Gadget Mode -- can it be turned "off"?

Gadget Mode -- can it be turned "off"?

Hi there!

My problem is that I'm trying to model a cartoon figure and that requires a lot of hand-tweaking (as we all know). The thing is, using my tablet (a 20" YiNova) I keep on activating the Gadget Mode because C3D treats 2 clicks as a double-click. The clicks are usually not in the same spot. It's a bit hard to slow down sometimes when I'm in the heat of the moment. But the moment I see the center orb go yellow, I stop whatever I'm doing and hit the ESC key and see what moves I made were just moving the pivot and not vertices.

This does interfere with my workflow. Is there a way to just "turn off" gadget mode (at least that what I think it's called, correct me if I'm wrong)? While I do appreciate it when doing mechanical/architectural models, it's a PITA for me when modeling organic shapes.

While I could use the directional "arrows" to move things, sometimes it's just faster and more intuitive to just move the center of the selection.

Related: this may be me smooshing memories, but wasn't there at one time a "Tweak" mode in C3D? Having access to tools via the contextual menu only makes things difficult sometimes when coming back to C3D after an lengthy absence. (what I would do for a toolbar...)

Thanks for any assist in this!

Not 100% sure what you´re after - but regarding it´s an organic and not a hard-surface model what I´d do is to hold down shift+alt keys - hoover over the geometry I like to alter (points/edges or polygons will be highlighted) then click&drag ( transform-tool needs to be in move-mode). No selecting required. Like so?

Cheers
Frank

Thanks for the suggestion, Frank. You should be listed as a feature for Cheetah3D! :wink:

What I'm after is a way to move points around without letting a double-click invoke the Gadget/Gizmo/whatchamacallit mode (where the pivot point is movable and turns yellow when moved and is used to align the selection with the new location of the pivot point). It's close to becoming a reason not to use C3D, it's so freaking annoying to pop up when I don't want it to. While it's good to use for some kinds of modeling, it is just in the way for other kinds and it seems it's always ready to rumble, so your suggestion is about the only thing that'll work...
...but...
...I was hoping to be able to move points without having to hold down modifier keys. Again, have to take my eyes off the display, away from what I'm working on to hunt down keys to keep pressed while I then turn my attention back to the display and do some work until my keyboard hand gets tired. Which from an ergonomic perspective, holding down modifier keys to use a mode that, by its nature, will be used for the entire session of work, isn't a good idea for hand-wrist health: carpal tunnel syndrome anyone?

I do thank you for your suggestion of holding down option + shift to move points. It is a good one, and I think the only way C3D will let me work close to how I want to. It's like I want to write couplets, but the app forces me to do iambic pentameter. Very little is obvious in C3D, most of it's abilities are hidden within menus and sub-menus or levels of contextual menus.

I'm feeling like C3D may not be that great for modeling organic shapes; or at least modeling in a way that makes sense to me. For example, instead of hiding a multiple-mode move (that we get now from holding down alt + shift) under a forced key combo press we have a "universal" move tool that behaves in the same way that is a new button on the tool bar. It could be grouped with the select button.

but I digress. Thanks for your advice, Frank. I'll try it out. But it's not an option for long-term usage as I noted.

I´m not sure you get the benefit of shift+alt already. Ever modeled in SILO3d? It´s the same with holding down cmd-key while hoover/click&drag. Are you trying to move multiple points/edges/polygons?

Cheers
Frank

* +1 to Frank´s suggestion.
* I do a fair amount of biomorph / medical modelling where tweaking the normal morphology / geometry is constantly required to create pathological conditions.
* Option+shift is available to both right and left handed operators and is - in my operative mode - ideally suited for such fine-tuning. The digital motor sequence (select point > alt+shift > drag point; loop to repeat) is easily absorbed by the mental auto-pilot.
* Multiple point selections are also possible.
* You can also switch instantaneously to rotating / zooming / panning the object (often needed when fine-tuning) as all three require the option key, anyway.

Servus from Vienna

At this point it's traditional for someone to mention Space Navigator and then get ridiculed by everyone else ;-) (mine is collecting dust somewhere…)

Yeah, I have Silo. Went through the Southern tutorials. But then, it began crashing and I lost my UI layout and couldn't find out where to redownload them. But it's been a couple of years since I last used it.

And sometimes I do select multiple points to move, sometimes only one. Depends on how the model's going.

