Mark Wallner sent in this tip to show how he handles the difficult task of rotating in a 3D environment. "If you use the 3D Orbit functions, you know how frustrating it can be to try to get a look at a specific object from a different angle -- it always seems like a crapshoot as to whether the model will spin nicely about the center of the screen, or will spin out of the viewport in a flash and disappear into the twilight zone. I just ran across a command I haven't seen in the menus, which solves this problem; 3DORBITCTR lets you pick the center of rotation, then starts 3D Constrained Orbit. You can then switch to 3DFORBIT if you like, using the shortcut menu, without losing your center point. By the way, the Enable Auto Target option for 3DORBIT has to be checked for this to work. (Right-click the screen to bring up the context-sensitive shortcut menu when a 3D rotation command is in action to set this option, if you need to). If you work in 3D, I highly recommend adding an alias for this command, such as 3DC to your acad.pgp file, or writing a short LISP which invokes the 3DORBITCTR command and then switches to 3DFORBIT after you choose your center point. (Post a copy here if you do!) Editor's note: Registered CAD Tips users can use the Comment feature to upload comments and files associated with this or any tip.

Notes from Cadalyst Tip Patrol: These are great commands to take advantage of and are very easy to use. AutoCAD 2009 (and 2010) has the View Cube. It is a visual aid to help you rotate your view. Each face of the cube is labeled (top, bottom, left, right, front, and back) and you can rotate your view by clicking the cube, holding it and moving your mouse around as if you are rotating the cube. Your drawing view will be rotated accordingly.