You don't have to make adjustments at full distance, they can all be made closeup if required. See the quick clip below.






Gerry

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System: Win 10 Pro (21H2), Asus X99-E WS, CPU i7-5930K -3,5 GHz, 32 GB DDR4 2666-16 RAM, NVidia GTX 1080 Ti GPU - 11 GB VRAM(Driver Studio-536.99), Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB SSD, 6 TB HD storage.

I usually use the Preview camera to position the character. You can also press Ctrl+Q to toggle the gizmo. You can then move the character even if the feet are not visible. I would also like to point out that this is not a sudden change in iClone. It has been like that during previous versions as well.

As far as scars and tattoos are concerned the can be added in other ways; for example by using the Blend channel. We did have tattoos before the Appearance Editor even existed. 

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Many thanks! As an irregular user of RL I, and no doubt countless others, are confronted with the default gizmo which can be positioned to function on everything except the Avatar. I find this baffling! OK, it can be done with the mouse, good to know, but... 

@animagic Thanks for feedback. I am unsure how you use preview camera to position the avatar - if you bring it in from CC3 it arrives in a pose, from then you have to turn it to suit the set, put it behind a table etc, surely the camera turns everything? And as for my gripe about tattoos etc the point is that RL removed the simple ability to add such normal, usual things. That to me is not an upgrade, it is going backwards. Yes, it can be done, but why was it ever stopped?

The Preview camera does not create key frames, or any other control points, on the Timeline in iClone. When making a movie one needs to add a camera from the "Create" menu that will be used to record the scene. It is also possible, and very helpful, to create a number of cameras to record the scene from different angles. When using a new camera the user can select settings such as Focal length, Depth of Field, motion etc.. Any motion such as zooming in and out, rotating etc. while a camera is selected will be recorded and added as key frames on the Timeline.

To make position adjustments to any and all assets in a scene it is best to always just use the Preview camera and any rotating, zooming etc. will not be recorded, it is then possible to return to the "Main" camera to continue recording the scene.


Gerry

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System: Win 10 Pro (21H2), Asus X99-E WS, CPU i7-5930K -3,5 GHz, 32 GB DDR4 2666-16 RAM, NVidia GTX 1080 Ti GPU - 11 GB VRAM(Driver Studio-536.99), Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB SSD, 6 TB HD storage.

An addition to my post above.

When using the Preview camera to position any asset in a scene it helps if the main/recording camera is selected in the Mini Viewport and that this is open to ensure proper adjustment for the final scene.


Gerry

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System: Win 10 Pro (21H2), Asus X99-E WS, CPU i7-5930K -3,5 GHz, 32 GB DDR4 2666-16 RAM, NVidia GTX 1080 Ti GPU - 11 GB VRAM(Driver Studio-536.99), Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB SSD, 6 TB HD storage.

Thanks again. I am fully aware of using the preview camera to 'position' the asset in a frame but as I said, I am concerned on the difficulties of positioning the asset within a set, so to get him to go behind a table, slightly more to the left of the sofa etc. This is done with the pivot move gizmos and they can only be at the feet of the asset and not elsewhere. I now know about switching them off and using the mouse but I find it extraordinary that the gizmo itself can not be moved chest high. If my asset were a tree - no problem!!!
 

But it is the same for props. You would not normally move the pivot to place the prop. So if it is a large prop you will need to use other measures. The reason why you would leave pivots alone is that there may be dependencies, for example with sub-props.

The existing Appearance Editor is not compatible with CC3 characters, which is how tattoos etc. are applied to the skin. The choice at the the time was to either delay the introduction of CC3 characters and dispense with the improved quality or delay a compatible AE. I don't work for RL, but they must have had ideas for improved skin, etc. a while ago, which asked for a different approach to the AE, which could not be further developed without the new digital human shader actually being there. So it is not a matter of "taking away functionality" in this case, it was a matter of applying development resources efficiently. 

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It sounds like you're looking for some functionality I requested nearly 4 years ago (April 2016).
https://www.reallusion.com/FeedBackTracker/Issue/Option-for-a-Floating-Gizmo-to-be-in-center-of-viewport

That request has comments with links to a couple other related Feedback Tracker issues.

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iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
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@justaviking Thanks for that! I feel like I am going mad explaining this small but pertinent issue. Love the screwdriver analogy someone posted!