When running a simulation with FhVis, you control a virtual camera in the 3D scene. This page lists the keyboard shortcuts available while the simulation is running. FhSimUI renders the same scene through SDL2 and shares the global-axis and target-viewpoint keys, but its camera bindings and modifier keys differ; its user interface is described under FhSimUI overlays (ImGui).

Note: The first time a program is run with visualisation, an Ogre3D dialog may pop up where you can set your preferred view settings. To change the settings later, delete the file ogre.cfg in the resources subdirectory.

Movement of camera along local axes

Shortcut	Function
W	Moves the camera forward
S	Moves the camera backward
A	Moves the camera left
D	Moves the camera right
Q	Moves the camera up
E	Moves the camera down

Movement of camera along global axes

Shortcut	Function
Numpad 7	Moves the camera along positive x-axis
Numpad 4	Moves the camera along negative x-axis
Numpad 8	Moves the camera along positive y-axis
Numpad 5	Moves the camera along negative y-axis
Numpad 9	Moves the camera along positive z-axis
Numpad 6	Moves the camera along negative z-axis

Choice of target viewpoint

Shortcut	Function
1 - 9	Selects a target to use as a target viewpoint
0	De-selects target to use as a target viewpoint

Speed of camera movement

Shortcut	Function
<Left shift>	Increase camera speed
<Left ctrl>	Decrease camera speed
<Tab>	Resets camera speed

Camera view direction (only if no target viewpoint is set)

Shortcut	Function
<Arrow up>	Increase elevation
<Arrow down>	Decrease elevation
<Arrow left>	Look to the left
<Arrow right>	Look to the right

Special keys

Shortcut	Function
X	Toggles mesh or surface view
C	Toggles view of origin axes
V	Decreases the size of the origin axes
B	Increases the size of the origin axes
<esc>	Quits the simulation

FhSimUI overlays (ImGui)

The interactive overlays are a feature of FhSimUI, the SDL2 front end — not of FhVis. They are reached from the menu bar at the top of the window, and each has a function-key shortcut:

Shortcut	Overlay
F2	Load Input File (the file browser)
F3	Sim Controls
F4	Inspector — state and port values for the selected object
F5	Signal Plots — live plots of selected signals
F6	Console Log
F7	Simulation Log
F8	OGRE Log

The Debug menu additionally opens a Jacobian Debugger, which shows the structure and values of the system Jacobian — useful when debugging implicit integration.

Camera input is suspended while an ImGui widget wants the keyboard, so typing in the console or inspector does not move the camera.

See FhSimUI — the interactive front end for the command-line flags that control these overlays (--no-gui-console, --gui-console-only, --headless).

Text on the 3D view: the HUD

Text drawn straight onto the 3D view, the simulation time and whatever SimObjects choose to show, is the HUD. It has four corner regions; the simulation time is the first line of the top-left one. Its lines are laid out by the framework, so text from different SimObjects does not overlap, and a line too long for its region ends in "…". Each corner with text has a semi-transparent box behind its lines, so the text stays readable over a bright scene; the box widens to the widest text the corner has shown and does not shrink again until the next simulation is loaded. The HUD is the same in FhSimUI, FhVis and a visual FMU.

In FhSimUI, Overlay Text in the menu bar's display settings shows or hides this text layer: the HUD, including the time line and the boxes behind it, and any text a SimObject still draws through the older TextRenderer. It is on by default and is saved as ShowLegacyOverlay in the FhSimUI configuration (an old ShowTimeOverlay setting is ignored). The simulation time is also shown in the simulation controls (F3), so with the HUD on it appears twice. The HUD's regions keep clear of the menu bar, the orientation gizmo and the logo. FhVis and a visual FMU have no menu and always show the HUD.

SimObject authors: see Showing text on the 3D view.