9.5.2

494 • CHAPTER 8
TOOLS MENU • 495
Moving the camera
To move the camera, select the Move tool and drag from an empty space within the viewport. To
move the camera backwards or forwards, right-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Mac OS) left and
right.
When moving objects you can choose which axis system you wish to use. Normally, this will have no
effect, since the X, Y and Z symbols are all selected. However, if you switch certain axes on or off, you
will observe that certain actions will show different results. If for example you have activated the X
symbol only and you are working with the world coordinate system, the camera will move parallel
to the X-axis of the world system. If on the other hand the object system is selected, the camera will
move left and right within its own camera coordinate system.
No grid is applied for the camera or the visible section of the document so that you can reach any
position, even if a motion grid is active. Movements, scaling and rotation processes may be cancelled
at any time by pressing the Esc key.
Zooming the camera
You can zoom the viewport in one of two ways: by changing the camera’s focal length (just like a
real camera’s zoom — note that the perspective will change) or by moving the camera forwards
or backwards (just like you might move closer to or further away from the subject that you’re
photographing or lming).
To zoom by moving the camera forwards or backwards:
 Select the Scale tool and drag left or right.
To zoom by changing the focal length:
 Select the Scale tool and right-drag (Windows) or Command-drag
(Mac OS).
Rotating the camera
The 2D viewports cannot be rotated.
To rotate the camera about the origin of the selected object (or the world coordinates if no object
is selected), select the Rotate tool and drag. If no objects are selected, rotation is about the world
origin.
To reverse the direction in which the camera rotates when you drag the mouse, in the preferences, on
the Common page, enable the Reverse Orbit option.