Threshold

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on Windows.

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rbird
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Threshold

Post by rbird »

Why is the "threshold" feature in driver 3.1.8 (compared to old drivers like 2.3.4) no longer available?

The SE is very sensitive for the slightest contact. Our CAD-program responses immediately by blocking other functionality. The threshold would solve this and would give a much more user-friendly behaviour.
jwick
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Post by jwick »

Hello rbird,

This was removed in the new GUI design, but the functionality is still there if you want to do a little work. You can set a registry entry to do the same thing the slider did in the old GUI.

Create a String Value called DeadBand in:
HKCU/Software/3Dconnexion/3DxWare

Set the value to some number > 0 to cut off low valued data from the device. I'd start with 100 and see if that eliminates the movement you want to remove.

Jim
3Dx Software Development
rbird
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Post by rbird »

Hello Jim,

Thanks very much for this regkey. It works as expected. We use a value of 120.
What about the "precision"? Which regkey and type of value would I need?

Appreciate it,

Greetz,

Rbird
jwick
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Post by jwick »

rbird
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Post by rbird »

Hello Jim,

Thanks for the info. Are there plans to implement the Threshold and Precision again in the driver? Now I (as an administrator) have to perform the changes for my users. I would prefer that the users could do that theirselves of course!

Rbird
jwick
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Post by jwick »

Hi Rbird,

Each individual user should be able to access HKCU. So they should be able to make these changes themselves.

There are no current plans to bring these controls back, but considering how often we change our interface... <GG>

The product manager does read all these forum posts. It is her decision.

Jim
3Dx Software Development
rbird
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Post by rbird »

Hi Jim,

We do not let our end-users enter the registry editor because of obvious reasons (disabled by a policy). So if the product manager is reading this:

I would like to submit an enhancement request to implement the Threshold feature again in the UI. In our CAD-program it is essential functionality! Please consider also to bring the Precision feature back in. It is less essential for us but I can still imagine it to be of use.

Greetings,

Rbird
rbird
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Post by rbird »

Hello Jim,

Are the threshold and precision settings also in use for the other products like the SpaceNavigator? Unlike the SpaceExplorer the discussed regkeys do not seem to have the desired effect for the SpaceNavigator. Can you confirm that? Are other regkeys required?

Furthermore I guess the permitted range for both settings is 0-255. Is this correct?

Ernest
jwick
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Post by jwick »

Hi Ernest,

Those settings are not device specific. They apply to all devices. Make sure you are creating REG_SZ entries. And make sure you are using the latest 3DxWare (6.1+). If you are using something older, you have to make the entries in HKLM instead. I believe you can always make them in HKLM with any version. HKCU settings will override if you have a recent-enough version.

The range of the threshold is probably 0-500 for modern devices (SpaceBalls would be higher). The precision is an exponent. 1.0 is unchanged. 2.0 would be squared (more nonlinear). 3.0 cubic, etc. The default is 1.7.

Jim
3Dx Software Development
takedownca
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Post by takedownca »

Rbird,

I agree with you that the threshold & precision settings should be in the GUI. However, in the mean time, maybe you could just distribute a .reg file that accomplishes the same changes without requiring access to regedit. Of course this is assuming your users even have permission to execute .reg files.
rbird
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Post by rbird »

I am trying to write a simple program in Visual Basic that contains a slider that sets the appropriate registry key. This works okay so far, but it requires a manual restart of the driver and subsequently also for our CAD-application. Therefor for the end-user it is still rather awkward to find the desired setting. So I want to implement a restart of the driver or another way to instantly make this setting effective. Can anyone help me with this? How can I program this?

takedownca: as you see the workaround is not fully satisfactory. Isn't 3DConnexion prepared to write such a utility as an unsupported goodie (not integrated in the driver)? Of course I would still prefer it to be integrated in the driver.
ngomes
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Post by ngomes »

Hi rbird,
[...] requires a manual restart of the driver[...]. Can anyone help me with this? How can I program this?.
Check the command-line options used in the shortcuts "Start Driver" and "Stop Driver" in the Start menu for "3Dconnexion 3DxWare" (the driver).
Bowtie Bob
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Post by Bowtie Bob »

It would be SO much easier if this was brought back to the GUI. This is a feature that I really miss in the latest versions.
chadt
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Location: Massachusetts

This needs to be brought back!

Post by chadt »

Why would this be removed? Everyone has different hand-eye coordination, muscles, etc. It's the most subjective setting and I see a huge range of variance from user to user in my office. Sometimes when I'm trying to keep my ProE view normal to screen and just pan or zoom, just the slightest wrong move and you've thrown the Z axis off and have to go start over again using the saved views to get an exact view where one axis is perfectly normal to the screen.

I'm glad I found this workaround (though about as user un-friendly as it gets) because I was about to go back to the old drivers, and that it in self might cause problems.
jwick
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Post by jwick »

It may be helpful to use some of the more obscure button functions, like Pan only, Zoom only, TZ only, Tx only, etc.
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