Tecplot RS supports the following input devices:
• Standard mouse - Used for pointing at, selecting, and manipulating objects in the workspace; changing the view; choosing fields and manipulating controls in dialogs and sidebars; and performing actions or commands using the toolbar or menus. Most mice have multiple buttons and a scroll wheel, which provide quick access to specific functions.
• Keyboard - Used for entering data and tex and for activating commands using menu shortcuts. In conjunction with a mouse, can be used to switch modes when clicking or dragging.
• 3D mouse - A secondary input device that allows 3D grid plots to be zoomed, translated, and rotated with a touch. Additionally, the always-active 3D mouse doesn’t make you select mouse modes, commands, or keyboard shortcuts. A 3D mouse can therefore enable faster exploration of your data and improve the experience of working with your 3D plots.
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Actions available with a 3D mouse include:
• Translation - Push the mouse cap left or right, pull it up, or push it down, to translate the plot left/right or up/down on the screen.
• Zooming - Push the mouse cap toward you or away from you to zoom the plot. Hold down the Alt key while zooming to switch zoom methods.
The default zoom method depends on whether the current frame’s 3D view mode is perspective or orthographic (see 3D View Details). The results of zooming using the 3D mouse and the Alt key are shown here.
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Pushing or pulling mouse cap |
In perspective mode |
In orthographic mode |
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Normal (without Alt key) |
Changes view distance |
Changes view width |
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Alternate (pressing Alt key) |
Changes view width |
Changes view distance |
• Rotation - Rotation is around the defined center of rotation, by default the center of the data. However, the axis of rotation is relative to the screen rather than to the data.
•X axis - Tilt the mouse cap forward or back to rotate around the screen’s X axis, as if rolling your plot toward you or away from you.
•Y axis - Twist the mouse cap clockwise or counterclockwise to rotate around the screen’s Y axis, as if on a lazy susan.
•Z axis - Tilt the mouse cap left or right to rotate around the screen’s Z axis, like the hands of a clock.
With practice, it is possible to perform more than one of these operations at the same time. At first, though, it is best to be careful to invoke only one function at a time.
Most 3D mice also have one or more buttons, which can be mapped to commands that you use frequently using the software provided with the device.
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A handy command to assign to a 3D mouse button is the keystroke “o” (lowercase letter O), which is used to set the center of rotation to the current mouse pointer position in Tecplot RS supports the following actions (built-in to the 3D mouse software) that may be mapped to buttons using the device software:
• Fit
• Front, Back, Top, Bottom, Left, and Right View
• Isometric View 1 (Tecplot RS default view) and 2 (theta 180° from default)
• Roll CW and CCW (in 90° increments)