Problems with SketchUp 6 - suddenly

[hutton]

I have been using SpaceNavigator with SketchUp for 30 days now. A scheduled event occurred this morning when 3DxWare loaded notifying me of this fact and giving me the option to upgrade to the Standard version for a fee.
I had upgraded from SketchUp 5 to 6 at the same time that I installed SN (having waited for the new driver release which supports my Win2000 OS). Over the past month I have occasionally noticed strange things working in SU but they seemed random and seldom, and difficult to pin down given the many changes - new version of SU, new SN driver, and working primarily with converted (v5 to v6) models. Since my 30 day notice, problems have become chronic. The two biggest problems are:
(1) the file drop down menu remains covering the tool icons after loading an existing model. Tools can be selected by clicking on an icon or icon location not visible because of the file menu.
(2) clicking a scene button (like Home) causes the model to shift slightly and then freeze. Tools cannot be selected while it is in this state but SN orbiting appears to be unaffected.
The persistence of either of these conditions is immediately rectified and all subsequent actions (selected while frozen) appear to occur if I right click on the 3DxWare icon in the System Tray.
I have re-installed the SN driver (using repair feature) to no avail.
While I am not convinced that it is entirely the 3Dconnexion software, I am sure it is somehow involved. This is now happening with SU5, SU6, SU6 using v5 models and new SU6 models. If 3DxWare is disabled, no problems occur.

Any suggestions as to what may be my problem?

[ngomes]

Hi hutton,
Are you seeing these problems the minute you launch Skp with the driver enabled?

What may be happening is that you started the driver with something pressing against the device cap. Since the cap rest position is reset when the driver is launched, the device may be continuously sending data to Skp and causing the reported issues.

The next time you encounter the problem, release the device cap, open the driver UI and press the "Calibrate" button.

[hutton]

Nuno,
My system is configured such that the driver is not launched until SketchUp is loaded the first time. The problems occur consistently (meaning every time) and without ever touching the SN device. Simply using the mouse to drop the file menu and select an existing file causes the first issue (file menu obscurring tool icons) to occur.
In fact, I can launch SketchUp 6 (at which time the driver loads), and from the default opening screen (with the person object) select Window > Scenes > + to add a "Scene 1" page button, then orbit to a new position using either the SN device or the mouse, and then cause the freeze condition by clicking on the "Scene 1" button. Works every time.
If the problem is resulting from data originating in the device, I would be surprised. It seems to work flawlessly with respect to image movement.

[ngomes]

Hi hutton,

You will notice that, when manipulating the view using the 3D controller, the application will dedicate most of its resources to drawing the scene. A possible consequence is the menus becoming less responsive. This effect is machine dependant.

Have you tried pressing the "Calibrate" button to see if that makes any difference? You will need to do that after starting the app.

Changing "scenes tabs" in SketchUp triggers an animation by default. If you disabled that feature, can you still reproduce the problem?

[hutton]

Nuno,

It appears as though the device somehow got uncalibrated. After launching SketchUp and clicking the Calibrate button, both problems have disappeared.
Should this not have corrected itself when I reloaded the driver? Or could it have been that I only "repaired" the existing driver, rather than deleting it a starting over from scratch?
In any event, everything appears to be working as designed including animation, and for that I am grateful to you. Many thanks...

[ngomes]

Hi hutton,

You should still be able to reproduce the problem by holding to the device cap whilst going the scenario you described earlier.

I can explain what probably happened.

Inside your 3D controller there is an optical sensor that measures the cap displacement. This is a very precise and sensitive device.

If you hold, for a lengthy period of time, something pressed against the cap, a "memory" effect sets in: the relaxed position of the cap is slightly changed.

When the driver starts, it calibrates the sensor to that new position. As times passes, the cap moves back to the original relaxed position but now the sensor detects this movement and driver sends the data to the application.

This movement is cannot be perceived by the naked eye but is easily measured by the optical sensor.