VMD-L Mailing List

From: Justin Gullingsrud (justin)
Date: Mon Apr 24 2000 - 10:16:12 CDT

Hello,

We're about to install the latest version of VMD, VMD 1.5a3. In this
version, there's been a change to the behavior of picking with the mouse
which is (1) small, (2) probably welcome, and (3) easy to reverse. The
change is this: when you go into "Rotate", "Translate", or "Scale" mode
(usually by pressing 'r', 't', or 's', respectively), the mouse will
NOT perform any picking, period. Picking will only be performed if you
put the mouse in a picking mode, which can be done in the Mouse Form
using the various buttons found there. This should be welcome news for
those who give demos and don't want to accidentally cause a pick on a
large system.

Once you enter a pick mode, the behavior is just as before: you can rotate
the scene by clicking on an empty part of the screen and dragging the mouse.
You will always know when picking is enabled by the shape of the cursor:
it will be a "plus" symbol if and only if picking is enabled.

In previous versions of VMD, the program started up in a mode which allowed
rotating the scene and picking of atoms. This mode corresponds to atom picking
mode in the new version. Thus, to have VMD start up in the same mode as
behavior, you can add the following line to your .vmdrc file:

mouse mode 4 2

Also, we have corrected glitches in the Mouse Form, so that it should now
accurately reflect the mode of the mouse. Please let us know if you see
any other problems with that menu.

Finally, on a related note, users of the Windows version of VMD who work
with a two-button mouse will find that the right mouse button is now treated
the same as the middle button on a three-button mouse. This allows one to
rotate and translate along the z-axis, which previously was possible only
with a three-button mouse.

We hope these changes make VMD easier for everyone. As always, feel free to
send us your comments.

Justin 

-- 
Justin Gullingsrud         3111 Beckman Institute
H: (217) 384-4220
W: (217) 244-8946          The time of purification is at hand...