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I have since yesterday a SpaceNavigator (from 3Dconnection).

I got it to work with the demo apps (xcube and xvalue). *

But it doesn't do anything with Blender.

I did not find any posts about it except some "it will be possible in 2.48" or "there's a plug-in for 2.46" (should I use it? Because I have Blender 2.7. And how can we add a plug-in?).

I use Blender 2.7 and I wonder if there is something to add, or it's just something to configure in Ubuntu (13.10).

I watched many sites, but they all talk about 2.4_ or 2.5_, no 2.7 or even 2.6!

Every help is welcome! :)

*: Some informations about how I installed it (from the given CD): - I followed that (part of the official how to):

    cd /tmp
    tar xf /<cdrom>/3dxunix.tar linux   [where <cdrom> is the path to the root directory of your mounted CD]   (I replaced <cdrom> with the correct path)
    sh /tmp/linux/install-3dxunix.sh

I had an error:

error while loading shared libraries: libXm.so.3: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

and found an answer there: 3Dconnection forum

the install worked. -> I have now one "app" (the driver app?) : 3DxWare 1.6.0

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  • $\begingroup$ I got it working for me under windows. good luck with getting ti to work on linux. For me it works out of th box, no driver needed $\endgroup$
    – Vader
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 17:50
  • $\begingroup$ I got the old "spacePilot" one, and works great on Linux, no needs to install nothing... Just plugged in, start Blender and enjoyed a flight into my scene. $\endgroup$
    – Polosson
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 18:18
  • $\begingroup$ I set both buttons respectively to Shift and Crtl, and they work everywhere! Included in Blender! But the mouse doesn't want to move anything! $\endgroup$
    – tuxtoriel
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 18:33
  • $\begingroup$ Support for Linux has been dropped by connexion years ago, so this answer will likely not work anymore, it is recommended that you use the spacenavd daemon which is now part of many distributions. Unfortunately, companies still purposefully ignore Linux and as a full paying customer I hate being ignored. $\endgroup$
    – Markus Bawidamann
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 2:23
  • $\begingroup$ On Debian 11 sid edition and XFce it turns out that the UNPLUG the device by usb cable is causing system to logout without question. Beware of unsaved files! $\endgroup$
    – piotao
    Commented Mar 2, 2021 at 21:39

1 Answer 1

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First you need to install Spacenav, which I've found works very simply.

  • Install 'spacenav', I expect most Linux distros would have a package for this.
  • Run sudo spacenavd -v -d
  • Run blender, the 3D mouse will be detected, and printed in the terminal.

spacenavd can run automatically as a service but to begin with just execute in a terminal.

See spavenav's site, it has general info. I followed the Arch Linux 3D Mouse Instructions to get this working.

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  • $\begingroup$ I exited 3DxWare 1.6.0 and installed spacenav (spacenavd in the Ubuntu software center) and it works straight forward! Thanks a lot! (just two little questions: By moving the mouse, I move my point of view. But how do I move the object? And can I custom the button actions?) $\endgroup$
    – tuxtoriel
    Commented Mar 19, 2014 at 13:56
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    $\begingroup$ @tuxtoriel currently only view navigation is supported (though I think at one stage there was basic support for object movement), I can look into adding support for transform with 2.71 release. $\endgroup$
    – ideasman42
    Commented Mar 19, 2014 at 14:58
  • $\begingroup$ Great, but is there any documentation on the default setting for the key mapping of the SpaceMouse (Enterprise) and where to change that how? I understand that there is the configuration file for spacenavd, but there are also preferences in ´blender´. $\endgroup$
    – Torsten Knodt
    Commented Jun 8 at 8:59

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