Gestures/multitouch

[jo]

Hi,

It wasn't until I started looking into this that I realised PC laptops don't seem to support gestures on trackpads, although that will probably change with Windows 8, and I guess not a lot of people are using TG on Touch PCs so this is really a question aimed at Mac users.

Do you use gestures much with your trackpad, Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad? Do you miss gestures when you're using TG?

I don't have a laptop with a trackpad that supports gestures. I don't see adding gesture support to TG as any sort of priority but it would be interesting to know if gestures are a big part of how you use your computer.

Regards,

Jo

[Oshyan]

Support for gestures on PCs is usually provided (if at all) in custom software included with the touch pad. Some is decent, some is terrible, many don't have the feature at all. My point though is that the feature does exist on PCs, it's just not widely available.

Having had mouse gestures available for years in many apps I use (e.g. Opera), I've tried them but never liked them.

- Oshyan

[TheBadger]

Never even tried it.
Would be interesting to know what advantages it could provide in TG2? Or would this just be a preference thing or even something people do just for fun?

[penboack]

I'm probably in quite a good position to comment on this, as I don't use a mouse and use both OS X and Windows 7.

It was only when I got a Windows 7 laptop a couple of months ago and a Wacom Intuos5 Touch more recently that I realised just how good Apple's Trackpad and Magic Trackpad are. The Apple Trackpad never sticks, both my Samsung Notebook and the Intuos5 Touch occasionally stick, you move your finger and nothing happens. Another problem is that they don't get the "Tap to Click" right, you get too many unintended clicks, I never experience these with either the Trackpad on my MBP, or my Magic Trackpad.

The biggest issue with using Trackpads with 3D applications (but not TG!)  is lack of MMB support. On OS X I use MagicPrefs http://magicprefs.com/ to emulate MMB using 3 finger click then releasing 2 fingers and dragging with the remaining finger to zoom or whatever. On Windows 7 I haven't found a similar solution, so I use the Intuos5 for applicaitons, like Houdini, that absolutely require a MMB.

In terms of TG the keyboard navigation, whereby you can use LMB with key combinations, is one of the best solutions I've seen in any 3D applications (I use CINEMA 4D, Houdini, and modo). I also use the Compass quite a lot. I would like to see a mini compass for the Network window for GUI consistency (a feature for Terragen 3 perhaps!).

I don't miss the gestures when using TG.
I find some of the gestures a nuisance, as what makes sense on a touchscreen often makes rather less sense on a trackpad. I seem to get unintended actions from gestures more frequently than intended ones.

I suspect that the best course of action would be to do nothing and wait and see how this area evolves once people start using Windows 8.

I wonder if Microsoft will release a trackpad alongside or soon after Windows 8, it seems a pretty obvious thing for them to do. There mouse is very popular.

[FrankB]

I do already use some gestures with TG2 on a macbook: you can zoom in and out of the node network easy. Unfortunately you can't pan, if I remember correctly. I would find basic network navigation using gestures very very effective, and supporting increased productivity.
I would be content if zooming would be less sensitive than it is today, and if panning worked.

Thanks
Frank

[penboack]

Logitech have just announced the "Logitech Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650"
http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/mice-pointers/mice/touchpad-t650

Of particular interest is that it has MMB support using 3 Finger Click.

Can't wait to get one of these for my Windows laptop setup!

On OS X (using the Apple Magic Trackpad http://www.apple.com/magictrackpad/) I've noticed that I now tend to use two finger tap to access context menus instead of the RMB. This also works on Windows 7 with the Intuos5 Touch.