Chapter 2: Navigating Onshape

Navigating large models in Onshape is a skill that takes practice. Soon your robot model will be quite large, and a single viewing angle won't be enough. You'll need to move the model around, zoom into part connections, and zoom back out to the full view.

First, let's get familiar with the controls for moving models around in Onshape.

View Controls

Mouse and trackpad controls in Onshape

Mouse Controls

Rotate	Pan	Zoom
Right-click + drag	Middle-click or Right-click + Ctrl + drag	Scroll wheel

Right-click drag — Rotate model

Middle-click drag — Pan model

Scroll wheel — Zoom model

Trackpad Controls

Rotate	Pan	Zoom
Two-finger drag	Shift + two-finger drag	Pinch

Two-finger drag — Rotate model

Shift + two-finger drag — Pan model

Pinch — Zoom model

        Tip: Don't forget to click the blue heading to toggle between trackpad controls!
      

Open Onshape to Practice

Click the Full Robot tab, try right-click dragging to rotate and scrolling to zoom

🖱️

Checkpoint: Can you smoothly rotate, pan, and zoom the model?

Try right-click dragging to rotate the robot, scroll to zoom into a gear detail, then press F to return to the full view

Hands-On Practice

Now that you've mastered Onshape navigation, let's practice. We've hidden 10 items in the VEX game field model to challenge your navigation skills.

Using Multiple Browser Tabs

Right-click a tab and open it in a new window

Before starting, we recommend opening two browser tabs to work side by side:

Right-click the Scavenger Hunt - VEX Spin Up tab at the bottom
Select Open in new browser tab

Split the two tabs side by side — tutorial on one side, Onshape on the other

        Pro tip: Split the two tabs across two monitors, or arrange them side by side on one screen. This makes it much easier to follow the tutorial while searching for items.
      

Items to Find

In the VEX field assembly, practice zooming, rotating, and panning to find the following items:

Find these 10 hidden items in the VEX field

10 Hidden Items
Purple Ring	Green Cube	Blue Ball	Omni Wheel	84T Gear
18T Sprocket	Screwdriver	V5 Smart Motor	PTC Nameplate	12" Shaft

1. Purple Ring (2021 game piece)

2. Green Cube (2019 game piece)

3. Blue Ball (2020 game piece)

Collaboration Features

Use comments and annotations to collaborate with teammates

        Important! If you want to do the scavenger hunt with your team, first make a copy of this document and share it with your teammates (grant comment permission).
      

If you're doing the scavenger hunt with teammates, you can use the comment feature to share your findings:

After finding an item, leave a comment in the comment area
Try the Mark entity button and the Annotation button
Use the @ symbol to mention teammates

Think about it: How could you use this feature during the robotics season?

🔍

Checkpoint: How many hidden items did you find?

Finding at least 5 means you're already comfortable navigating Onshape!

Teams and Designers Using Onshape

You should remember the robots mentioned in the previous chapter. Now that you're familiar with the Onshape interface, take some time to explore these real Onshape documents. Open them to see how models are assembled and how teams organize their designs.

61391Z & 37212A - Seaweed Scoop

View their Onshape document →

Move the scoop arm up and down to see how it goes from ground to vertical without interfering with the robot
Open different tabs at the bottom to see how they modeled each subsystem
Check the CAD Robot Overview tab — the team embedded a PDF in the document to explain their design

More Practice

If you want more practice navigating large models in Onshape, check these out:

Onshape Learning Center

Good engineers know how to use their resources. The Onshape Learning Center is one of your most valuable resources, with plenty of self-paced courses to explore.

Recommended: Navigating Onshape self-paced course — helps new users master the Onshape interface and document pages.

        What You Learned in This Chapter
        Right-click to rotate, middle-click to pan, scroll to zoom
Press F to return to the full view
Use multiple tabs and comments to collaborate

      