Arrow Keys Turn the View
The four arrow keys turn the view without the mouse. Each press turns it by a fixed step, so you can reach a known angle exactly. They work on both viewer pages, on any model, and during a sketch.
What Each Key Does
| Keys | What happens |
|---|---|
| Left, Right | Turn the view about the screen's upright axis, 15 degrees a press |
| Up, Down | Tip the view about the screen's level axis, 15 degrees a press |
| Shift with an arrow | The same turn, but 90 degrees a press |
| Alt with Left or Right | Roll the view about the way you are looking, 15 degrees a press |
| Shift and Alt with Left or Right | Roll 90 degrees a press |
Each key turns the view the same way as dragging the mouse in that direction: Right is like a drag to the right, Up like a drag up, and so on. The turn is about the point you are looking at.
Step by Step
- Make sure you are not typing in a box, and that the pointer is over the 3D view or the last click was on it. The arrow keys then belong to the view.
- Press Left or Right. The view turns 15 degrees each press. Hold the key to keep turning.
- Press Up or Down to tip the view the same way.
- Hold Shift with an arrow for a 90 degree turn. A quarter turn takes you from a front view to a side view in one press. Each Shift press is its own turn: holding Shift and the key does not spin the view on.
- Hold Alt and press Left or Right to roll the view, as if turning your head sideways. Alt with Up or Down does nothing.
Tips and What to Expect
- Arrow keys do nothing in a panel, a dialog or a help page (they scroll it as usual), unless the pointer is over the 3D view or you last clicked on it. They also do nothing while you are typing in a box, with Ctrl or Cmd held, while a mouse button is down on the view (a sketch drag, for example), or when a list, tab bar, menu or slider has the keyboard. Those keep the arrow keys for themselves.
- A locked view stays put. If you press an arrow key with the view locked, a message says The view is locked. Open the cube to unlock it, then use the arrow keys. Open the view picker (Space) and turn off Lock view, then try again. See Full Screen, Fit, and Views.
- To flip the direction, use Reverse spin direction (for Left, Right, Up and Down) and Reverse twist direction (for Alt with Left or Right) under Settings, Mouse. See Mouse, Touch, and 3D Mouse.
- The arrow keys turn the view only. They never move or edit the model.
- To get back to a standard view quickly, press Space and pick Top, Front or Right, or press F to fit the model. See Keyboard Shortcuts.