The documentation does say "assigned button + Ctrl (in that order)" so if XY-translation is assigned to alt-left, you have to be sure to press alt-left (or alt-trackpad click) and then Ctrl. That is the same as ongoing drag but if you are coordinated, there is no dragging motion between when you press left (trackpad click) and when you press Ctrl. I tried it very carefully just now and that is true. I believe when Tom originally explained it on this list, he did say it was very important to press the keys in that order, not all at once. Elaine
On Mar 11, 2024, at 11:30 AM, Elaine Meng <meng@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
I don't know if that is really true.... it's just that it is what I experienced this morning, and I am extremely uncoordinated... I have to turn off the multitouch actions, for example, because I just can't deal with them personally.
Tom G would have to confirm if that's actually in the code before I would want to immortalize it in writing! The current documentation is what was explained to me, although it's possible I misunderstood.
Elaine
On Mar 11, 2024, at 9:58 AM, Oliver Clarke <olibclarke@gmail.com> wrote:
Ah I see - the modifier absolutely has to be added after starting an ongoing XY-translation... that is a bit of a pain if you just want to translate something in Z (e.g when moving something with respect to a density map).
It might be worth making both limitations (initiating from an ongoing XY translation and vertical mouse movement only) a bit more explicit in the help page - it states that the order of the keys is important, but it doesn't really say that you need to start translating in XY before trying it in Z (or at least that wasn't my read of it). Thanks Elaine I think I get it now, very helpful!
Cheers Oli
On Mar 11, 2024, at 12:51 PM, Elaine Meng <meng@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Hi Oli, Sorry I meant include this info in your bug report, not necessarily to the email list (athough that's fine too)! I won't be the one looking at the bug report, and it might not be addressed right away, so it's good to put the information there.
If by "move models" button you mean the icon for mousmode "translation":
I got a selection box at first and then after I did an XY-translation, being very careful about adding the Ctrl to an ongoing drag, I got Z-translation.
Elaine
On Mar 11, 2024, at 9:46 AM, Oliver Clarke <olibclarke@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm on a MBP with M2-Max chip and running Sonoma (14.1).
If I activate move models for right-mouse using the GUI "move models" button, then adding a ctrl modifier does not translate in Z, I just get a selection box even with Ctrl-right-drag - same is true if I activate translation from the GUI.
Cheers Oli
On Mar 11, 2024, at 12:41 PM, Elaine Meng <meng@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
I'm on a Macbook Pro with M1 chip running Monterey 12.7.3. I guess we would also be interested whether the Z-translation works with the regular "translation" mode in your situation, as it did for me in my tests this morning. You would also need to use the ChimeraX 1.7 release or newer, of course, since Z-translation wasn't added until last September, according to the Change Log:
https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/trac/ChimeraX/wiki/ChangeLog
Elaine
On Mar 11, 2024, at 9:18 AM, Oliver Clarke <olibclarke@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Elaine,
Thanks for the explanation! Yes I am on a mac using a trackpad. I did explicitly assign it (mousemode alt left "translate selected models"). It still doesn't work reproducibly for me (in either daily or stable build), even with vertical motion and after translating in X-Y first... I will report it as a bug, thanks!
Cheers Oli > On Mar 11, 2024, at 12:00 PM, Elaine Meng <meng@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote: > > Hi Oli, > Short answer is that (at least in my hands) the horizontal motions don't elicit much Z-translation -- try moving the cursor vertically. In all my tests below that worked with translation assignment +Ctrl to give Z-translation. > > Long answer with several rounds of testing: > > I don't know if this applies to you, but since I work on a Mac with a trackpad most of the time, I avoid explicitly assigning anything to alt-left or command-left because these emulate the middle and right mouse buttons. > <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/ui.html#touchpad> > > I don't know whether you actually assigned alt-left to translate, but the factory default assignment for middle mouse ( = alt-left if you call trackpad click-drag "left") is translation, so it's effectively the same as what you said. > <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/ui.html#mousemode> > > Using the factory defaults (translation nominally assigned to middle mouse), the Z-translation with alt-left-drag-Ctrl is working for me on a Mac with trackpad and UCSF ChimeraX version 1.7.1 (2024-01-23) as well as recent daily build 1.8.dev202403072314 (2024-03-07). > > Next I tried it with two models open, one selected, and the "translate selected models" assigned to right mouse button (= Mac trackpad command-left) and it works fine to XY- and Z-translate (with added Ctrl) the selected model only. > > If I actually assign > > mousemode alt left "translated selected models" > > That also works alt-left to XY translate and Z-translate (with added Ctrl) the selected model only. > > However, I usually have to try a little XY-translation first before attempting Z-translation because it is a little persnickety and/or I am not coordinated enough to use these multiple keys at the same time. And again, I don't know what exactly is going on in the video you sent, but, horizontal cursor motion doesn't seem to do much Z-translation for rme, only vertical. > > If you can't get it to work, please use Help.. Report a Bug so we will know your exact version and platform details. > > I hope this helps, > Elaine > ----- > Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. > UCSF Chimera(X) team > Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics > Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry > University of California, San Francisco > >> On Mar 11, 2024, at 7:33 AM, Oliver Clarke via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote: >> >> Hi, >> >> I can't seem to get the mousemode "Z-translate selected models" to work properly. I have "translate selected" set to Alt+left-drag, so per the docs ("assigned button + Ctrl (in that order) switches to Z-translation instead"), Alt+Ctrl+left-drag should translate the selected model in Z. It does not, or at least in any reproducible manner. >> >> Watch the selected yellow marker in the side view here on the right hand side: >> >> https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vds0cwu0zizclg64vlxqc/z_translate_bug.mov?rlkey=md4320j5vvjrwgwkkd6rae8a5&dl=0 >> >> 1. Initially I translate in x-y using Alt-drag - works fine. >> 2. I try to translate in z using alt-ctrl-drag - nothing happens >> 3. I keep trying translate in z, and eventually it "works" - but if you look closely you will see that the movement of the marker is not synced up with the direction/speed of the mouse cursor. >> >> Is this a bug? I remember testing this when it was initially implemented and I thought it worked fine so I suspect so...? >> >> Cheers >> Oli >