The 3D mouse makes getting an exact angle or framing of a PCB in the 3D viewer possible in seconds compared to the inbuilt positioning ball. You can grab the mouse and it’s like you have grabbed the part in software, so lifting up moves the circuit board up, pushing away moves the circuit board away in Altium Designer, and so on. If you use a lot of varying 3D software packages (e.g., SolidWorks, Fusion 360, 3ds Max) then having a 3D mouse gives you a consistent interface for moving objects around in 3D space. The 3D viewer in Altium Designer fully supports moving around with the mouse, which makes incredibly quick and precise motion possible. There are newer models available, but the SpaceMouse Pro is doing all I need for now, and you can pick them up used on Amazon or eBay quite cheaply. While my normal mouse is quite basic, I also have a 3D Connexion SpaceMouse Pro to the left of my keyboard.

Once you remember which button does what, it can allow you to draw out a schematic very quickly without taking your hand off the mouse. All of his most commonly used shortcuts are within quick and easy reach of his thumb. He has his modes set such that red is for schematic editing, blue is for component placement, and green is for routing. Logitech G600 mouse offers a variety of buttons which could be useful for designers. There are also many similar devices with many buttons available for custom keybindings, depending on your preference of mouse style. One of the members of my community uses a Logitech G600 mouse, which has a multitude of configurable buttons targeted at gamers. I use a Logitech M570 trackball mouse, which, despite being amazing for desks so crammed with projects that they lack any spare space to move a mouse, is very lacking in the ‘extra buttons’ department. Many of us use and love similar shortcuts, but there were enough interesting use cases that I thought it would be worthwhile to share my favourite shortcuts and basic customisations, as well as a couple more from the community. A while ago in my database library’s chat channel, there was a really good discussion about shortcuts and how each of us customises his or her menus to be able to draw schematics and layout boards as quickly and efficiently as possible. One of the things I really love about Altium Designer ® is how many shortcuts there are, and how customisable they are.

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