axis lock in perspective viewport

[br0604bom]

in one of my models i am setting up blueprints and for some reason in the perspective view it seems locked to one axis when I am trying to rotate(arc rotate) round it,

 

I have tried clicking on different axis in the axis constraint toolbar and there is no change,

 

does anyone know why this is and how i can 'unlock' it?

 

and many thanks to someone with an answer

[Cad64]

I'm not sure what you mean? Can you provide some visual aid?

 

You say you're setting up blueprints? Do you mean you are applying images to a plane in order to use them as background reference while you build your model?

 

When you say "it seems locked to one axis", do you mean your image plane is locked to one axis, or your ability to orbit, (rotate), around the image plane is locked to one axis?

 

How are you attempting to orbit, (rotate), around the plane? Are you holding down the alt key and middle mouse button, or are you clicking the "Orbit" button?

 

What version of Studio Max are you using?

[br0604bom]

thanks for getting back in touch cad64,

yes, i am trying to attach images to planes,

and i am trying to orbit with the arc rotate, which when i hold down the left button and move the cursor up and down rotates the model up and down fine, but when i move the cursor left and right does not rotate the model left and right, but still up and down but a bit more muted, so basically i cannot get the rotation in the green arrows direction but movement of the cursor in any direction always rotates in the blue arrow direction

 

as i say i have tried selecting X,Y and Z on the constraints toolbar to see if it changes things but it does not,

 

the version i am using is 6,

 

similar rotation in my other models is fine, it is just this one, i wondered if there is something i clicked on by mistake incase it happens again?

 

cheers pal!:wink:

[Cad64]

Where is your cursor when you are trying to orbit? If your cursor is outside the orange circle, or if you click and drag on those little orange X's at the quadrants, you will only be able to rotate in one plane. You need to put your cursor inside the orange circle and click and drag to be able to orbit. But, since you are using version 6, there may be other issues that I'm not aware of. Version 6 is pretty old. It's kind of like using Autocad R14.

[br0604bom]

Where is your cursor when you are trying to orbit? If your cursor is outside the orange circle, or if you click and drag on those little orange X's at the quadrants, you will only be able to rotate in one plane. You need to put your cursor inside the orange circle and click and drag to be able to orbit. But, since you are using version 6, there may be other issues that I'm not aware of. Version 6 is pretty old. It's kind of like using Autocad R14.

 

yeah, my cursor is inside the circle, and it is still only rotating back and forth in the blue arrow axis, I wanted to know if there was some setting i should turn off, but if it's some bug sort of thing that is different, yeah it's pretty old right enough, version 6!!

[Cad64]

Well, I don't know of any way to lock it. Locking it sort of defeats the whole purpose of the orbit. If you want to constrain your orbit, you're supposed to click and drag on one of the orange X's at the quadrants. But clicking and dragging inside the circle is supposed give you free orbit.

 

Are you not allowed to hold down the alt key and middle mouse button to orbit in version 6? That's what I always do.

 

You said your other files are fine, so it could be just a problem with that one file. Why don't you open a new file and then Merge this file into the new one and see if the problem goes away.

[br0604bom]

Well, I don't know of any way to lock it. Locking it sort of defeats the whole purpose of the orbit. If you want to constrain your orbit, you're supposed to click and drag on one of the orange X's at the quadrants. But clicking and dragging inside the circle is supposed give you free orbit.

 

Are you not allowed to hold down the alt key and middle mouse button to orbit in version 6? That's what I always do.

 

You said your other files are fine, so it could be just a problem with that one file. Why don't you open a new file and then Merge this file into the new one and see if the problem goes away.

 

no, when i hold down the alt key and middle miss button it pans,

 

I may just delete it,

 

I just thought i would ask incase it was something really simple that i had overlooked,

 

I feel like i am going to take years to learn this, there seems to be so much to it!!!

[Cad64]

Well, hopefully it won't take years, but it will take several months before you start to feel really comfortable with the program. I taught myself by reading books and watching DVD training videos. The videos really helped a lot. Being able to watch professionals and see what techniques they use and how they go about building models, texturing, rendering, etc. is just invaluable. I still go back and watch them every once in a while, just to refresh my memory on certain subjects.

[br0604bom]

thanks a lot for the advice and bit of background what you went through, it encourages me to keep going and I hope that one day it will click:-)

I do watch the vids online which are good but they never seem to work so well when I try them out myself,

makes me feel a bit embarrassed sometimes to ask some of the things I do as they are so basic,

thanks for the advice and the continuous willingness to answer my questions

[Cad64]

No problem, I enjoy helping, especially when it's 3DS Max.

And there's no need to feel embarrassed. We've all been there at one time or another.