DriveWorks Pro 22

Pan

Pan

The Pan Entity lets you pan 3D Document Nodes within a 3D Scene using mouse or touch input. The Pan Entity can be combined with the Camera and Rotate Entities to create custom Cameras inside a DriveWorks 3D Document

The Pan Entity can also be used to Pan any other Node within a DriveWorks 3D Document. This means that you can have basic interaction with a 3D model using your mouse or touch input.

Information Panel

With a node selected and the Pan Entity added to the node, the following will be displayed in the Information Panel:

Pan Enabled

Enable and disable the Pan Entity. Disabling the Pan Entity means that it won't affect the Node it is applied to. TRUE enables the Pan Entity, FALSE disables it.

Invert Direction

Inverts the direction of every Input Axis on the entity. TRUE to invert the direction, FALSE to maintain the current direction.

Relative Pan Target

Accepts a node address or euler rotation to be used as the relative transform for the X|Y|Z pan directions.

This allows the camera to use relative panning for orbit cameras.

Example inputs:

• Node address - Root\Orbit Camera\Yaw\Pitch\Camera (taken from the Imported template Orbit Camera)
• Euler rotation - 32.95|39.01|34.15

X Axis

• X Limits Enabled

  Enable and disable limits on the X Axis. TRUE to enable limits, FALSE to disable.

• X Minimum

  This is the minimum position the Node can travel to in the X Axis. This value is relative to the Root Node.

• X Maximum

  This is the maximum position the Node can travel to in the X Axis. This value is relative to the Root Node.

• X Input Axis

  Select an input method for this Axis. You can chose from 5 input methods. Each method has a mouse gesture and a touch gesture. See below.

Y Axis

• Y Limits Enabled

  Enable and disable limits on the Y Axis. TRUE to enable limits, FALSE to disable.

• Y Minimum

  This is the minimum position the Node can travel to in the Y Axis. This value is relative to the Root Node.

• Y Maximum

  This is the maximum position the Node can travel to in the Y Axis. This value is relative to the Root Node.

• Y Input Axis

  Select an input method for this Axis. You can chose from 5 input methods. Each method has a mouse gesture and a touch gesture. See below.

Z Axis

• Z Limits Enabled

  Enable and disable limits on the Z Axis. TRUE to enable limits, FALSE to disable.

• Z Minimum

  This is the minimum position the Node can travel to in the Z Axis. This value is relative to the Root Node.

• Z Maximum

  This is the maximum position the Node can travel to in the Z Axis. This value is relative to the Root Node.

• Z Input Axis

  Select an input method for this Axis. You can chose from 5 input methods. Each method has a mouse gesture and a touch gesture. See below.

Pan Settings

• Pan Speed

  Pan Speed controls how quickly the Pan Entity reacts to the input methods. Reducing the speed will mean you have to move your mouse for longer to pan the Node.

• Pan Smooth Speed

  Pan Smooth Speed is the speed at which the model slows to a stop. A slower Smooth Speed causes the model decelerate slower. It smooths the transition of the model from one place to another.

Pan Limits Explained

Pan Limits are extremely useful. If you are setting up custom cameras you may want to limit the users interaction with the camera and how far they can pan.

Limits on each axis let you specifically control each direction of movement and limit pan to only certain axis.

Pan Limit - Example 1

In this example, we have a Pan Entity on a Node. We have added an input to both the X and Z Axis.

The limits for both the X and Z Axis have been enabled. We have set a value for X Minimum, X Maximum, Z Minimum and Z Maximum. These values are the extents of the defined limits.

The image below shows how X Min, X Max, Z Min and Z Max create an area. The Node will be able to move anywhere within this defined area.

Pan Limit - Example 2

Adding an extra Axis allows you to now move a node within a volume rather than just an area. This can be useful for panning a camera around a model and moving closer to an object.

Alternatively, you can just use a single axis and only have 1 axis of motion. One axis of motion could be used to pull drawers out on a cupboard.

Pan Speed

The default Pan Entity speed is 1. This translates to 1000 millimeters per 500 pixels moved by the mouse.

1 = 1000mm per 500 pixels

If you have a flat model that is 200mm long and circular model that has a 200mm circumference, you want the circular model to perform a full rotation over the same distance as the flat model pans.

The Pan Entity will move 1000mm over 500 pixels. The Rotate Entity will do 360 degrees over 500 pixels. To get the Rotate Entity to do 360 degrees over 200mm it needs to be 5 times faster, you can set the speed to 5.

This results in the flat model moving 200mm and the circular model rotating 360 degrees in the same time frame, giving you a rack and pinion.

Using the Pan Entity with Rules

The Pan Entity can be used in conjunction with Rules. However you may not receive the behavior you expect.

A Node containing Position Rules and a Pan Entity will behave in the following way.

If the model is panned (Pan Entity) then it will pan from the Nodes current position. If however, you pan (Pan Entity) the model then use Rules to position the model. The panned (Pan Entity) position will be reset to the Static and Dynamic Transform positions.

The Pan Entity and Static and Dynamic Rules do not combine in a cumulative way. To achieve this, you will need to have two Nodes. One with the Pan Entity and one with Rules.

Axis Inputs

PrimaryPointerDragHorizontal	PrimaryPointerDragVertical
Mouse Touch	Mouse Touch

SecondaryPointerDragHorizontal	SecondaryPointerDragVertical
Mouse Touch	Mouse Touch

Zoom

Mouse Touch