Navigation in BIMx

[Marton Kiss]

Exploring the building on a mobile or desktop device is designed to be easy and intuitive. The best way to learn these methods is to try them out.

The first part introduces the default navigation controls, then how you can customize BIMx to your preference on any platform. The article focuses on navigation on mobile devices. Web and Desktop application controls are also described in their Online Help. For more information about BIMx features, check the BIMx Application Settings article.

Default navigation

Walk Around

Activate the joystick from the lower left corner to enable walk mode. It turns on gravity, and you can walk through doors but not walls or other elements.

• Move the joystick in any direction to move. Adjust speed by distance from the centre of the joystick.
• Drag with your other hand to rotate the camera.

Note: on the Web and Desktop, gravity and joystick are separate controls since touch screens are not common on these platforms. 

Rotate

If you are inside the building's bounding box, slide one finger across the screen to turn in place.

Orbit

If you are outside, use one finger to Orbit the model as a whole. (Slide across the screen to turn the building.)

BIMx automatically switches between Rotate and Orbit navigation modes when you pass through the 3D model’s bounding box. This is called Adaptive rotation:

 

Pan

Use two fingers to Pan, so slide two fingers across the screen to move the building. You can freely go through the walls and other elements when you Pan.

Zoom

On the screen, pinch two fingers together, then apart again, to Zoom in and out. You can freely go through the walls when you Zoom.

Fit in Window

Double tap the background to fit the entire building on the screen.

Home

Open the Favorites palette and ckick the house icon to revert the view to the original position.

Go to Location

Tap on a surface and a blue dot appears, press it and select Go to.

Walk Through the Door

If you tap or long tap on a door, an additional Go through function appears in the element context menu:

Customization options

BIMx offers several controls to customize 3D navigation to your preference:

Adaptive rotation

To deactivate automatic switch between orbit and rotate navigation modes, turn it off the Adaptive rotation toggle. It enables a manual orbit button:

Invert horizontal and vertical axis

These toggles control camera rotation direction in Rotate mode. By default, the invert axis toggles are on. This means that as you move your finger, the camera rotates in the opposite direction.

If you turn the toggles off, the camera moves in the same direction as your input.

Flip interface 

By default, the joystick is on the left side, and the function buttons (Cut, Go to Layout) are on the right. Use the toggle to mirror the interface.

Eye height in Walk mode

Use this slider to adjust the camera height in walk mode from 1,00m to 1,99m (from 3,28ft to 6,53ft).