SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [37]
FIGURE 2.38
Alt-Keys in the File menu
You may potentially run into conflicts when using Alt-keys. A combination of Alt + another keyboard key is a valid use of a hotkey combination. If you use any Alt hotkey combinations, it is likely that you have seen a conflict like this. In cases of conflict, the hotkey combination seems to gain priority over the Alt-key accelerator.
Minimizing icons
In order to maximize valuable space on the monitor, many SolidWorks users strive to minimize the number of toolbar icons on the screen, or confine them to two rows of toolbars. You can do this by using the CommandManager, flyout toolbars, the “S” toolbar, right-click toolbars, and hotkeys, and removing unused icons, as well as the other techniques discussed here.
Having an uncluttered workspace is definitely a plus, but having easy access to commands is the real purpose of an interface in the first place. You need to strike a balance between too much and not enough. The more kinds of work you do in SolidWorks, the more tools you will need to have available. If you only create relatively simple machined parts and drawings, you will need fewer tools available than someone who creates complex plastic part assemblies with rendering and animation.
Contemplating device approaches
If you have never used a Spaceball or equivalent view-manipulation device, you should consider it. They are wonderful devices and do far more than just spin the view. Most of the devices also have several programmable buttons that you can link to menu items. They can move drawing views, parts within assemblies, and even manipulate selected objects in other Office applications and Web browsers.
Using touch and multi-touch support
I have written portions of this book on a tablet PC. A tablet might not be ideal for long periods of SolidWorks usage. However, I use it regularly for presentations and even modeling when I really want to get the feel of drawing a line by hand. The stylus is not quite as intuitive as a pencil, but it is less of an impediment to the tactile feel of actual drawings than a clunky mouse. Tablets are a great option when used in combination with the new touch functions in SolidWorks, such as mouse gestures.
The mouse gestures functionality is considered a tool well suited to a tablet interface, where flicking the stylus is easier than mouse clicking. This is a single-touch technique, since the stylus typically adds only a single point of contact with the screen.
Multi-touch devices are still rare in the CAD-enabled office, but they are becoming more widely available. In preparation for this future functionality that seems ideally suited to visual applications such as CAD and 3D, SolidWorks has added functionality to take advantage of these tools. Multi-touch Action Mappings, as the SolidWorks Help refers to them, are intuitive two-finger motions that enable you to control the view for actions like:
• Zoom in or out
• Rotate
• Pan
• Roll
• Zoom to fit
• Right-click
SolidWorks gave these special actions a new page in the Options dialog, shown in Figure 2.39.
FIGURE 2.39
SolidWorks special settings for multi-touch controls
While SolidWorks does not yet support devices such as smart phones, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, or the iPad, you can find touch and multi-touch support from Windows-based convertible PC tablets offered by HP and Lenovo. You can also use devices like the Wacom Cintiq digitizers and touch and multi-touch monitors from most of the major monitor manufacturers in sizes conducive to CAD.
Support for phone-based tablets with alternative OSes such as Google Android or iOS including others will come when SolidWorks delivers what is now known