Navigation: Controlling the Camera

This section will cover controlling the camera in OpenSpace using a mouse and keyboard. A three-button mouse is recommended for easiest use of OpenSpace.

  1. Rotation
  2. Zoom
  3. Roll, Yaw, and Pitch
  4. Friction
  5. Video

Rotation

  • Use the left mouse button and drag your mouse to rotate or orbit around your target.
  • The camera will rotate in the direction you drag.
  • How far you drag the mouse will determine how fast the camera will move.

Zoom

  • Use the right mouse button and drag to zoom closer or further away from your target.
  • Dragging down will zoom away, and dragging up will zoom closer.
  • How far you drag the mouse will determine how fast the camera moves.
  • To zoom quickly, press and hold the ‘Z’ key.

Roll, Yaw, and Pitch

  • Hold the CTRL key while dragging with the left mouse button to yaw or pitch the camera.
  • Using the middle mouse button (depressing the scroll wheel) lets you roll the camera. If you do not have a third button, you can also roll the camera by holding the SHIFT key and dragging while pressing the left mouse button.

Friction

  • By default, friction is enabled when controlling the camera, slowing the camera to a stop after you move it.
  • Friction can be toggled independently for Rotation, Zoom, or Roll.
  • Click the words in the upper right on-screen dashboard to toggle the type of friction you want to change.
  • You can also toggle the friction for Rotation, Zoom, and Roll with the ‘F’, ‘Shift+F’ or ‘Ctrl+F’ keybinds, respectively.

Video

This video shows how using the mouse lets you control the camera.

Video time Description
0:00 Rotating around Earth by dragging while holding the left mouse button.
0:39 Zooming closer to and further away from Earth by dragging while holding the right mouse button.
1:06 Yaw or pitch the camera by pressing CTRL and dragging while holding the left mouse button.
1:33 Roll the camera by dragging while pressing the middle mouse button.
1:42 Toggle friction on and off by clicking the words in the upper right of the screen.
3:48 BONUS: Land on Earth using a combination of controls.

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