Rotating object using MMB is sticky

Tools Maya
#1

Select any object and go into the rotate tool. Then highlight any rotation axis. Then MMB drag and you will rotate the object.
This is pretty much how I rotate when animating. And it is basically mostly fine, except one small issue.
There is an initial dead zone when using MMB drag. So there is initially no movement as you move your mouse (very slowly) then there is a little jump as you leave the dead zone and the object rotation catches up to you.
Now this is a very small jump but when you are working on very fine detail work it is enough that you have already overshot where you want to be and then have to drag back (but now you don’t know exactly where you came from, so it’s easy to drag too far).
To get around this I tend to end up using the channel slider which has various options and sensitivities and the graph editor. But as they only work on single axis they are not always ideal.

Anyone know of a setting which changes this behaviour?

#2

heh… what software are you talking about?

I’m guessing Maya, and I see the same issue. I don’t have a solution to MMB, but the easiest answer is that the slight jump doesn’t occur with LMB.

What annoys me more is that years ago, MMB used to manipulate things freely and it would not activate individual axes. This was great for quickly moving things in screen space without even having to look at your cursor. Now you have to avoid the gizmo to get this behavior, which usually means moving your mouse away from where you are currently working.

#3

Yeah Maya :slight_smile: Don’t know why I didn’t think to say.

I have issues with LMB too :slight_smile: For me it’s annoying to have to keep moving the cursor to the controller. Plus it’s very sensitive unless you have massive manipulator handles. But I guess it’s a workaround, if I just resize the manipulator and put up with the awkwardness.

By the way if you are in object mode then there is a yellow circle around the three rotation axis which allows you to rotate in screen space. It’s useful, as you say.

#4

Yes I know there is a yellow circle. To use it, you have to look at it instead of what you are working on. What I mean is that MMB used to work by completely ignoring the gizmos, so you did not have to look at it to avoid selecting it. This changed somewhere around 2011-2013.

Incidentally… Houdini is becoming a UI/UX dream and getting better every version. Just sayin’!

#5

haha I only hear good things about Houdini.