Changing the Point of Interest

Normally, camera move mode ( + and also + on the Mac) is calibrated to best view objects at the origin (the center of world space, coordinate 0,0,0). This can become awkward when you want to move the camera around objects away from the origin.

The point of interest manipulator lets you center the camera movements on a point on the model.

To use the point of interest manipulator

First, make sure the point of interest manipulator is turned on.

Choose Preferences > General Preferences ❒.
The General Preferences window appears.
Click Viewing on the left-hand side to open the Viewing section.
Turn on the Use point of interest option.
Change the View Control setting to Viewing Panel.
The ViewCube is the default view control, but we will use the Viewing Panel in these tutorials. The ViewCube and NavBar provide the same functionality as the Viewing Panel. For information, see Use the ViewCube tool and NavBar.

NoteThe point of interest manipulator works the same for both the Viewing Panel and the ViewCube and NavBar.
Click Go to close the window and use the new settings.
Hold down the and keys (also and on the Mac) to enter camera move mode. Keep the keys held down for the rest of this procedure.

The Viewing Panel appears in the upper left corner of the Perspective window.
Position the mouse pointer on the wireframe of one of the primitive objects, then click and hold with the .

The point of interest manipulator appears on the model where you clicked.

Drag with the to tumble. The view tumbles around the point of interest.

NoteIf you use the instead, you can dolly on the point of interest.
Click and release on another point on one of the primitive objects.
The point of interest manipulator jumps to the new point.
Drag the circle at the center of the point of interest manipulator.
The manipulator moves across the surface of the object.
Notice the light blue or yellow arrow extending from the center of the manipulator. This arrow indicates the normal at this point on the surface.
The arrow is light blue when it is pointing toward you and yellow when pointing away.
Click the light blue or yellow arrow.
The view changes to look at the point down the normal.
Now look for the red and green arrows extending from the center of the manipulator (tumble the view to show the arrows more clearly, if necessary).
These arrows represent the tangents along the U and V directions of the object.
Click the red arrow.
The view changes to look down the tangent in the U direction.

Use the following overview illustration as a reminder of the different controls on the point of interest manipulator.