SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [22]
You can customize the mouse gesture donut by selecting Tools⇒Customize⇒Mouse Gestures. This works like the Keyboard (hotkey) customization, where you can turn gestures on or off, set the mouse gesture donut to four or eight sections, and change the icons on the donut.
While the icons you put on the donut are not limited to view manipulation commands, this particular interface appears to work best when you use it for view manipulation.
Using the Magnifying Glass
You can invoke the Magnifying Glass by pressing the G key, and dismiss it when you select something or when you press Esc. To change the hotkey it is associated with, choose Tools⇒Customize⇒Keyboard. Magnifying Glass is listed in the Other category. The Magnifying Glass allows you to magnify a small area of the view so that you can make a more precise selection.
The magnified area follows your cursor as it moves, and you can zoom in and out by scrolling the MMB. Ctrl+MMB-dragging keeps the Magnifying Glass centered on the cursor. Pressing Alt and scrolling the mouse wheel creates a section view parallel to the view. Figure 3.4 shows the Magnifying Glass in operation, cutting a section view through an assembly.
FIGURE 3.4
Using the Magnifying Glass with the section view
The Magnifying Glass shows up automatically for certain sketch repair operations. It does not have a permanent home in the menus or on the toolbars. You can only access it through the G shortcut key, so the only place you will see it listed is in Tools⇒Customize⇒Keyboard⇒Other.
Note
The intended purpose of the Magnifying Glass is to select small items. You may use it to magnify parts of your drawing, but remember that it will disappear as soon as you select something.
Investing in a 3D mouse device
There is no better way to manipulate the view of a 3D part than using a 3D mouse device such as those sold by 3Dconnexion. Other manufacturers offer similar devices such as the SpaceController and Asteroid. These devices allow you to manipulate the model on the screen as if it were in your hand. They are also very appropriate to use with assemblies, as you can use them to manipulate underdefined parts in the assembly.
Some 3D mouse devices also have a good number of programmable buttons that you can use for fast access to functionality such as section view, the “S” toolbar, or the Magnifying Glass.
Controlling Appearances
Appearances in SolidWorks have undergone a huge transformation since the 2007 release. Previous to that, color controls had been difficult to access; at one point, they were buried four levels deep in RMB menus. After a decade of development, SolidWorks 2007 finally consolidated the color interface. But then SolidWorks 2008 completely changed how you control the visual properties of parts. Figure 3.5 shows the Appearance PropertyManager (note that the default appearance is labeled Color).
The Advanced configuration of the Appearance PropertyManager (activated by clicking the Advanced toggle button at the top of the window) has three additional tabs, named Mapping, Illumination, and Surface Finish. These parts of the Appearance PropertyManager are shown in Figure 3.6. These options offer you a wide range of flexibility for altering the appearance of the part.
FIGURE 3.5
The Appearance PropertyManager
When part appearances are applied in an assembly, you have to consider the override order. Override order is the hierarchical order in which one appearance overrides another. For example, an appearance applied to the assembly overrides all other appearances that might be applied. An appearance applied to the part in its own window will be overridden by any other applied appearance. The hierarchy of overrides looks like this (from weakest to strongest):
• Default appearance
• Part
• Body
• Feature
• Face
• Component
• Assembly
When you apply an appearance to a part in the assembly, the popup toolbar that allows you