I have been a long time user of TrackIR but I like the freedom of Tobii. I tried it about a year ago and unfortunately I had to return it.

In using TIR I often look left or right at various switches and click them with the mouse. With TIR I had a rocker switch on my yoke that would freeze the view, let me click the switch and then unfreeze the view and/or center it.

Tobii defaults to recentering the view if you pause completely negating the ability to click the button. I realize I could use various viewing apps to set up custom views but all I want is the ability to pause Tobii ( not the sim) and have it freeze wherever I am looking.

Is this possible yet?

It is if you have Chaseplane.

5 hours ago, Dazzlercee23 said:

It is if you have Chaseplane.

WOuld you mind some more details about that (or a link for more information) please?

hey, no hardware topics in this forum, Mr. Moderator 😆

But yes, Tobii is awesome.

9 hours ago, vgbaron said:

With TIR I had a rocker switch on my yoke that would freeze the view, let me click the switch and then unfreeze the view and/or center it.

Tobii defaults to recentering the view if you pause completely negating the ability to click the button. I realize I could use various viewing apps to set up custom views but all I want is the ability to pause Tobii ( not the sim) and have it freeze wherever I am looking.

Is this possible yet?

Yes, assuming you run Tobii with OpenTrack (which you should for full functionality), you can map a key to pause/resume. You can do pretty much everything TrackIR can do. See my video here for the details (skip to 26:28 for the settings).

Edited yesterday at 06:54 AM1 day by MarkDH

4 hours ago, PTI139 said:

WOuld you mind some more details about that (or a link for more information) please?

Within the Chaseplane head tracking settings you can choose to leave the camera in the current position when headtracking is toggled off/disabled. You can assign a key/button to do this and also a key/button to re-center - all within Chaseplane.

I'm sooooo fine with the inexpensive LookPilot...

Many moons ago a great friend offered me his TiR he was no longer using, and I used for about 1 yr before it broke for good :-//

I have used recently another nice solution - BeamEye Tracker - but I watched some videos about LookPilot and gave it a go. I never use the eye tracking component of these apps but the "neck tracking" works just great ! And I believe you can easily get your view @vgbaron as you describe...

Copilot tells me, just as a complement and in case I haven't quite understood what you ask for:

======== Beware !!! evil AI bellow :-) ( I can't live without it these days 🤣 ) =========

Short answer: Yes — LookPilot can provide exactly what vgbaron is asking for, and arguably more cleanly than Tobii’s native pause behavior.

Below is the precise, sim‑focused explanation based on the AVSIM thread you’re viewing .

🎯 What vgbaron wants

He wants a “freeze view” function:

• Press a button → head tracking pauses

• The camera stays exactly where it is (no auto‑recenter)

• He can click switches with the mouse

• Press again → tracking resumes

TrackIR does this natively. Tobii does not — pausing Tobii causes MSFS to recenter, which ruins the workflow.

🟢 Can LookPilot do this?

Yes. LookPilot supports a true “pause tracking but keep current view” mode.

LookPilot’s “neck tracking” behaves like TrackIR/OpenTrack:

✔ Freeze view without recenter

You can bind a key/button to Pause Tracking. When paused, LookPilot does not send new head‑pose data, so MSFS simply keeps the camera where it is.

✔ No forced recenter

Unlike Tobii’s native integration, LookPilot does not auto‑recenter when paused.

✔ Works with any MSFS aircraft

Because LookPilot injects head‑tracking via the standard SimConnect interface, MSFS treats it like TrackIR/OpenTrack.

✔ Easy to bind

You can assign:

• Pause/Resume tracking

• Recenter view

• Toggle tracking

This is exactly the workflow vgbaron described with his yoke rocker switch.

