Magic Mouse / Trackpad support

@FishyD, No need to ask your question in multiple threads.

Nothing has changed regarding use of SketchUp with a trackpad.

Hi folks.

Like Jeff, I also use a Logitech mouse on my Macbook Pro and it works perfectly.

Having a scroll wheel gives me a tactical feedback without any need to look at the mouse like it would be the case with a Magic Mouse (MM), using MagicPrefs. I know, I have a Magic Mouse and a Mighty Mouse on my iMac and found the later to be better then the MM with SketchUp.

As for using the trackpad, nothing precludes you from using fingers from both hands. I found that I can press the ctrl key with my left hand ring finger, the cmd key with my left hand index finger and press the trackpad with my thumb for Orbit and easily add the left hand pinky finger for pan. This leaves my right hand index finger free to move on the track pad to actually orbit and pan. Releasing the keys and adding my middle finger to the index finger of the right hand allows me to zoom.

Good fingers gymnastic indeed but useful when I feel to lazy to get my mouse when I have just a quick job to do with SU.

Regards.

Jean

Hi, I’m here using 2017. I would like to see:

  • Zoom: two finger pinch
  • Pan (selected): Single finger drag
  • Orbit: two finger scroll 360°

There is already control-command- drag to do orbiting.

Your Pan idea isn’t quite right. The convention would be to tie zoom and pan together. If you start by using two fingers to move together across the screen, that would be a pan. If you then start to spread the fingers, that would be a zoom.

One of the most uncomfortable command ever.

I don’t find pressing control and command any more difficult than pressing the option key. Also, like with option, where you can just tap it (you don’t have to hold the key down) once a control-command-orbit has started you can release the keys.

What if, instead of cmd+ctrl, orbit is called with just cmd+click? :slight_smile:

command-control-drag is not at all a problem. I have my trackpad set to treat three fingers the same as a click, so I can pan and orbit comfortably, without having to press a mouse button.

Command on its own is used for auto fold and other features. It would be tricky for SketchUp to know that this time you mean orbit and not auto fold.

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Yeah, you’re right. I still strongly believe that Sketchup should copy Rhinoceros Magic Mouse and Trackpad experience.
Two mouse button UX: left click, right click, holding right click (with drag) does the orbit. Simple and easy, give it a try.

This thread started in Nov '14… now it’s May '17.
Is there an hope? :slight_smile:

Your question implies its own answer: given that Trimble has ignored this request for 2 1/2 years, not much hope!

:neutral_face: yeah, you’re probably right. This is silly though: competitors did better Mac UX in shorter timeframe (Autocad, Rhinoceros, Vectorworks)

Still don’t understand why Trimble is so slow vs. Competitors… Autodesk just did touchbar and UI update
http://blogs.autodesk.com/autocad/autocad-mac-2017-1/

I’ve just started using sketchup and its very awkward to not be able to use multitouch gestures to orbit / pan / zoom. It’s disappointing to read that this feature was first requested at least two years ago.

Trimble, if you are still confused as to what your users are asking for, start up the Apple Maps app, put it in 3d mode and use two fingers on the trackpad to zoom, pan, and “orbit”, without the use of the keyboard or any button presses.

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I am just thinking aloud: If the 3DConnexion people have been able to make a SketchUp driver for their hardware, couldn’t the manufacturers write one for a touchpad too? I don’t think the SketchUp developers have the resources to handle every different device out there.

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Apple have a history of not releasing the needed code for couple of cycles…

it can often be held back from dev’s until just before it’s replacement arrives…

After all why would they want to hand it to Google Maps on a plate…

that’s a big if, there driver isn’t very reliable for many people…

I think it needs to be an Apple thing for mac’s…

all the dev tools I’ve seen only target iOS and not the OS X hardware…

john

I think the differentiating point in this request is that it is for a very specific device (and if Apple suddenly shows off something more fancy, this would repeat again). However it is wise to keep a software generic.

On the other side, gesture capabilities in hardware are nowadays as common as orientation/motion sensors in mobile devices. We are not anymore in the era of only left/right/double click. Where would we be if SketchUp refused to support the mouse wheel? If operating systems provided input interfaces (as simple and standardized as on the web) that are generic enough to cover all such devices, it would make sense to think about it. This would have to be available on all supported operating systems.


As for 3D Connexion, the proper solution would be to have a driver that outputs generic input events instead of writing a myriad of plugins to add support into every possibly software. When I see how well the space navigator works (without 3D Connexion drivers installed) in web browsers with standard web APIs, I believe 3D Connexion’s SketchUp plugin would be totally redundant if SketchUp listened to generic 6DoF events.


So actually, if the need pushes enough, a user could write a plugin for SketchUp that uses Apple’s magic mouse / trackpad APIs and makes the camera move, just like the SpaceNavigator.

I’m not a developer, but seems to me that macOS multi-touch APIs and documentation are out since years:

@marcodileo,

I’m a registered Apple developer and when I tried to get the Maps 3D gesture code, I couldn’t…

your linked API has been around a while, but isn’t the same thing…

john

Autodesk and Rhinoceros developers successfully managed to support multitouch into their software. There must be some APIs somewhere :slight_smile: