Pan, zoom, and fit in one go.
Use these three moves when the scene runs off the screen or looks too small. They work the same whatever tool you’re using.
-
Pan the view
Whatever tool you’re using, hold Space and drag, and the canvas follows. On a trackpad, you can also swipe with two fingers. On a touchscreen, put two fingers down and drag. If you need to keep panning, use the Move tool (H) in the toolbar. In Animation mode, a quick tap of Space plays or stops the timeline.
Holding Space and dragging makes the canvas follow. Video: Holding Space and dragging moves the canvas along with the pointer. -
Zoom in and out
Hold ⌘ and scroll to zoom in or out around the pointer. The current zoom level shows on the Viewport bar at the bottom right. The − and + buttons on either side of it step through set levels such as 50%, 75%, and 100%. You can also type a number in the zoom field and press ↩. On a touchscreen, spread or pinch two fingers.
Holding ⌘ and scrolling zooms in toward the pointer, and the zoom level on the Viewport bar changes. Video: Holding ⌘ and scrolling zooms in around the pointer, and the zoom level on the Viewport bar at the bottom right changes. -
Fit the view in one step
Press the period key . to show the selected object large in the middle of the open space between the panels (up to 200%). With nothing selected, the whole scene fits that space. ⌘0 and the Zoom to fit button at the right end of the Viewport bar fit the whole scene, whatever is selected. As long as you leave a whole-scene fit as it is, the scene fits again when the window size changes or the timeline opens at the bottom.
The period key . shows the whole scene, pressing it again with the circle selected shows the circle large, and ⌘0 shows the whole scene again. Video: From an off-center view, pressing the period key shows the whole scene between the panels. With the circle selected, pressing it again fits the view to the circle, and pressing ⌘0 shows the whole scene again.
Horizontal scrolling and the pixel grid
To scroll sideways. Hold ⇧ and scroll to move the view sideways.
To view at the pixel level. The grid is on from the start, so a 1-pixel grid appears when you zoom in past 400%. If you turn it off with the grid button on the Viewport bar (the icon with four squares), snapping to whole pixels when you move or resize turns off too.
Shortcuts on this page
| Pan the view (while held) | Space+click and drag |
|---|---|
| Move tool | H |
| Zoom in and out | ⌘+scroll wheelor⌘+or⌘− |
| Fit to the selection (the whole scene if nothing is selected) | . |
| Fit the whole scene | ⌘0 |
Updated 10/14/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.