Rev 2412


astroid on Rhino

Interactive view control for the Rhino 8® 3D CAD program (from Robert McNeel & Associates - www.rhino3d.com )
The astroid™ spatial mouse and the astroid on Rhino 8 plug-in provide faster and simpler view control.
Push and/or twist the sensor ball with your fingers to simultaneously pan, zoom and spin the view.
Use the programmable buttons to emulate a keyboard key or fire a Rhino command.

Click on headings below to open/close them. Press F5 to reset the page.



Introduction

The astroid™ spaceball is a spatial mouse with a ball sensor that detects a light fingertip 3D push and 3D twist. It is typically used with the fingers of the left hand to pan, zoom and spin the view. A set of programmable buttons can clone keyboard keys or fire Rhinoceros® (www.rhino3d.com) commands.

The astroid on Rhino 8 plug-in integrates the astroid spaceball into Rhino 8.

The astroid dramatically improves how quickly and easily you work with computer aided design (CAD) programs by shifting view control to your (typically) left hand. View control with the ball is intuitive, leaving both your mind and your right hand free to focus on designing, picking geometry and picking menus. Consider how, in the real world, we all work by holding an object in our (typically) left hand and using a tool, be it a pen, knife, screwdriver, etc. in our right hand. Our attention is focused on doing something with the tool. Moving the object around is almost subconscious as our natural spatial ability has us reorient the object without really thinking about it. There is no other device that communicates our natural spatial ability to a computer like a spaceball.

The plug-in adds four new modes of view control, four new commands, a toolbar, an astroid options page and this help file. Although the plug-in adds extensive functionality Rhino users are often satisfied with just the basics .


To find out more visit www.spatialfreedom.com

Installation


To Install
  1. Plug in the astroid. (Optional)
    • Plug it in to any USB port.
    • Note: Software installation does not require an astroid to be plugged in.
  2. Install astroid on Windows
    • The astroid on Windows software module integrates the astroid into Microsoft Windows®.
    • Log in to an account with administrator privileges.
    • Go to www.spatialfreedom.com/downloads.
    • Download and run astroid on Windows <version>.exe
  3. Install the astroid on Rhino 8 plug-in.
  4. Start Rhinoceros.
    • The astroid plug-in status is displayed in the top left corner of the active view below the view’s name.
  5. Add the Astroid toolbar.
    • Right-click on the Standard toolbar tab. Sometimes it takes several seconds for Rhino to open the Toolbars pop-up window.
    • Wait for the pop-up window then click in the white text box showing "default" to bring up a drop-down menu.
    • With the astroid on Rhino 8 plug-in installed an "astroidOnRhino8" option will be listed. Click it to select it and display the list of astroid toolbars. Enable the "Astroid" check-box. The Astroid tab appears as the right-most tab on the Standard toolbar.
    • Click the "Astroid" tab to display its icons.
  6. Experiment.
    • Press the A8 button (nearest right-hand) on the astroid to bring up the astroid options page which shows the various astroid settings.
    • Press the A4 button (nearest left-hand) to reset the view.
    • Gently push and twist the ball. Notice how the image moves correspondingly. Gently lift the ball upwards, away from the desk, to move the image up.

To Uninstall
  1. Close Rhino if it is open.
  2. Right-click the Windows Start button then select Installed Apps
  3. Find astroid on Rhino 8. Typing "ast" in the search box helps.
  4. On the right just after “MB“ click the three drop-down menu dots then select Uninstall.
  5. Click Uninstall, click Uninstall, click Yes, click Uninstall, wait for it to uninstall then click Close.

Topics

Getting Started

To be productive with the astroid only requires understanding this section. In summary,


The astroid on Rhino 8 plug-in provides three main modes of operation based on the spin center’s placement: at-view-target, on-model and at-eyepoint. The at-view-target mode is the most productive for CAD work. The on-model mode is the best for demonstrating the astroid to non-CAD people who just want to try it, and the at-eyepoint mode is for the die-hards who wish to fly-through their models and will spend the time needed to learn this advanced mode of control.

