Manipulating Objects within Views

You can manipulate objects within views in the following ways:

• Change the size of an object
• Zoom in on an object
• Resize an object to fit nicely in the view
• Move an object to a new position in the view
• Rotate an object within the Perspective view
• Display a wireframe outline of an object
• View the components in an assembly separately (that is, explode the assembly)

Changing the size of an object

If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can use it to change the size of the object in a particular view. Changing the size of the object in one view does not affect the size of the object in other views.

To change the size of an object, position your cursor anywhere in the view, and then:

• To make the object larger, scroll up.
• To make the object smaller, scroll down.

Zooming in on an object

To zoom in on a particular region of an object:

1. Position your mouse at a upper left corner of the area you want to zoom.
2. Hold down the Control key.
3. Hold down the left mouse button.
4. Drag the mouse over the area you want to zoom in on.
   This creates a box that indicates the area that will be zoomed.
5. When you are happy with the size of the box, release the Control key and mouse button.

Resizing an object to fit the view

After you have zoomed in or out on an object in a view, you can return the object to its original size, which is designed to fit nicely into the view window. To do this:

1. Right-click anywhere in the view.
2. Choose Scale to Fit from the menu that appears.

Moving an object to a new position in a view

To move the object in a particular view:

1. Position your mouse over the object.
2. Hold down the right mouse button.
3. Drag the object to the location you want and release the mouse button.

Rotating an object in the Perspective view

You can rotate the object in the Perspective view so that you can view it from different angles. You can rotate the object to the left or right, to the top or bottom, or anywhere in between.

To rotate an object:

1. Position your mouse anywhere in the Perspective view.
2. Hold down the left mouse button.
3. Drag your mouse in the direction you want the object to turn.
4. When the object reaches the desired position, release the mouse button.

Displaying a wireframe outline of an object

To get a better perspective on your design, you can display an object as a wireframe outline. To do this:

1. Right-click anywhere in the view.
2. Choose Wireframe from the menu that appears.

If you right-click in the view again, you'll see a checkmark next to the Wireframe command. To return to the normal object, simply right-click in the view window and choose Wireframe again to uncheck the command.

Viewing the components in an assembly separately

It may be helpful at times to spread out the components in an assembly so that you can view each one separately. In SketchList 3D, this is called exploding the assembly. Exploding the assembly can be particularly useful if you can't locate a particular component.

You can only explode assemblies when you are at the Assembly level of your design.

To explode an assembly:

1. Make sure you are viewing the Assembly level of your design. If you are not, select Assembly Level in the Hierarchical Levels area.
2. Right-click anywhere in the Views area.
3. Choose Explode from the menu that appears.

The pieces of the assembly spread apart from each other. To return to the normal view, simply right-click in the view window and choose Explode again to uncheck it.