The Navigation Cube gives visual information about the camera orientation in the current 3D view and can be used to change it. By default it is visible and resides in the upper right corner of the view.
The Navigation Cube consists of a number of parts:
- The main cube
- Six directional arrows
- The reverse view button (top right) (v0.20)
- The mini-cube menu (bottom right)
- X, Y and Z axis indicators
All parts, except the axis indicators, can be clicked.
The main cube has 26 faces: 6 main faces, 12 rectangular edge faces ((v0.20) ), and 8 corner faces. Clicking any of them reorients the camera so that its direction is perpendicular to the selected face.
There are six directional arrows: four triangular arrowheads and two curved arrows. Clicking one of the triangular arrows rotates the 3D view around a line perpendicular to the direction of the arrow. Clicking a curved arrow rotates the 3D view around the view direction.
Clicking the round button in the top right corner of the Navigation Cube rotates the 3D view 180 degrees around the vertical axis of the view.
Clicking the small cube in the bottom right corner of the Navigation Cube brings up a menu with the following options:
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Orthographic view: switches to an orthographic view. -
Perspective view: switches to a perspective view. -
Isometric: switches to an isometric view. -
Fit all: zooms and pans the camera so that all visible objects fit inside the view. -
Movable navigation cube: if this checkbox ((v0.21) ) is checked the entire Navigation Cube can be moved by holding down the left mouse button anywhere on the main cube and dragging. This is intended to temporarily move the cube out of the way. The advanced parameters OffsetX and OffsetY can be used to permanently reposition the cube, see below.
The Navigation Cube is controlled by several preferences: Edit → Preferences... → Display → Navigation → Navigation cube. See Preferences Editor.
Some advanced Navigation Cube parameters cannot be changed in the Preferences Editor. These parameters can be set manually in the Parameter editor.
To manually set colors:
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Start the
Parameter editor. -
In the panel on the left browse to BaseApp → Preferences → NaviCube.
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Right-click the panel on the right and select New unsigned item from the context menu.
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**BaseColor** : the base color of all elements, the default is {{Value|3806916544}} (hex: {{Value|e2e8efc0}}). This color can be also set in the [Preferences Editor](Preferences_Editor#Navigation.md). <small>(v0.21)</small>-
EmphaseColor
: the color of the texts and lines, the default depends on the BaseColor. It is either black: {{Value|255}} (hex: {{Value|000000ff}}), or white: {{Value|4294967295}} (hex: {{Value|ffffffff}}). (v0.21)
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HiliteColor
: the color used to highlight the faces and buttons, the default is {{Value|2867003391}} (hex: {{Value|aae2ffff}}).
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The color value must be entered as a 32-bit unsigned integer. Translated to the hexadecimal format this integer has the form {{Value|RRGGBBAA}}. Where {{Value|AA}} stands for the alpha channel (a measure for the transparency), and the other three digit pairs stand for red, green and blue. To convert a hexadecimal value to an unsigned integer you can use the Python console, enter for example {{Incode|int("323232ff", 16)}}.
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Optionally set more parameters.
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Press the Close button.
The table below lists the other advanced Navigation Cube parameters that can be set in a similar manner. Use the information from the Type column to create a correct new item in step 3.
+++++ | Name | Description | Type | Default | +=============+===============================================================================================================================+=========+=========+ | BorderWidth | The width of the edges of the cube and the borders around the buttons in pixels. | Float | 1.1 | +++++ | ChamferSize | The size of the edges and corners as a factor of the cube size. Values should be in the 0.05 - 0.18 range. | Float | 0.12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | (v0.21) | | | | | | | | +++++ | FontStretch | The font width as a percentage of the default width. Use 0 or 100 for the default font width. | Integer | 0 | +++++ | FontWeight | The font weight. Higher values make the font more bold. The effect may depend on the font. Use 0 for the default font weight. | Integer | 0 | +++++ | FontZoom | The size of the labels: | Float | 0.3 | | | | | | | | - | | | | | {{Value|FontZoom = 1.0}} | | | | | | | | | | : Make the labels as big as possible individually. | | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | {{Value|0.0 < FontZoom < 1.0}} | | | | | | | | | | : Idem but limit the maximum font size. | | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | {{Value|FontZoom = 0.0}} | | | | | | | | | | : Idem but use the same font size for all. | | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | {{Value|FontZoom < 0.0}} | | | | | | | | | | : Use the same font size for all, but scaled down. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | (v0.21) | | | | | | | | +++++ | OffsetX | The offset of the cube in the X direction relative to its corner position in pixels. | Integer | 0 | +++++ | OffsetY | The offset of the cube in the Y direction relative to its corner position in pixels. | Integer | 0 | +++++ | ShowCS | Toggles the display of the coordinate system (the X, Y and Z axis indicators). | Boolean | true | +++++ | TextBottom | The text on the bottom face of the cube. The default value should be translated. | String | BOTTOM | +++++ | TextFront | The text on the front face of the cube. Idem. | String | FRONT | +++++ | TextLeft | The text on the left face of the cube. Idem. | String | LEFT | +++++ | TextRear | The text on the rear face of the cube. Idem. | String | REAR | +++++ | TextRight | The text on the right face of the cube. Idem. | String | RIGHT | +++++ | TextTop | The text on the top face of the cube. Idem | String | TOP | +++++
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