---
title: Canvas Navigation
description: Panning, zooming, and the hand tool in OpenPencil.
---

# Canvas Navigation

The canvas is your infinite workspace. You can pan and zoom freely to navigate your design.
## Panning

Move the visible area of the canvas without affecting any objects.

- <kbd>Space</kbd> + drag — hold Space and drag anywhere on the canvas
- **Middle mouse drag** — press and drag the middle mouse button
- **Two-finger trackpad** — swipe with two fingers on a trackpad

## Hand Tool

Press <kbd>H</kbd> to activate the hand tool for continuous panning. Any drag on the canvas pans the viewport without needing to hold Space. Switch to another tool (e.g., **V** for Select) to deactivate.

## Zooming

Zoom in and out centered on your cursor position.

- <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + scroll (or <kbd>⌘</kbd> + scroll on Mac) — scroll up to zoom in, scroll down to zoom out
- **Pinch gesture** — pinch on a trackpad to zoom in/out
- **Keyboard shortcuts** — see table below

Pinch-to-zoom on UI panels (layers, properties) is prevented so it doesn't accidentally change the browser zoom level.

## Keyboard Shortcuts

| Action | Mac | Windows / Linux |
|--------|-----|-----------------|
| Pan | <kbd>Space</kbd> + drag | <kbd>Space</kbd> + drag |
| Hand tool | <kbd>H</kbd> | <kbd>H</kbd> |
| Zoom in | <kbd>⌘</kbd><kbd>+</kbd> | <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>+</kbd> |
| Zoom out | <kbd>⌘</kbd><kbd>−</kbd> | <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>−</kbd> |
| Zoom to 100% | <kbd>⌘</kbd><kbd>0</kbd> | <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>0</kbd> |

## Tips

- Zooming always targets the cursor position, so point at what you want to see closer.
- The hand tool is useful when you need to pan frequently — it stays active until you switch tools.
- See [Selection & Manipulation](./selection-and-manipulation) for how to work with objects on the canvas.
