three.js(version 102) How to set default position & rotation of camera with OrbitControls

Question

I create a scene, and it is all fine without using OrbitControls. When I use OrbitControls, I found that my camera's position and rotation has changed, and I can't modify it.

Can somebody tell me how to set a default position and rotation of the camera with OrbitControls.

Thanks!

Answer 1

OrbitControls require a target . Set the target such that you get the same view.

  camera.position.set(1, 8, 7);

  const controls = new THREE.OrbitControls(camera, canvas);
  controls.target.set(0, 3, 0);
  controls.update();  

 'use strict'; /* global THREE */ function main() { const canvas = document.querySelector('#c'); const renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({canvas: canvas}); const fov = 75; const aspect = 2; // the canvas default const near = 0.1; const far = 500; const camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(fov, aspect, near, far); camera.position.set(1, 8, 7); const controls = new THREE.OrbitControls(camera, canvas); controls.target.set(0, 3, 0); controls.update(); const scene = new THREE.Scene(); { const color = 0xFFFFFF; const intensity = 1; const light = new THREE.DirectionalLight(color, intensity); light.position.set(-1, 2, 4); scene.add(light); } { const boxWidth = 1; const boxHeight = 10; const boxDepth = 1; const geometry = new THREE.BoxBufferGeometry(boxWidth, boxHeight, boxDepth); const material = new THREE.MeshPhongMaterial({color: 'red'}); const cube = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material); scene.add(cube); cube.position.y = .5; } { const geometry = new THREE.PlaneBufferGeometry(10, 10); const material = new THREE.MeshPhongMaterial({color: 'gray'}); const plane = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material); scene.add(plane); plane.rotation.x = Math.PI * -0.5; } function resizeRendererToDisplaySize(renderer) { const canvas = renderer.domElement; const width = canvas.clientWidth; const height = canvas.clientHeight; const needResize = canvas.width !== width || canvas.height !== height; if (needResize) { renderer.setSize(width, height, false); } return needResize; } function render(time) { if (resizeRendererToDisplaySize(renderer)) { const canvas = renderer.domElement; camera.aspect = canvas.clientWidth / canvas.clientHeight; camera.updateProjectionMatrix(); } renderer.render(scene, camera); requestAnimationFrame(render); } requestAnimationFrame(render); } main(); 

 body { margin: 0; } #c { width: 100vw; height: 100vh; display: block; } 

 <canvas id="c"></canvas> <script src="https://threejsfundamentals.org/threejs/resources/threejs/r102/three.min.js"></script> <script src="https://threejsfundamentals.org/threejs/resources/threejs/r102/js/controls/OrbitControls.js"></script> 

Or you could compute a target based on the current camera view. The OrbitControls orbit around the target so you'd need to choose a distance from the camera as your target

  const camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(fov, aspect, near, far);
  camera.position.set(1, 2, 5);
  camera.rotation.set(.1, .2, 0);

  // get the direction of the camera
  const direction = new THREE.Vector3();
  camera.getWorldDirection(direction);

  const controls = new THREE.OrbitControls(camera, canvas);

  // point the target from the camera in the
  // target direction
  camera.getWorldPosition(controls.target);
  controls.target.addScaledVector(direction, 5);
  controls.update();  

Note the 5 in addScaledVector means the target will be 5 units in front of the camera in the direction the camera was facing. Whether 5 is the right distance is up to you. In my sample scene the camera started at z = 5 so 5 units in front of the camera seemed like a reasonable place to put the target

 'use strict'; /* global THREE */ function main() { const canvas = document.querySelector('#c'); const renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({canvas: canvas}); const fov = 75; const aspect = 2; // the canvas default const near = 0.1; const far = 500; const camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(fov, aspect, near, far); camera.position.set(1, 2, 5); camera.rotation.set(.1, .2, 0); // compute a target direction const direction = new THREE.Vector3(); camera.getWorldDirection(direction); const controls = new THREE.OrbitControls(camera, canvas); // point the target from the camera in the // target direction camera.getWorldPosition(controls.target); controls.target.addScaledVector(direction, 5); controls.update(); const scene = new THREE.Scene(); { const color = 0xFFFFFF; const intensity = 1; const light = new THREE.DirectionalLight(color, intensity); light.position.set(-1, 2, 4); scene.add(light); } { const boxWidth = 1; const boxHeight = 10; const boxDepth = 1; const geometry = new THREE.BoxBufferGeometry(boxWidth, boxHeight, boxDepth); const material = new THREE.MeshPhongMaterial({color: 'red'}); const cube = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material); scene.add(cube); cube.position.y = .5; } { const geometry = new THREE.PlaneBufferGeometry(10, 10); const material = new THREE.MeshPhongMaterial({color: 'gray'}); const plane = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material); scene.add(plane); plane.rotation.x = Math.PI * -0.5; } function resizeRendererToDisplaySize(renderer) { const canvas = renderer.domElement; const width = canvas.clientWidth; const height = canvas.clientHeight; const needResize = canvas.width !== width || canvas.height !== height; if (needResize) { renderer.setSize(width, height, false); } return needResize; } function render(time) { if (resizeRendererToDisplaySize(renderer)) { const canvas = renderer.domElement; camera.aspect = canvas.clientWidth / canvas.clientHeight; camera.updateProjectionMatrix(); } renderer.render(scene, camera); requestAnimationFrame(render); } requestAnimationFrame(render); } main(); 

 body { margin: 0; } #c { width: 100vw; height: 100vh; display: block; } 

 <canvas id="c"></canvas> <script src="https://threejsfundamentals.org/threejs/resources/threejs/r102/three.min.js"></script> <script src="https://threejsfundamentals.org/threejs/resources/threejs/r102/js/controls/OrbitControls.js"></script>