Tools in the Workspace

Display Options

The workspace background can be set to white or black. When a white (black) background is chosen, all wires will default to black (white) unless a different color is specified for specific wires. To set the workspace color, navigate to Tools > Preferences > Workspace tab. The color of selected wires can be changed at any time via Edit > Wire Color in the main menu.

The line width used for drawing wires and axes in the workspace can be adjusted by selecting a Pen Width option in the Workspace tab of the Preferences dialog box. There are three levels: Thin, Medium, and Thick. Figure 1 illustrates the different combinations of workspace color and pen width that can be achieved.

Viewing 3D Axes

To customize the appearance of the X, Y, Z axes in the workspace, navigate to View > Axes (Ctrl + A) in the main menu to open the Axes dialog box (see Fig. 2). There are two types of axes:

• Small Axes: Displayed in the lower-left corner of the workspace.
• Main Axes: Displayed at the center of the screen.

Both positive and negative axes can be displayed. The color of the main axes can be changed by clicking the Color button. Check the Show Ticks option to add a specified number of ticks to the Main Axes.

Tip

Press F7 to switch between small and main axes.

Zooming the View

To zoom in or out of the structure in the workspace:

• Use the mouse wheel.
• On a laptop touchpad, use two fingers (similar to zooming an image).
• Alternatively, use the Zoom In (Ctrl + I) and Zoom Out (Ctrl + K) commands in the View menu.

For a more specific zoom on a particular area, click the Zoom button on the toolbar and drag a rectangle over the desired area. To return to the initial view, click the Initial View (Home) button on the toolbar.

Rotating the View

To rotate the view of the structure around a specific axis:

1. Press one of the following toolbar buttons:

• Rotate around X
• Rotate around Y
• Rotate around Z
• 3D Rotation

2. Move the mouse while holding the left button.

Alternatively, use the following keyboard shortcuts:

• F1: Right-handed rotation around the x-axis.
• F2: Left-handed rotation around the x-axis.
• F3: Right-handed rotation around the y-axis.
• F4: Left-handed rotation around the y-axis.
• F5: Right-handed rotation around the z-axis.
• F6: Left-handed rotation around the z-axis.

Moving the View

To move the view of the structure in the workspace:

1. Click the Move button on the toolbar.
2. Move the mouse while holding the left button.