Flying through Objects

You can move upward or downward on any horizontal view plane as you move forward or backward.

Before you begin:
  • Gravitational effects are automatically activated in Fly mode.
  • Except when rotating, collision detection is available if you click the Collision detection enabled option.
  • Before flying using a 3D mouse, you must be familiar with the basic navigation interactions with this device.
  1. From the View section of the action bar, click Fly Through .
    A circular target appears to indicate that you are now in Fly mode (provided that the Show navigation icon option is selected).
  2. When in the direction in which you want to fly, press up arrow.
    You start navigating straight forward in the chosen direction.

    The speed at which you approach the object is constant (but adjustable) and is displayed in the lower-right corner of the screen.

    Note that arrow keys are mapped to the keys of your keyboard. The mapping is as follows:

    Action Arrow Key QWERTY AZERTY
    Move forward Up Arrow W Z
    Move backward Down Arrow S S
    Turn Left Left Arrow A Q
    Turn Right Right Arrow D D
    Move Up Page Up Q A
    Move Down Page Down E E

  3. Navigate through your object using the keyboard only or the keyboard and a three-button mouse.

    Using the keyboard or 2D or 3D mouse keys:

    Task Keyboard Shortcut/2D Mouse Keys 3D Mouse Keys
    Fly forward/backward. Up Arrow or Down Arrow

    Fly up/down. –

    Rotate left/right (in sight direction). –

    Rotate about the horizontal axis. Page Up or Page Down.

    Rotate about the vertical axis. –

    Increase/decrease the fly speed. + or - key or scroll the mouse wheel. –
    Increase/decrease the rotation speed. Press Shift + scroll the mouse wheel. –
    Increase/decrease the view angle. Press Ctrl + scroll the mouse wheel. –
    Note: Make sure the Mouse-free navigation option is cleared. Otherwise you cannot use the mouse to fly through objects.

    In automatic Fly mode, you can use the same direction keys as for the standard Fly mode in addition to the keys listed below:

    Task Keyboard Shortcut
    Start automatic Fly mode. Shift+Up Arrow once.
    Change direction. Left Arrow or Right Arrow+Page Up or Page Down.
    Exit automatic Fly mode. Up Arrow or Down Arrow once.

    For example:

    Starting Position Up Arrow+Right Arrow




  4. To change direction while flying, use keyboard arrows or drag your mouse in the chosen direction.
  5. To modify your speed, press the + key to increase the speed, or the - key to decrease the speed. You can also roll the mouse wheel forward or backward to increase or decrease the speed, respectively.
    Each time you press a key (or roll the mouse wheel), you increase or decrease the speed by approximately 10%.
    Important: The default rotation value is 9 degrees and is defined in the options through Angle value for keyboard rotations. Changing the rotation speed through the mouse wheel modifies the speed in the 3D area but does not modify the value specified in the options.
  6. Hold down Shift and roll the mouse wheel forward or backward to increase or decrease the rotation speed.
    Each time you do so, you increase or decrease the speed by approximately 10%. The rotation speed is initialized to 5 degrees.
  7. Still holding Ctrl down, middle-click (or roll the mouse wheel) to change the view angle.
    Starting Position Ctrl+Roll mouse wheel backward




    Important: The view angle is not infinite but is limited by a minimum and a maximum value.
  8. To exit Fly mode, press Esc or click anywhere in the 3D area.
    Pressing F9 lets you switch to Walk mode .