Better pen tablet experience (Like Blender)

SketchUp Feature Requests
#1

Dear SketchUp team,

We would really appreciate if you could make SU more friendly to be used with a pen tablet, specially in terms of navigation.

A good example is what Blender has done allowing user to decide how to map not only basic commands but things like navigation and selection. This way I can easily navigate with a pen without even using the pen buttons and just using Alt key combinations:

Alt + Pen drag = Orbit
Alt + Ctrl + Pen drag = Zoom
Alt + Shift + Pen drag = Pan

Easy peasy!

What do you think? would something like this be to hard to implement?

#2

Hi JimGim.

For your info, I am using successfully SketchUp with a wacom cintiq pro 16 tablet and a wacom 3D pen - that is the one with 3 buttons - and a space mouse from 3D connexion.

The pen in my right hand for pointing and clicking and context menu clicking. Left hand is for navigation on the space mouse. Highly recommended! Itā€™s fun to swoop around the model so fast. The third pen button gives an alternative for orbit and pan with modifier key - Just like a middle/wheel mouse button.

I operate the small wacom keyboard with either hand, whichever is available. I use keyboard shortcuts a lot. Wacom has many other on-screen operation options, like diverse commands wheels and number pads etcā€¦ But I find keyboard shortcuts so much faster.

Sometimes my hand is covering up screen content like the value entering box at the bottom right of the monitor. Then I need to do a bit of wrist gymnastics. Not ideal but a common problem when using a pen in lieu of a mouse.

Layout however still does not support the space mouse, pooop poooop!

I have a sore hand and try to stay away from using a mouse.

Good luck with finding your perfect set up.

1 Like
#3

You can move that to another part of the screen if you want. Iā€™ve seen @DaveR or @Box do it to be more visible when making screen videoā€™s.

1 Like
#4

Yep, I have customised the Measurement toolbar, so I always have the basic tools and vcb right there, I also have a small custom floating keyboard so I can use keyboard shortcuts without taking my hand off the spacemouse.
I also keep the entity info window floating in the bottom left corner so it is always visible.

image
image851Ɨ750 28.5 KB

1 Like
#5

Very good tips. Cheers!

#6

I appreciate your suggestions but I must say thatā€™s not what I was looking for when I created this post. Iā€™m not looking for workarounds but for Trimble to make SU a more pen tablet friendly program. Right now SU is just a mouse oriented program.

Donā€™t want to be rude here. I say this with all respect, but I feel that your answers to my post could be easily interpreted by SU team as ā€œnaahhh everything is OK in how SU handles pen tablets. Look how I set up min. Works like a charmā€.

Once again, Iā€™m not trying to be rude here. I just want my message to be heard my the team.

#7

You are taking the ā€œnothing must be done before everything has been made perfectā€ approach to things. It has failed spectacularly everywhere it has been tried.
What you call workarounds are things that can be done here and now to improve things. No one has claimed that they leave no room for improvement.

Trimble has started introducing gesture-based functionality to SketchUp, first via the Web versions. I donā€™t use touchpads or pens so I cannot say how far they have got at the moment. See