keys that hasn't been mentioned yet is a Logitech G15 keyboard. I think I've seen some posts here giving it favorable reviews for use with Alibre, but I haven't used one personally.
 
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MilesH

Alibre Super User
sigseven said:
I think he might mean the V11 feature of rotating about the specific entity your cursor is hovering over. ie. if you start rotating with your mouse over a specific part in an assembly or face in a part and so on, the rotation will be centered on that object.
Click to expand...

Yes, we're trying to get a similar ability with the Space Navigator.....
 
NateLiquidGravity

NateLiquidGravity

Alibre Super User
Like the new in v11...
Enhanced View Rotation

New view rotation mode that automatically uses the mouse location as the center of view rotation. If the mouse hovers over part geometry while view rotation is invoked, the mouse location becomes the center of view rotation, saving time by eliminating the need to zoom in or out to get the desired view orientation.
Click to expand...

I think they may have changed it now. I think if you change it to Pick/Ctrl R/Alt A/2/Return it works then.

Also I can't believe I did not think of this before because it is what I use to turn my Wiimote into a pc media controller. GlovePIE is simple scripting program made specially for using different controllers on your pc. Like my Wiimote example, or this one http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/softwar ... cript.html
 
M

MilesH

Alibre Super User
NateLiqGrav said:
I think they may have changed it now. I think if you change it to Pick/Ctrl R/Alt A/2/Return it works then.
Click to expand...

The first time you need to use Alt A. thereafter the focus is already on the Add button, I think that's why I wrote it like that (it was over 3 years ago....)

Better just to use Alt A, though - then it works every time.
 
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wathavy4

Alibre Super User
I did not pay too much attention on how I describe. :mrgreen:
Thanks for your interpretation, Miles and Travis.



"Dynamic rotation origin" was the first time naming when I requested about a year before they implemented. ( Well no one know when and how they decided to adapt this functionality, though.)

But obviously I never said, it has to work with Space navigator, mostly because I forgot to mention, secondary because Space Navigator simply did not work properly on pan issue.

Now they say, on the fly rotation, but I would call it now, natural rotation. 8)
 

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MilesH

Alibre Super User
Yay, I've cracked it 8)

Use the following macro to set a new Rotation Point :

[Select new rotation point (Vertex or Ref. Point)] Ctrl R | Alt R | Alt A | 1 | Enter | Esc

To return to Centre of Volume:

Ctrl R | Alt R | Esc

If you have a Space Navigator, you can set these macros on the Left and Right buttons :D

For some reason, this technique doesn't work reliably while editing/creating a Part from within an Assembly....
 
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MilesH

Alibre Super User
:) It works great in Part mode.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was that it doesn't work for Parts edited "in context"....
 
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