Navis and The Basic Navigation

Navis and the Basic Navigation

Here is a look at Navis for Field Foreman and Project Managers. This is a video for those professionals that don’t use Navis on a regular basis but would still like to utilize the tool to take a look at the structure or utilize Navis to review the structure, piping, duct etcetera. Here are some tips on how to navigate the model.

We will start with the pointer, over in the navigation bar you can select the pointer or you can come up to the ribbon and select it there. Anything that you point and click on it will select. You can also change the pointer to a select box thus it will allow you to select multiple items at once. To unselect the items just hit the escape button. One thing to note anything you click on will have a pivot ball place there. This means your zoom functions and pivot functions will be dictated by that pivot ball placement. If you would like to switch your pivot ball location, just click on another object you would like to zoom into. 

To zoom into an object, you have already clicked/ placed a pivot ball, just use your middle mouse button. To break the pivot point off the item you have selected just click the middle mouse button one time and then that pivot point will move to wherever your mouse is hovering over. 

Another tool you have is the Pan tool. To activate the Pan tool, you hold your middle mouse button down while dragging your mouse to the location you would like the drawing to move. The direction in which you move your mouse will be opposite on the drawing. Such as if you pull your mouse up the drawing will move down and if you move your mouse right the drawing will move left. 

The Walking tool or Feet is another tool you have in Navis. You can find this tool in the navigation bar or up in the ribbon under Viewpoint. How you activate this tool is with the left mouse button. Hold the button down and push or pull the drawing in the direction you would like to go. If you push forward the drawing will move, you forward and if you pull back you will move backwards in the drawing. Likewise, with left or right you will hold the left mouse button down and move your mouse in the direction you want to go.

When you are getting started it is a good idea to come up to the ribbon, click on navigate and dial the Linear Speed down. If your speed is to fast when you are using the feet tool you will fly through the model very quickly and maybe miss what you are looking for with every attempt. This can turn people off with using the Feet tool when you are just getting started with Navis.

Another great feature about the Feet tool, if you hold the middle mouse button down and then move your mouse side to side or up and down you can conveniently move around in the model. This is helpful if you are moving through a large model or from floor to floor. Say you are looking at the roof of the model at a particular pipe and you are curious about what is going on under the roof where that pipe is located, this is where the feet tool is very helpful. All you need to do is hold the middle mouse button down while pulling down and you will move the model to the lower level. If you use the scroll button it will allow you to look up or look down.

It is easy to get lost in Navis when you are getting started especially if your linear speed is set to high. If you do get lost, you can go to the top right corner of your screen where you will see a view cube. Inside the view cube you will see a home button, push the home button and it will take you back to the center of the model. Using the View cube, you can change the view of the model to isometric view, bottom, top, right, or left view. If you double click on the cube it will do a zoom extent and center your model back up on the screen. This can be useful if you are zoomed to close in or get lost and you want to get centered back on the model.

Thank you so much for watching and we hope you will join us for our next video!

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