There is a fourth no-spin mode for orthographic views, such as Top, Front and Right, where spin is disabled, of course.

The key to using the astroid is mastering control of the spin center’s location since the model rotates about this point.

While learning to use the ball remember the nearest left-hand button will reset the view.

If something seems odd, press A8 to bring up the astroid options page and click Restore Defaults

at-view-target

In this mode the spin center is at Rhino’s view target, the point the camera is looking at. A small blue sprite appears right in the center of the view over the view target whenever the ball is pushed or twisted. The distance of the view target from the camera’s eyepoint is shown in the astroid plug-in status at top left of the active view.

Pull/push up/down through the center of the ball to pan up and down. Push left/right to pan left and right and pull in or push away to zoom in and out. Notice how the view target distance moves in and out with zoom. Twist the ball about left/right, up/down or in/out axes, or about any axis to spin the model correspondingly.

It takes a little practice to familiarize yourself with this type of interaction which surprises some people.

no-spin

This mode operates in the standard orthographic views and is essentially at-view-target without spin. The spin center sprite is not shown.

Control Modes

The astroid options page Control Mode box:

The astroid on Rhino 8 plug-in provides three main modes of operation based on the spin center’s placement plus a no-spin mode:

The key to using the astroid is mastering control of the spin center’s location since the model rotates about this point. While learning to use the ball remember the A4 button (nearest left-hand) will reset the view. If something seems odd, ensure the “normal“ settings are reset by using the A8 button to bring up the astroid options page and click Restore Defaults

Astroid Plug-in Status
  • The astroid plug-in status is shown under the view’s name in the top left of the active view.
  • The first letter indicates the current control mode:
      at-view-Target    on-Model    at-Eyepoint    no-spin (PanZoom)
  • Next is the view angle which is 0° for parallel views.
  • In perspective views the view target distance is also displayed along with two lines showing the view angle, if enabled.

at-view-target

The view target can be placed by using the nearest left-hand button to invoke the command AstroidSpinCenter Pick, then pick a point on the model. Pull/push up/down through the center of the ball to pan up and down. Push left/right to pan left and right and pull in or push away to zoom in and out. Notice how the view target distance moves in and out with zoom. Twist the ball about left/right, up/down or in/out axes, or about any axis to spin the model correspondingly.

It takes a little practice to familiarize yourself with this type of interaction which surprises some people. Rotate the model back and forth a little when zooming in to help push the view target over the area of interest. The view target can also be positioned by zooming well out, panning the model to position the desired area over the view target then rotating 90° and panning to the final position.

With some practice it is possible to fly through the model by locking the view target distance. A Lock View Distance option can be enabled or the left-mouse button or keyboard Ctrl key held pressed to briefly invert the Lock View Distance option. The perspective view angle is shown in the astroid plug-in status at the top left of the active view. A view angle of 40° to 50° is recommended - use the command Astroid SetViewAngle45. In Rhino the view angle can be adjusted by holding down Ctrl -Alt-Shift on the keyboard, right-clicking the mouse and dragging up and down.

on-model

This is the best mode to demo the astroid and the easiest mode to learn but it does require constant repositioning of the spin center for CAD work. To quickly demo the astroid use the command Astroid SetDemoSettings (or program this command under a button). The on-model mode is also useful when spending time examining a small detail in a large model.

If the spin center is way off-screen a small spin can cause the model to disappear off-screen therefore it is important to always keep the spin center in view. Turn on a fence option using AstroidSpinCenter Fence=True to prevent the spin center from panning off screen.

When the left-mouse button (or the keyboard Ctrl key) is held pressed the ball will pan the spin center to allow it to be manually positioned anywhere in model space. To ignore the initial left-mouse press, place the cursor over an ignored area such as in the title bar of Rhino’s window.

at-eyepoint

This mode takes a while to master but does make for fantastic demonstrations. It’s like holding your head in your hand as you push and spin the camera around the view as in a first-person shooter game but with the full 6 degrees of freedom. Twisting left or right (yaw) about a vertical axis turns the camera left and right. Likewise pitch and roll or any combination spins the camera accordingly. Pushing in any direction moves the camera accordingly.

