Keyboard shortcuts in ArcGlobe and ArcScene

Available with 3D Analyst license.

The following lists some of the keyboard shortcuts available in ArcGlobe and ArcScene. This list is unique to these ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension applications; however, there are many other keyboard shortcuts you can use that are shared across ArcMap, ArcGlobe, and ArcScene.

Navigating in 3D

Many of the interactive 3D navigation tools apply different rules to the observer and target locations when different mouse buttons or keyboard shortcuts are used. These shortcuts should be learned as an integral part of navigating in 3D since they can greatly improve the productivity of using ArcGlobe and ArcScene.

When using:	Shortcut	Function
Navigate	Hold down CTRL and click.	Set a new target position.
Navigate	Hold down CTRL and right-click.	Zoom to target.
Navigate	Hold down CTRL and click the wheel button.	Set a new observer position.
Navigate	Hold down CTRL+SHIFT and click.	Enable/Disable animated rotation.
Navigate with animated rotation	Press PAGE UP/ PAGE DOWN.	Increase/Decrease rotation speed for an animated 3D view.
Fly	Press SHIFT.	Maintain a constant elevation while flying to prevent flying up into space or below ground.
3D Pan	Press SHIFT.	Adjust the elevation of the observer and target (known as the camera position) up or down.
Any Measure , Area of Interest , or Editing task	Press SPACE.	Switch dynamically to navigate mode without switching tool. Release SPACE to return to the active task.

Keyboard shortcuts used to quickly adjust the navigation experience in ArcGlobe and ArcScene

In ArcGlobe and ArcScene, a wide variety of functions are built into the 3D Navigate tool, meaning it will most likely be the main navigation tool you use. Clicking the left, right, and wheel buttons and correspondingly dragging up, down, left, or right allows you to rotate the view, zoom in, and zoom out. Refer to the 3D Navigate lookup table for ArcGlobe and ArcScene for tips on using the different mouse buttons (left, wheel, and right) to navigate in each of their modes.

• Fundamentals of 3D navigation in ArcGlobe
• Fundamentals of 3D navigation in ArcScene

Selecting in 3D

When using the various 3D selection tools on the Tools toolbar, you can conveniently combine the use of keyboard keys to modify (switch) between different methods for selection. These shortcuts correspond to the interactive selection methods listed in the Selection drop-down menu:

• Add To Current Selection
• Remove From Current Selection
• Select From Current Selection

Use the shortcut keys listed in the table below to reduce time spent opening the Selection menu and manually changing the interactive selection methods so you can keep working directly in the 3D view.

To use the selection method keyboard shortcuts, you must choose one of the selection tools from the Tools toolbar and ensure the interactive selection method is set to Create New Selection.

Choose a selection tool	Verify the default selection method	Shortcuts to change the interactive selection method on the fly
Choose one of the three selection tools to interactively click or drag around features you want to select. Learn more about the interactive feature selection tools Tip: Remember, you can press SPACE to navigate the view and change your perspective while using the selection tools.	Keep the selection method on the default setting of Create New Selection. Click Selection > Interactive Selection Method to verify.	Switch between the following keys to quicken your feature selections directly in the 3D view. SHIFT - Press and hold to add to the current selection. CTRL - Press and hold to remove from the current selection. SHIFT+CTRL - Press and hold both these keys for the same behavior as Select From Current Selection. This reselects the particular features you want to keep selected and clears all the rest.

Note:

If you prefer to manually switch between the interactive selection methods using the drop-down menu, you can still continue to do so; however, you are not able to combine the keyboard shortcuts once you choose a method other than the default, Create New Selection. For example, you cannot set your interactive selection method for the pointer to be in Add to Current Selection mode, then try to press a keyboard key to remove from the selected features. You would need to change the mode of the pointer by clicking Selection > Interactive Selection Method and choosing Remove From Current Selection.

Learn more about manually changing the interactive selection method in ArcGlobe and ArcScene

Editing in 3D

You must be in an active 3D edit session to apply the following keyboard shortcuts.

Feature selection and the Edit Placement tool

The Edit Placement tool on the 3D Editor toolbar can be used to make feature selections for editing tasks. It behaves exactly the same as the default Select by Screen Rectangle tool on the Tools toolbar.

Drag the Edit Placement tool to select features in a defined view. No matter how you navigate the globe or scene, the selection rectangle is always oriented the same way. The dragging gestures are also honored in the Edit Placement tool when used for selection.

Tip:

• This same method also applies to the Edit Vertex tool in ArcScene.

To quickly apply edits, make your selection, then press the shortcut key below to initiate the editing function.

Shortcuts to editing selected features

Keyboard shortcut	Editing function
M	Open the Delta XYZ window to conduct a precise move.
R	Open the Rotation window to type an angle.
C	Open the Scale window to type a scale factor.
N	Switch the selection to the next selectable feature of the same geometry. This can be applied to features that share the same elevation, or by jumping to the next feature of the same geometry type at stacked elevations (for example, multiple building floors).
X	Move selected features in the x-axis only by dragging with the pointer and holding the shortcut key.
Y	Move selected features in the y-axis only by dragging with the pointer and holding the shortcut key.
Z	Move selected features in the z-axis only by dragging with the pointer and holding the shortcut key.

Learn more about selecting features in ArcGlobe and ArcScene

Using the selection tools in an edit session

All interactive feature selection tools on the Tools toolbar work regardless of whether you are in an edit session, but in an edit session they can greatly assist in selecting many features distributed over different positions in x, y, and z. As described above, the Edit Placement tool offers selection behavior the same as the Select By Screen Rectangle tool, but what if you need to select a group of features in a volume? For example, here is how you can use the Select By 3D Box tool and its associated keyboard shortcuts for feature selection in different areas of your view that require edits:

Choose the Select By 3D Box tool from the Tools toolbar and drag around the desired features. Then press and hold Z to extend the selection volume vertically. Features within or partially within the semitransparent box are selected.

• Use SHIFT to click or drag and add more features to the current selection.
  • Use Z to expand another volume selection.
  • Use SPACE to navigate and change the perspective view.
• Use CTRL to click and remove features from the current selection.
• Use CTRL+SHIFT to select from the current selection.

Once the selection is finalized, switch back to using the editing tools and commands to complete the desired editing task. For example, if you need to duplicate a set of building floors vertically, click 3D Editor > Duplicate Vertical.

Keyboard shortcuts specific to ArcScene

Using the Area of Interest tool

A custom extent, or area of interest (AOI), can be defined in ArcScene using the Area of Interest tool . This tool works with a highly interactive extent box, and the following keyboard shortcuts can improve your efficiency in applying the desired bounding box for your area.

• Press ENTER to apply the extent. All features and surfaces fully outside the AOI no longer appear in the view.
• Press ESC to clear the extent. All features and surfaces in the document display.

Working with LAS datasets

ArcScene has the ability to define a location around which all LAS dataset layers are shown at full resolution. This is useful when you want to see every single captured lidar point around a point of interest—for example, when running QA or interactively measuring distances between objects. The following keyboard shortcuts can improve your efficiency when working with LAS datasets in ArcScene.

• Press F (full resolution) and double-click the Navigate tool to define the point of interest for your lidar data. All LAS dataset layers in the view draw at full resolution around this location.
• Press R (reset) and double-click the Navigate tool to clear the point of interest. All LAS dataset layers use their point budget across their entire extent.