Overview#
Navigation is how you move the camera around your model: rotating (orbit), sliding (pan), and moving closer or farther (zoom). Fusion gives you several ways to do each: mouse buttons with modifier keys, the Navigation bar, the ViewCube, and keyboard shortcuts. You will use them thousands of times, so it pays to learn the efficient set early and to choose a Mouse setup that matches muscle memory from other CAD programs.
Where to find it#
- ViewCube: the 3D navigation cube in the corner of the canvas. Drag it to orbit, click it to jump to standard views, right-click it for its context menu.
- Navigation bar: the floating toolbar at the bottom of the canvas with Orbit, Look At, Pan, Zoom, Fit / Zoom Window, Display Settings, Grid and Snaps, and Viewports.
- Mouse setup: profile menu, Preferences > General > Mouse setup (pan, zoom, orbit).
- Named views: the Named Views folder inside the default component in the Browser holds standard and custom named views.
- Show or hide: Ctrl+Alt+V toggles the ViewCube and Ctrl+Alt+N toggles the Navigation bar on Windows (Option+Command+V and Option+Command+N on macOS).
Mouse navigation (default "Fusion" setup)#
| Action | Gesture | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pan | Hold the middle mouse button and drag | |
| Orbit | Hold Shift + middle mouse button and drag | |
| Orbit around a point | Hold Shift, click, and use the middle mouse button | Listed in the keyboard shortcuts reference |
| Zoom | Roll the middle mouse button, or Ctrl+Shift + middle mouse button | |
| Fit | The Fit button on the Navigation bar; F6 resizes the view to fit in the window | F6 is listed in the Preferences reference alongside the mouse presets |
Without a middle button, use the Navigation bar tools (Orbit, Pan, Zoom).
Step by step: practicing navigation#
- Open a new design and create a box.
- Hold Shift and the middle mouse button and drag to orbit. Release, then hold only the middle button and drag to pan.
- Roll the middle button to zoom.
- Click the Home icon on the ViewCube. The view returns to the home view.
- Click a named face of the ViewCube (for example Top, Front, or Right). The camera rotates to that orthographic view.
- Click a corner of the ViewCube. The camera rotates to a predefined isometric view.
- Drag the ViewCube to orbit freely.
- Right-click the ViewCube. Under Camera, choose Orthographic, Perspective, or Perspective with Ortho Faces and watch the model's appearance change.
- Select a face of the box and click Look At on the Navigation bar. The face is displayed parallel to the screen.
- Press F6 or click Fit to frame the model.
- Click the drop-down arrow beside Fit and choose Zoom Window, then drag a rectangle to zoom to it.
The ViewCube in detail#
The ViewCube mirrors the current orientation. From the reference:
- Orbit: click and drag the ViewCube.
- Isometric views: click a corner.
- Orthographic views: click a named face (Front, Top, Right, and so on).
- Home view: click the Home icon.
Right-click the ViewCube for its context menu:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Go Home | Returns the camera to the home view |
| Camera | Sets the canvas projection: Orthographic (check mark when active), Perspective, or Perspective with Ortho Faces |
| Set current view as Home | Sets the current view as the new home view, with two options: Fit to View or Fixed Distance |
| Reset Home | Resets the home view to its default |
| Set current view as [Face] | Sets the current view as the face shown on the ViewCube, for example Set current view as Front or Set current view as Top; the label changes with the face currently facing the camera |
| Reset [Face] | Resets that face to its default view, for example Reset Front |
| ViewCube Size | Automatic, Large, Normal, Small, or Tiny |
The camera options are shared with the Camera control in the Navigation bar's Display Settings menu.
Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: clickable edges giving 45-degree views, a compass ring, and roll arrows beside the cube. Earlier drafts described these; the ViewCube reference lists only faces, corners, the Home icon, and dragging.
The Navigation bar#
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Orbit | Rotates the view. Free Orbit rotates around the X and Y axes; Constrained Orbit rotates around a fixed vertical axis and keeps the horizon level. The button shows the mode you used most recently; use the drop-down arrow to switch. |
| Look At | Zooms and rotates so the selected face, edge, or line is parallel to the screen |
| Pan | Drags the view without changing zoom or orientation |
| Zoom | Changes magnification; you can use it while other navigation commands are active |
| Fit / Zoom Window | Fit positions the whole model in the canvas; Zoom Window zooms to a rectangle you drag. The button shows whichever you used last. |
| Display Settings | Visual style, environment, graphics preset, effects, object visibility, camera, and ground plane offset |
| Grid and Snaps | Layout grid, snapping, and incremental move |
| Viewports | Splits the canvas into multiple views |
Display Settings#
- Visual Style: Shaded, Shaded with Hidden Edges, Shaded with Visible Edges Only, Wireframe, Wireframe with Hidden Edges, Wireframe with Visible Edges Only.
