I wanted to take a quick moment and either inform you or remind you of some view manipulation tricks using the reference triad. So here it is (straight from the SolidWorks help files), short and too the point.
- Select an axis = See the view normal to the screen.
- Select an axis that is normal to the screen = Change the view direction 180 degrees.
- Shift + select = Rotate 90 degrees about the axis.
- Ctrl + Shift + select = Rotate 90 degrees in the opposite direction.
- Alt + select = Rotate about the axis by the Arrow keys increment specified in Tools > Options > System Options > View.
- Ctrl + Alt + select = Rotate in the opposite direction.
If you would rather not even see the reference triad you can turn it off by going to Tools > Options > Display/Selection > uncheck “Display reference triad”.
By keeping some of these quick little shortcuts in the back of your mind you can save yourself a good amount of time during your design process.
Another good trick is to hold down shift and use the arrow keys with your other hand.
The same with the Ctrl button and the arrow keys. Sometimes its faster, depends on the user.