Configuring Peripherals

Displays

A full HD display or higher is recommended. Multi-monitor setups are supported, and workspaces can be configured to span multiple monitors.

../../_images/getting-started_configuration_hardware_multi-monitor.jpg

Example of Blender’s multi-monitor support.

Input Devices

Blender supports various types of input devices:

  • Keyboard (recommended: keyboard with numeric keypad, English layout works best)

  • Mouse (recommended: three button mouse with scroll wheel)

  • NDOF Device (also known as 3D Mouse)

  • Graphic Tablet

Note

If you are missing an input device such as a mouse or numpad Blender can change its keymap to emulate these devices. Settings to enable this can be found in the Input Preferences.

Mouse

Mouse Button Emulation

If you do not have a 3 button mouse, you will need to emulate it by checking the option in the Preferences.

The following table shows the combinations used:

3-button Mouse

LMB

MMB

RMB

2-button Mouse

LMB

Alt-LMB

RMB

Keyboard

Numpad Emulation

If you do not have a numeric Numpad on the side of your keyboard, you may want to emulate one (uses the numbers at the top of the keyboard instead, however, removes quick access to layer visibility).

See also

Read more about Numpad Emulation in the Preferences.

Non-English Keyboards

If you use a keyboard with a non-English keyboard layout, you still may benefit from switching your computer to the UK or US layout as long as you work with Blender.

Note

You can also change the default keymap and default hotkeys from the Preferences, however, this manual assumes you are using the default keymap.

Graphic Tablet

Graphics tablets can be used to provide a more traditional method of controlling the mouse cursor using a pen. This can help provide a more familiar experience for artists who are used to painting and drawing with similar tools, as well as provide additional controls such as pressure sensitivity.

Note

If you are using a graphic tablet instead of a mouse and pressure sensitivity does not work properly, try to place the mouse pointer in the Blender window and then unplug/replug your graphic tablet. This might help.

NDOF (3D Mouse)

3D mice or NDOF devices are hardware that you can use to navigate a scene in Blender. Currently only devices made by 3Dconnexion are supported. These devices allow you to explore a scene, as well as Fly/Walk modes.

See also

See Input Preference for more information on configuring peripherals.