- Environment: Theme (default), Photo Booth, River Rubicon, Dark Sky, plus the legacy Infinity Pool, Grey Room, and Tranquility Blue.
- Graphics Preset: Performance, Quality, Custom.
- Effects: Ambient Occlusion, Anti-Aliasing, Ground Reflection, Ground Shadow, Object Shadow, Transparency Effect, NPR Effect (NPR Off, NPR Pastel, NPR Graphite), Selection Effect (Normal, Fast, Simplified, or No Selection Effect), Environment Dome, Ground Plane.
- Object Visibility: shows or hides categories such as work features, sketches, origins, canvases, and decals without changing individual visibility in the Browser. The list depends on the workspace and document.
- Camera: Orthographic, Perspective, Perspective with Ortho Faces.
- Ground Plane Offset: a slider that raises or lowers the ground plane.
- Enter Full Screen / Exit Full Screen at the bottom of the menu.
Grid and Snaps#
Layout Grid, Layout Grid Lock (so sketch geometry snaps to the grid), Snap to Grid, Grid Settings (spacing and display), Incremental Move, and Set Increments.
Viewports#
Single View, Multiple Views (up to four viewports), and Reset Views. With several viewports you can turn on Synchronize Views to apply navigation and visibility changes to all of them. Visual Style and Camera also appear as separate controls that apply only to the active viewport.
Mouse setup presets#
Choose a preset in Preferences > General > Mouse setup (pan, zoom, orbit). The help lists these bindings:
| Preset | Zoom | Pan | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fusion (default) | Roll middle button, or Ctrl+Shift + middle button | Middle button | Shift + middle button |
| Alias | Shift+Alt + right button | Shift+Alt + middle button | Shift+Alt + left button |
| Inventor (Windows only) | F3 + left button | F2 + left button | F4 + left button |
| PowerMill | Roll middle button | Shift + middle button | Middle button |
| SolidWorks | Shift + roll middle button | Ctrl + middle button (Command on macOS) | Middle button |
| Tinkercad | Roll middle button, or Ctrl+Shift + middle button | Middle button | Right button |
The PowerMill preset uses its own default orbit type and adds Zoom to box (Ctrl+Shift+middle button, or Command+Shift+middle button on macOS) and rotate about X, Y, and Z using Shift+Alt (Shift+Option on macOS) with the left, middle, or right button. For any preset, F6 resizes the view to fit the window.
Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: a Touchpad or gesture-based navigation style, and preferences for zoom direction or zoom to cursor. Earlier drafts listed these; they are not in the preferences reference.
Named views#
The Named Views folder, in the default component in the Browser, contains standard and custom named views for the assembly. You can rename named views like other Browser objects. Named views are also used when you set up Drawing views (a placeholder view can be based on a named view) and in Manufacture. Keep tidy names such as "Detail A" or "Assembly Exploded".
Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: the exact steps for saving a new named view from the ViewCube menu. Use the Browser context menu in your build.
Options reference#
| Option | What it does | Notes/default |
|---|---|---|
| Free Orbit / Constrained Orbit | Rotates the camera freely or around a vertical axis | The button remembers the last mode used |
| Pan | Moves the view | Middle button in the default setup |
| Zoom | Scales the view | Roll middle button |
| Fit | Frames the whole model | F6 |
| Zoom Window | Zooms to a dragged rectangle | Shares a button with Fit |
| Look At | Makes a face, edge, or line parallel to the screen | Select it first |
| ViewCube Size | Display size of the cube | Automatic, Large, Normal, Small, Tiny |
| Camera | Projection | Orthographic, Perspective, Perspective with Ortho Faces |
| Viewports | Multi-pane canvas | Single View, Multiple Views (up to four), Reset Views, Synchronize Views |
Tips and pitfalls#
Tip: Use F6 or Fit whenever you lose the model after zooming or panning.
Tip: Use Perspective with Ortho Faces if you flip between sketching and inspecting; plain perspective can make parallel edges look misaligned when you judge dimensions.
Tip: The Fusion preset's modifier-key gestures only matter if you choose that preset; check the table above for the active set.
Warning: If the model suddenly looks tiny or enormous, there may be a stray far-away entity (for example an imported mesh in the wrong units). Fit zooms out to include it; check units in Document Settings.
Warning: Redefining a face with Set current view as [Face] changes what the ViewCube faces mean. Be deliberate, and use Reset [Face] to undo it.
Practice exercise#
- Create an L-shaped body (two boxes joined).
- From any starting point, use only the ViewCube to reach Top, Front, and Right, then an isometric corner.
- Right-click the ViewCube and switch between Orthographic and Perspective.
- Select a sloping face and use Look At.
- Split the canvas with Multiple Views and turn on Synchronize Views.
- Change Mouse setup to a program you know, try it for a minute, and return to Fusion if it feels wrong.
Expected result: you can reach any standard view in a click and reset the view with the Home icon or Fit.
Related#
- User interface tour
- Preferences
- Units and document settings