A key aspect is understanding how the view target distance determines motion responsiveness. The view target distance can be set by pressing the nearest left-hand button then picking a point on the model. Note how the astroid plug-in status shows the updated distance. A closer point provides finer control, a more distant point provides faster control.

When zooming in our out the view target distance can either be maintained (locked) or allowed to shrink or grow (unlocked) as the eyepoint moves forwards or backwards. It’s preferable to unlock the view target when observing a part of the model and vice versa when flying through a model. The Lock View Target option can be set for the desired mode then, to invert the mode, press and hold the left-mouse button or the keyboard Ctrl key.

With some practice you will be able to fly inside and around models with ease.

A Reverse Motion option inverts the pan, zoom and spin directions which some people prefer - it’s as though the model is being pushed and twisted about the eyepoint rather than the camera being pushed and twisted about its eyepoint.

Note: This was the mode used with the SpaceOrb 360 game controller in Descent® that gained a tremendous following.

no-spin

Also called pan-zoom-only the no-spin mode is used for aligned orthographic views such as Top, Front and Right. Spin is disabled to maintain the view’s alignment. This mode can override the three main modes by selecting the PanZoom option in the astroid options page.

The Astroid Options Page

Options

PanZoom <> PanZoomSpin
Show (At View Target, On Model)
Fence (On Model)
Lock View Distance (Persp)
Reverse Motion (At Eyepoint)
Dominant Axis
Show View Angle

Viewing maps a volume in model space to the screen. The view angle is the smallest of the horizontal or vertical angles of the mapped volume. Parallel views map a rectangular box and so have a 0° view angle while perspective views map a truncated pyramid.

Keep Upright

When we look around, we turn our heads left/right (yaw) and up/down (pitch) but rarely tilt to one side (roll). The up/down axis of our head remains in a vertical plane. Likewise, a model is considered upright, having no tilt, when its up/down axis lies in a vertical plane viewed edge on.

Dominant Axis

Buttons

Toolbars

There are four astroid toolbars.

Astroid Toolbar

Astroid button
At View Target button
On Model button
At Eyepoint button
Straighten View button
Set View Angle 45° button
Keep Upright button
Dominant Mode button
Astroid Options button
Astroid Help button

At View Target Toolbar

Click and hold the At View Target button to open this cascaded menu.

Show/Hide Blue Spin Center button

On Model Toolbar

Click and hold the On Model button to open this cascaded menu.

Show/Hide Green Spin Center button
Fence Spin Center button
Center Spin Center button

At Eyepoint Toolbar

Click and hold the At Eyepoint button to open this cascaded menu.

Faster/Slower button
Lock View Target Distance button
Reverse Directions button

Commands

Most Astroid SUI options can be set using commands or using the astroid options page.

Astroid


OptionsPage Astroid

This command opens the astroid options page. See the astroid options page for more information.

Astroid PanZoom=True,False

Turns the Pan/Zoom control mode override on and off. See Control Modes for more information.

Astroid SetViewAngle45

Sets the perspective view angle to 45° which is appropriate for viewing inside a model. Rhino’s default view angle is narrow. A perspective view maps a model space volume the shape of a pyramid to the screen. The smallest of the horizontal and vertical pyramid angles is the view angle. NOTE Rhino’s view angle can be changed at any time by holding down the Ctrl -Alt-Shift keys and the right-mouse button then moving the mouse up and down. See Control Modes for more information.

Astroid StraightenView

Aligns the view to the closest orthogonal or isometric direction. For instance, to look at a front view upside-down use the ball to position and orient the view close to an upside down front view then click Straighten View. The model will instantly spin about the spin center to align the X, Y or Z axes so one normal to the screen and the other two are horizontal and vertical. There happen to be 24 possible orthogonal and 24 possible isometric aligned view combinations. The one closest to the current view will be chosen.

Astroid DemoSettings

This command resets various settings suitable for demonstrating the astroid.