Here's a break-down of how I'm trying to work:

Rough in a basic shape with polygons. I do this by creating a square, splitting down the center with a single loop (in the properties area set the divisions on one of the axis to 2, others at 1). Make the object editable. Delete one half of the object. Apply Symmetry modifier. Then add a few edge loops for nose, eye, mouth, jaw and ear locations. Move the points around so I have a head shape with the various planes indicated: Face, upper eye/eyebrow, skull top, skull side and bottom of jaw. Move individual points around so the shape and proportions are pretty much what I want, using the blueprint object for reference.

Then using the Scalpel tool, make the loop for the Eyes themselves, adding additional edges where needed to maintain Quad Polys all over. Do the same for the ear and mouth.

Move points around to maintain the shape and hint at there being a skull underneath that gives form to the head.

Add details, nasal "wings", nostrils, mouth cavity, Ear Shape and such via scalpel tool or cover/interior extrude tools. After each addition, move individual points around to maintain overall form.

Instead of starting with an eye loop and building out from there, I prefer to start like I sketch, by indicating basic forms and planes and adding details as I go. This way, If the basic form is correct, I know that the loops I add (eyes, mouth, etc) will be where, or close to it, they need to be.

Eventually I hope to take the model, as an OBJ file with an UV map, into Poser for rigging and such. I know C3D is up for this, the only problem is between the keyboard and chair, so to speak.


So, there's a lot of point-pushing where holding down a keyboard combo would just kill my wrist/hand over the length of doing this. And using the move tool, while seeming like the best solution, and would be if it wasn't for the Gadget/Gizomo/whatchamacallit double-click thing. It's gotten to the Point (no pun intended...maybe) where I move a point, I lift my pen and count to 3 then move the next point and so on. Hence my initial query if the G/G/W mode could be turned off so a double click wouldn't invoke it. For me while modeling, this isn't a feature but an irritating distraction.

@PodPerson : yeah, I've considered getting a Space Navigator. But their prices... yikes!

@Helmut: Due to the tablet I use for my 2D work, my keyboard is shunted off to one side and while good for quick keyboard presses, for a sustained amount of work, is not good for my wrist ( I used to scoop ice cream and got carpel tunnel from scooping ice cream that was too hard). Which was why I used the Move tool and used that to move points around.

And brings the conversation back to the original question, is there any way to prevent the Gadget/Gizmo/WhateverIt'sCalled to be activated by a double-click?

This feature is a big slowdown for me and any alternatives, while seemingly great (and they are!) just won't work for my specific case without discomfort and possibly injury. I'll give these alternatives a solid try, in any case. I have to realize that this is Cheetah 3D's world and I'm just working in it, not with it.

* Ice cream is definitely unhealthy stuff. That´s why I (and Frank) prefer beer. Never had to use a scoop for this delicious staple diet, beloved by generations of pious monks since the Middle Ages.

* Oops, there was a misunderstanding. Gadget mode turns the centre of the “widget” blue.
* A yellow centre of the transform widget means that it - the centre - is activated for transformations by mouse drags (parallel to the normal widget operations - position / rotation / scale - via the arrow / orbit / box handles of the T-widget).

* However, I am now more confused Why a double click if you want the simple widget / grey centre (i.e. you simply want to select a random point of the mesh)? In point mode, all you can use is a positional transfer to move the point in X;Y;Z axial directions, depending on the settings you have established for the tool.

* Sorry if I seem a bit dense. Maybe I should replace some of my beers with dollops of ice cream
* Possibly, a screen shot or two may help…

Servus from Vienna

Maybe changing the double click speed in the OS may do it?

@Helmut: Agree with Beer besting Ice Cream.

Same thing, about the center -- it turns blue and then yellow when moved.

The problem I have is that my clicks when moving points sometimes are so quick (because I'm "in the moment") that C3D interprets them as a single Double Click...

Which brings me to:

@Swizl: I changed the double click speed. Hopefully that works. If not, I have options now that I didn't before.

Thanks everyone who chimed in and shared info of any kind. I appreciate it. Like others have said, the Users are one of the best features of this software.:icon_thumbup:

cartoonMike said:

I'm feeling like C3D may not be that great for modeling organic shapes; or at least modeling in a way that makes sense to me.

Click to expand...

Just in the case you didn´t discover yet the example files I made under Help->Modeling->Marty.jas+Gecko.jas.

cartoonMike said:

For example, instead of hiding a multiple-mode move (that we get now from holding down alt + shift) under a forced key combo press we have a "universal" move tool that behaves in the same way that is a new button on the tool bar. It could be grouped with the select button.

Click to expand...

At least they are integrated because you don´t need to switch tools - at least not in my workflow. ;-)

Cheers
Frank