Tell me if I'm crazy!

You know the answer....    Yes, you are Crazy Mark....  

And what are you doing using a Mouse for navigation? I know you've said you're not much of a CADD Guy but a few service packs ago Visualize added full support for 3DConnexion Space Mice. It works Wonderful ! Now that you have your new GPU's you should look into a 3D Mouse. I've been using them for about 35 years (CADD and many other 3D programs) and I won't work without one. It will speed up your workflow like you won't believe. In a very short time it becomes second nature to manipulate your scene, move parts, etc...

Not harping on you at all, just a suggestion because I know how much they increase your speed while working in Visualize or any other 3D application. I swear by them and encourage everyone I know who isn't using one to get one. I remember you use Blender too and Blender (and many other programs) can use the 3DConnexion Space mouse too.

Side Note: In the far distant past they used to be called SpaceBalls in the AeroSpace industry. I used them with several different UNIX Workstations. H.P. 9000's, Silicon Graphics Indigo, SUN SPARCStations, IBM IntelliStations, and maybe even on an old DEC VAX. The first SpaceBalls were developed to control the Articulating Arm (by Astronauts) on the NASA Space Shuttles.

Here is a vintage one from about 30 years ago that I used a LOT while at McDonnel Douglas & Boeing. Yes, they actually had a Ball to control the Six degrees of freedom (6DoF) and they were used in Space by NASA so the name SpaceBall fit very nicely. These were pre-USB so they used an old serial cable interface.

Here's another Vintage ball. Probably one of the very first, if not the first. Interesting that it was first produced in 1988 only one year AFTER the SpaceBalls Movie. I think this is too much of a coincidence. They had to pick up the name from the just released hit movie. Must be some correlation.  Anyway the name fits. The company that made them (Spatial Systems in Australia) licensed them to BIG companies like SGI, HP, etc....  Anyway don't complain about the current prices as this 1988 model carried a MSRP of around $3,500.00.  I think the first ones I used around 1982 cost around $1,500.00

Anyway the current Space Mice are made by 3DConnexion which is a sub-company owned by Logitech. It's their professional device brand and very, very solid.

Hey Mark,

Right click in your working space. There should be a ''Rotate around scene''.

I'm guessing that is what you are looking for.

2017 SOLIDWORKS Help - Rotate View

Mark Jackson wrote:

 

Maybe I'm working in too many different 3D applications, but I could have sworn I used to be able to hold down the mouse wheel and rotate around the center of the environment. It rotates around the camera selected and I'd prefer to rotate around the center of the environment.

 

Using SolidWorks CAD as the navigation mode in Options.

I'm using SWX 2018 SP2.0.

Holding down the middle mouse button works all right for me. Rotates around the center.

Thankfully I use a 3D mouse and don't have to use the middle button.

Maybe update your mouse driver?

Mark I'm confused by what you mean...  "rotate about the camera".  You mean to say, the same mouse/shorcut combos begin pivoting/rotating the camera itself?

Keep in mind, when you dolly a camera in/out, the target point (usually the center of the model) doesn't dolly in/out as well.  So as you zoom in (ie DOLLY CLOSER) the camera if effectively closer to the target point.  As you get nearly "on top" of the target point, it will seem as though you are merely pivoting the camera ("looking around"), when in fact you are still rotating the camera about it's target point.