Astroid Dominant=True,False

Toggles the dominant axis mode on and off. Dominant axis mode zeroes all but the largest of the six push and twist axes to provide pure X, Y, Z pan, zoom or spin motion at any one time.

Astroid ShowStatus=True,False

Toggles the astroid plug-in status that is shown under the view’s name in the top left of the active view.

Astroid Help

This command brings up this astroid on Rhino help documentation.

Astroid Properties

This command brings up this Astroid Properties window that is a component of the astroid On Windows software.

Astroid StandardSettings

This command restores some flags and button programming for A1, A4 and A8 to match this help documentation.

AstroidEyepoint


AstroidEyepoint Faster

Doubles the perspective control distance to speed up motion. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidEyepoint Slower

Halves the perspective control distance to slow down motion. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidEyepoint Reverse=True,False

Reverse Turns the Reverse Directions option on and off. The Reverse Directions option applies to the at-eyepoint control mode and causes motion to operate as though the astroid ball were pushing and spinning the virtual camera, like the way joysticks function in games. Some people like this type of control but typically a lot of practice is needed to master it. The Reverse Directions option can be set in the astroid options page. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidSpinCenter


AstroidSpinCenter Attach=Model,Target,Eyepoint

Selects the control mode. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidSpinCenter Pick

See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidSpinCenter Show=True,False

Hides/shows the spin center that is used as the spin and zoom center for the on-model and at-view-target control modes. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidSpinCenter Fence=True,False

Fences the spin center in the on-model control mode to the view’s edges to prevent it moving off screen. Very useful for novice users to prevent the model getting lost. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidSpinCenter LockTarget=True,False

Locks the view target distance from the camera’s eyepoint to allow flythrough operation in at-view-target control mode. Depress and hold the Ctrl key or the left-mouse button to temporarily invert this option. Move the mouse over the view or toolbar background so the mouse click won’t do anything before clicking the left-mouse button. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidSpinCenter Reset

Resets the spin center in the on-model control mode to Rhino’s grid origin. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidSpinCenter Center

In the on-model control mode this command moves the spin center to the center of view. See Control Modes for more information.

OptionsPage Astroid


OptionsPage Astroid

Opens the astroid options page. See The Astroid Options Page for more information.

AstroidUpright


AstroidUpright KeepUpright=True,False

Turns KeepUpright on and off. The KeepUpright option prevents the view from tilting. An Up Axis specifies the axis to maintain in the view’s Y-Z plane - a vertical plane normal to the screen. The KeepUpright option and the Up Axis settings are in the astroid options page. In perspective views the pitch angle is used to rotate the two view angle lines. See Control Modes for more information.

AstroidUpright UpAxis=X,Y,Z

There is no toolbar for this command. The easiest way to set the Up Axis is in the astroid options page.

Aligns the view to the closest orthogonal or isometric direction. For instance, to look at a front view upside-down use the ball to position and orient the view close to an upside down front view then click Straighten View. The model will instantly spin about the spin center to align the X, Y or Z axes so one normal to the screen and the other two are horizontal and vertical.

There happen to be 24 possible orthogonal and 24 possible isometric aligned view combinations. The one closest to the current view will be chosen.

Troubleshooting

Refer to the following symptoms and fixes.

The model flies off the screen as soon as the astroid is touched.

This can occur in two situations. If the spin center is way off screen, then a small rotation will make the model move a long way. Or, if spin center fencing is on and the spin center is way off the model any movement will snap the spin center into view pushing the model out of view.

To fix this use the command Astroid DemoSettings to bring the model and the spin center on-screen. Another solution is to click AstroidSpinCenter Pick then click on somewhere on the model to place it there.

Touching the ball produces no movement.
The Astroid toolbar doesn’t show.
The mouse and keyboard don’t work properly after a Rhino crash.

For further assistance email helpdesk@spatialfreedom.com.

Glossary

See Control Modes for details on many of the terms below.

At-Eyepoint Control Mode
At-View-Target Control Mode
Control Mode
Dominant
On-Model Control Mode
PanZoom (or No Spin) Control Mode
Parallel View
Perspective Control Distance
Perspective View
Spin Center
Up Direction
View Target