🟡 How LookPilot compares to the alternatives mentioned in the thread

OpenTrack + Tobii

• Also solves the problem

• Requires Tobii → OpenTrack bridge

• More setup complexity

• Same “pause without recenter” behavior

ChasePlane

• Provides a “leave camera where it is when headtracking is disabled” option

• Requires ChasePlane (not available for MSFS 2024 yet)

LookPilot

• Lightweight

• Cheap

• No Tobii hardware needed

• Provides the freeze‑view behavior natively

• Very simple setup

🧭 Bottom line

If the question is:

“Can LookPilot give me a TrackIR‑style freeze view so I can click cockpit switches without the camera recentering?”

Yes — LookPilot already does this, and it’s one of the reasons people use it instead of Tobii’s native MSFS integration.

Edited yesterday at 07:34 AM1 day by jcomm

10 hours ago, vgbaron said:

Is this possible yet?

Not a direct response to your question but having used Track-IR and Tobii, I now use the free software 'opentrack' instead with my webcam and it's improved my sim quality of life tenfold, it's better than Track-IR, better than Tobii and you can assign a button on your keyboard or peripheral to pause tracking.
I can fly without wearing headphones with a Track-IR bolted to the side and my eyes don't hurt from the Tobii IR beams, YMMV. Happy to answer any questions if you go down this route and haven't already repurchased the Tobii.

Edited yesterday at 07:57 AM1 day by toby23

1 hour ago, toby23 said:

Not a direct response to your question but having used Track-IR and Tobii, I now use the free software 'opentrack' instead with my webcam and it's improved my sim quality of life tenfold, it's better than Track-IR, better than Tobii and you can assign a button on your keyboard or peripheral to pause tracking.
I can fly without wearing headphones with a Track-IR bolted to the side and my eyes don't hurt from the Tobii IR beams, YMMV. Happy to answer any questions if you go down this route and haven't already repurchased the Tobii.

I would really appreciate if you could share with us all your opentrack settings and values. Thanks.

5 minutes ago, xsever said:

I would really appreciate if you could share with us all your opentrack settings and values. Thanks.

You can download a pdf of the settings that I use from THIS LINK.
It's important that you set your webcam to 720p as that activates 60fps mode in most webcams.

Edited yesterday at 10:04 AM1 day by toby23

14 hours ago, vgbaron said:

I have been a long time user of TrackIR but I like the freedom of Tobii. I tried it about a year ago and unfortunately I had to return it.

In using TIR I often look left or right at various switches and click them with the mouse. With TIR I had a rocker switch on my yoke that would freeze the view, let me click the switch and then unfreeze the view and/or center it.

Tobii defaults to recentering the view if you pause completely negating the ability to click the button. I realize I could use various viewing apps to set up custom views but all I want is the ability to pause Tobii ( not the sim) and have it freeze wherever I am looking.

Is this possible yet?

Have you considered Beam Eye Tracker? It does allow freezing of the current view. And a very reasonable price. You can try for free and currently has 20% off.

3 hours ago, toby23 said:

You can download a pdf of the settings that I use from THIS LINK.
It's important that you set your webcam to 720p as that activates 60fps mode in most webcams.

Thank you. Request sent via Google Drive for access.

I would into open track carefully if I was you.

My findings is that it is not better then Tobi or Track IR

12 minutes ago, Ron Lefebvre said:

I would into open track carefully if I was you.

My findings is that it is not better then Tobi or Track IR

Agree with you. That's another reason I recommended looking at Beam Eye Tracker, it has open track built in or you can still use open track standalone with it. You can also enable or disable headtracking or eye tracking in Beam Eye Tracker depending on your preference.

The only slight limitation I have found is if you use are large monitor (over 30" I believe). I use it with a 42" monitor and it does have issues that size.

Edit: I should clarify that large monitors are only an issue with the eye tracking.

Edited yesterday at 03:30 PM1 day by Dusk
Clarification

54 minutes ago, Ron Lefebvre said:

I would into open track carefully if I was you.

My findings is that it is not better then Tobi or Track IR

Personally, I find Opentrack better because I do not have to wear headphones with a Track-IR attached/ or a cap and there are no issues with sunlight shining on the sensor and making Track-IR freak out. Tobii hurts my eyes. Like I said, it's just my personal experience, YMMV.