Center 'Axis" 3D Orbit

using the 3d orbit comand sometimes when i rotate the 'center of the axis' i am rotating from is right near the object i am viewing. other times it seems to be way out making it difficult to rotate around a particular object.

Why is this so how do i controll this?

I don't use AutoCAD much anymore - but there used to be a 3dorbitctr command.

One easy way to do that is to click on the item you want to stay centered so that its grips turn on, then start the orbit. The other objects will temporarily disappear, and you will orbit around the selected object.

i have spent years now trying to find a solution on this and other forums to this problem, and none of them work for me. going through numerous commands and relocating the centerpoint again and again is not the same as LOCKING it. the navigation center-point command gives you the green pivot ball, you place it on your desired pivot point, and for ONE pivot command it stays where you want it. pivot a second time, and it's not where you put it. like 40 others who hate this tendency and have posted their annoyance, i now join their ranks. solutions which have NO impact whatsoever on this behavior: 3DORBITCTR, Constrain Orbit, "Select object before making it the pivot point" (what is the purpose of orbiting around your model if all you can see is the centerpoint-related object, since all other objects disappear with this "solution"), "Enable Orbit Auto-taget". The fact is, in my experience, the green pivot ball will never stay locked on to the location where it is placed for more than a few commands. If there is a command to do this, please share it. It SHOULD be as simple as PVTLOCK or CTRLOCK. Doesn't that sound like common sense?

Why oh why is there a viewcube, a steering wheel, a walk/fly command set... why can't there be ONE well designed "vehicle" for navigating in the 3D environment. I just want to know how to lock the green pivot ball to a coordinate UNTIL i enter a new coordinate for it, regardless of how many or what commands are run in the meantime. Is this too much to ask? Frustration potential: Darn Tootin'.

3DOrbit and with Auto-Target are well behaved for me, of course I always pan so the object(s) I want to orbit around are fairly well centered on the display before I start 3DOrbit.

3DOrbit and with Auto-Target are well behaved for me, of course I always pan so the object(s) I want to orbit around are fairly well centered on the display before I start 3DOrbit.

Yes, I understand. I don't believe that 3DOrbit is the problem here. The problem is in the navigation mode which supplies the green ball named "pivot", which 3DOrbit does not. Most users who have this issue will describe it as "model shoots off into space" or "model disappears into outer space". These users also start with the model fairly centered on the display, as anyone would when working on their model.

Well, we all have our "gripes" about AutoCAD but to be honest, this is a little blown out of proportion. Just because your eyes see on the screen is what you want to automatically orbit around doesn't mean AutoCAD knows this. There are certain parameters in how AutoCAD handles a 3D orbit pivot point. There are a ton more options for you to venture off in making life much easier for you. Live Sections for instance, with a split Viewport. This is the way I usually work in "3D".

Try some other options instead of making your first post on this board ostracizing AutoCAD because (Heaven forbid) it doesn't do exactly what you want it to do.

Most users who have this issue will describe it as "model shoots off into space" or "model disappears into outer space". These users also start with the model fairly centered on the display

This jogged my memory a bit, as I've certainly had that happen. Does the drawing have an xref attached? If yes, open the xref drawing, switch to the Model tab, make sure it's using the WCS, and PLAN view, then Zoom>Extents so the model fills the display, (if it doesn't fill the display, then look for some un-intentional objects that are far away from the model) then save the xref, then go back to your working drawing and reload the xref. (also check the xref to see if the view "Target" is very far from Z = 0 (use the VIEW command in the Model tab)

Hold CTRL while clicking on the desired locked orbit point. doesn't seem to change the pivot location until the navigation wheel/orbit center command is initiated again. A little late, but possibly helpful to someone, especially those using 3D navigators while working on small areas of large models. Thanks for the replies!

3Dorbitctr does not work. It's a known GLITCH in Autocad 2010 and 2012 and I haven't been able to "work around". They fixed it in 2014.

Don't know if it is of any help but changing "ORBITAUTOTARGET" from "1" to "0" makes it alot better for me.