threejs-controls

When to use this skill

ALWAYS use this skill when the user mentions:

• Orbiting/panning/dolly around a target, inertia/damping, min/max distance/polar angles
• Map-like pan (MapControls) or flying (FlyControls)
• Transform gizmo translate/rotate/scale with TransformControls
• Dragging objects in plane (DragControls), pointer lock FPS (PointerLockControls)

IMPORTANT: controls vs webxr

Trigger phrases include:

• "OrbitControls", "TransformControls", "MapControls", "PointerLockControls"
• "轨道", "变换控制器", "漫游"

How to use this skill

1. Import from addons path (threejs-dev-setup).
2. Construct with (camera, domElement); for TransformControls also attach to renderer events.
3. Animation loop: when enableDamping, call controls.update() each frame.
4. TransformControls: wire dragging-changed to disable Orbit temporarily; sync with selection from threejs-objects.
5. Constraints: set min/max distance/angles to avoid flipping or underground views.
6. Dispose: controls.dispose() when tearing down.

Example: OrbitControls with damping

import { OrbitControls } from 'three/addons/controls/OrbitControls.js';

const controls = new OrbitControls(camera, renderer.domElement);
controls.enableDamping = true;
controls.dampingFactor = 0.05;
controls.minDistance = 2;
controls.maxDistance = 50;

// Must call update() each frame when damping is enabled
function animate() {
  controls.update();
  renderer.render(scene, camera);
}
renderer.setAnimationLoop(animate);

See examples/workflow-orbit-damping.md.

Doc map (official)

Scope

• In scope: Official addons controls usage patterns.
• Out of scope: Full physics character motor; mobile gesture frameworks.

Common pitfalls and best practices

• Forgetting update() with damping enabled causes drift never settling.
• TransformControls fighting with Orbit—pause one while using the other.
• Pointer lock requires user gesture and exit handling.

Documentation and version

Controls are under Controls (Addons) in three.js docs. API details (enableDamping, events) evolve—link OrbitControls / TransformControls pages for the user’s three.js version.

Agent response checklist

When answering under this skill, prefer responses that:

1. Link the specific controls class from the docs.
2. State controls.update() when damping is on, every frame.
3. Coordinate TransformControls with selection / threejs-objects raycasting.
4. Separate desktop navigation from threejs-webxr locomotion.
5. Call dispose() on controls when unmounting canvas.

References

• https://threejs.org/docs/#Controls
• https://threejs.org/docs/OrbitControls.html
• https://threejs.org/docs/TransformControls.html

Keywords

English: orbitcontrols, transformcontrols, mapcontrols, damping, camera controls, three.js

中文： OrbitControls、轨道、TransformControls、变换控制器、阻尼、three.js