Canvas in the middle, panels all around.
Scenes open on the canvas, and every tool for making and editing sits in the panels around it. Take one lap around the screen to see what’s in each area.
Seven areas of the screen
Most buttons show their name when you hover over them. For buttons that don’t, this guide describes them by shape and position.
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Canvas
The canvas is the wide workspace in the center. The white rectangle is the scene that’s open now. Hold Space and drag to move the view, or hold ⌘ and scroll to zoom in and out. For details, see Move around the canvas.
Holding Space and dragging moves the view, holding ⌘ and scrolling zooms in, and then the view returns to the whole scene. Video: Holding Space and dragging moves the canvas, holding ⌘ and scrolling zooms in, and the view then returns to the whole scene. -
Toolbar
The toolbar at the top center holds 16 tools. With drawing tools such as Rectangle, Ellipse, and Text, choose the tool and drag on the scene to create an object. Choosing Image, Video, or Audio opens a window for choosing a file. You can also choose common tools with a single-letter key: R for Rectangle and T for Text. Every tool is in Toolbar tools.
Choosing Rectangle in the toolbar and dragging on the scene draws a rectangle. Video: Choosing the Rectangle tool in the toolbar and dragging on the scene draws a rectangle. -
Scenes list
The Scenes list at the top left shows the project’s scenes in order. Click a scene to open it on the canvas. Use the buttons in the list’s title row to duplicate and add scenes, and drag scenes to reorder them.
Clicking the duplicate button adds a copy of the scene to the Scenes list, and the circle is moved in the new scene. Video: The Duplicate button in the Scenes list copies the scene. In the new scene, the circle is moved to the right and made bigger by dragging a corner. -
Objects list
The Objects list at the bottom left stacks the current scene’s objects as layers. The higher a layer is in the list, the further in front it appears. Click a row to select that object, and double-click its name to rename it. Hover over a row, and an eye button (hide) and a lock button (lock) appear. Click the button again to switch it back.
Clicking the “Rectangle 1” row selects the rectangle, and clicking the eye button in the same row hides the rectangle and dims the row. Video: Clicking the Rectangle 1 row in the Objects list selects the rectangle on the canvas. Clicking the eye button in the same row makes the rectangle disappear and dims the row. -
Right panel
Change the scene’s size and fill in the Scene panel at the top. When you select an object, the Object panel and panels for that kind of object appear below it. Change size and position, fill, stroke, and effects here.
The circle is selected, its fill color in the right panel is clicked, and pink is chosen. Video: An object is selected, the fill color in the right panel is clicked, and a bright pink is picked from the hue bar and the color area. -
Menu and edit modes
Click the SSHOW logo at the top left to open the Menu. Save a Copy, Import, and Export are here. SSHOW at the bottom opens the Info window. Click outside the menu to close it. Next to the logo are the project name field and the chevron-shaped undo and redo buttons. The Design mode button at the end shows the current mode. Click it to open a menu for choosing among the three modes, or press Tab to move to the next mode.
Clicking the logo opens the menu, which then closes, and the pointer moves past the name field and the undo and redo buttons to the Design mode button. Video: Clicking the SSHOW logo at the top left opens a menu with Save a Copy, Import, and Export, which then closes. Labels then appear in turn on the name field, the undo and redo buttons, and the Design mode button. -
Top-right button row
The buttons that open panels and the play button are grouped at the top right. The first button, the curve-shaped one, opens the Motion panel for the selected object. If nothing is selected, it opens the current scene’s Motion panel. Next come the Variables, Notes, and Plugins buttons, and the magnifying-glass button is for search. The triangle-shaped Present from this scene button starts playback. Click the arrow next to it to open Presentation options. Play from the Beginning, Play in This Window, Play with Presenter View, and Play Settings are here.
Each button gets a label in turn, and clicking the arrow next to the triangle opens the presentation options. Video: Labels appear in turn on the top-right buttons: the curve-shaped Motion button, Variables, Notes, Plugins, the magnifying-glass Search button, and the triangle-shaped Present from this scene button. Clicking the arrow next to it opens the presentation options menu.
With two scenes, the delete button takes the duplicate button’s spot
The trash-can delete button in the title row of the Scenes list appears only when there are two or more scenes. Then the duplicate button shifts one spot to the left. So if you click the same spot twice in a row, you delete the scene you just duplicated, without being asked. Look at the button’s shape before you click, and if you delete a scene by mistake, press ⌘Z to undo.
Other areas
| Area | What it does | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Top bar | The Studio button at the left end takes you back to the project list, and the save status shows next to it. On the right are the Remote and Share buttons and the ⋯ More menu, which holds the Shortcuts list. | Share with a link |
| Below the toolbar | When you select an object, a row of align buttons and buttons for that kind of object appears. | Align and number keys |
| Bottom right | In the Viewport bar, see and change the zoom level, turn on the grid, and fit the whole scene on one screen. | Move around the canvas |
| Bottom of the screen | In Animation mode, the Objects list spreads out and becomes the timeline. In Interaction mode, the Interactions panel docks here. | The three edit modes |
Updated 10/14/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.