The navigation tools used in the normal 2D drafting mode are still usable when in 3D modeling. Starting with zooming, the mouse wheel can be used to zoom in and zoom out, as well as the zoom and zoom extend commands that work exactly the same as in the 2D drafting mode. For more details on these commands, please refer to Chapter 1, Basic Drawing Tools of this book.

To pan the view, press and hold the middle mouse button and the mouse cursor will turn into a black hand, as shown in the following figure. Move the mouse to pan the view then release the button, again just like in the 2D drafting mode.

The middle mouse button can also be used to rotate the view. This can be done by holding down Shift, and then holding down the middle mouse button. The cursor icon will change to the rotate icon, as shown in the following figure. Move the mouse to rotate the view as desired then release both buttons:

In addition to the middle mouse button, AutoCAD also features a navigation tool called the ViewCube, which will be discussed in the next sub-section.