It would be great if the middle mouse button could be used for panning.
Currently panning is only done with the left mouse button, but if the mouse cursor is above an object, pressing the left button will move that object. Using the (currently unused) middle mouse button could be used for panning independently of the current mouse cursor position.
That is correct- mouse wheel âclick to panâ is enabled in the schematic editor at this time.
I will also say that Iâve noticed panning and zooming are very quick & responsive in recent releases.
Actually, I deleted the middle button feature. After trying it out, I found it a really terrible way of doing things. However, the left button pan syntax is flawless now. I donât think youâll have any trouble dragging the paper verses an object anymore.
I also donât like the middle mouse button paning. But I donât see what has been solved here?
If the mouse is over an object, left click + hold moves the object. That is what Jope is talking about.
May I again suggest paning with right mouse button down+hold? it is unused so far, my finger is already there, and it doesnât interfere with editing, moving objects etc. and I can pan while drawing a wire for example.
Well, I for one certainly did like it for the short time it was working. I am sure why it had to be removed again and what is so terrible about it - itâs the de-facto standard for dozens of other programs.
The middle mouse button is unused in the GUI and panning with the left mouse doesnât have to be removed. The problem - as I said before - is that panning is not possible when the mouse cursor is above an object. You have to move the cursor away from an object to get panning working.
I support this feature as well due to compatibility with other GUI interfaces and âmuscle memoryâ.
I would suspect that Mike has ruled it out now for future versions but may I propose to make it optional?
/Jonas
I have to come back to this topic because the lack of middle mouse panning is just plain ridiculous.
In Kicad (or other programs), if I am in wire drawing mode, I can click the middle mouse button to pan around while staying in wire drawing mode, i.e. if I stop panning, I can continue drawing wires (or placing parts) right away (draw, pan, draw, pan, âŚ). This is fast and simple.
In Qspice, if I am in wire drawing mode, and want to pan, I have to escape wire drawing mode, pan (and beware to press on an empty part of the schematic), and then press âwâ again to continue. This is just infuriating.
Well, Jeff, if youâre going to talk with Mike about GUI changes, Iâll hesitantly pile on. Note that Iâve not spent a great deal of time in the schematic editor, just the minimum to work on C-Block stuff so I might be wrong about any of the followingâŚ
Component Selection: Selecting multiple components/elements to move is inclusive â that is, any component that is touched by the selection rectangle is selected. It would be nice (almost mandatory IMHO) to have a âselect only components/elements completely enclosed by the selection bounds.â
In other tools, it works like this: If the bounding rectangle ends lower/right of the start coordinates, then select anything touching. If the end is above/left of the start coordinates, select only elements that were entirely enclosed in the rectangle.
For example:
I want to select just the ports/wires/net stuff and move them a bit as a group. Well, the hierarchical box and everything in it gets moved. Being able to select only the elements entirely enclosed is sort of essential. Seems to me that this much isnât too hard but, of course, Iâve not seen the GUI code so maybe itâs harder than I think.
Which brings us to a larger challenge: How to select some elements and add to or subtract from the selection before moving them.
Once a selection is made, you can only move, copy, or delete them. You canât add more or remove elements because the act of selection commits to the action(s). Further, the elements can only be dragged, not moved. (I suppose you could cut the selection and paste elsewhere to perform a move. Iâll have to remember to try that.)
Anyway, being able to select a group of elements and then add/remove to the group (with the above inclusive/exclusive selection bit) before moving/etc., would be most helpful for more complicated schematics.
ârobert