Canvas & Navigation
The canvas is your infinite drawing surface. Let's cover how to move around it efficiently.
Trackpad & Mouse
There's no single "correct" way to move around the canvas — use whatever feels natural, and don't be afraid to mix it with the keyboard shortcuts below.
- Trackpad: two-finger scroll pans in any direction; pinch to zoom.
- Mouse: the scroll wheel pans vertically, Shift+scroll pans horizontally, and Ctrl (⌘ on Mac) + scroll zooms toward your cursor.
- Middle-click + drag also pans, while the Select tool is active.
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| Two-finger scroll (trackpad) | Pan |
| Pinch (trackpad) | Zoom toward cursor |
| Scroll wheel | Pan vertically |
| Shift + scroll wheel | Pan horizontally |
| Ctrl/⌘ + scroll wheel | Zoom toward cursor |
| Middle-click + drag | Pan (Select tool) |
Trackpad pinch not zooming?
On some Linux setups, a trackpad pinch isn't reported the way it is on macOS/Windows. Q/E (below) always work as a fallback.
Keyboard Navigation (WASD / QE)
An additional option alongside the trackpad/mouse controls above — hold multiple keys for diagonal movement, and hold Q/E for a smooth zoom that speeds up the longer you hold it:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
W | Pan up |
A | Pan left |
S | Pan down |
D | Pan right |
Q | Zoom out |
E | Zoom in |
Arrow keys also pan the canvas when no shapes are selected.
Click the zoom percentage in the status bar to reset to 100%, or the Fit button to frame all shapes in view.
Minimap
Enable the minimap in Settings → Canvas to see a bird's-eye view of your entire document. Click anywhere on the minimap to jump directly to that area.
The minimap is especially useful for large diagrams where you need to navigate quickly between different areas.
Grid
The grid helps you position shapes precisely.
Grid Display
Toggle the grid in Settings. You can configure:
- Grid size — Default is 20px
- Grid color and opacity — Adjust to your preference
Snap to Grid
When enabled, shapes automatically align to grid intersections as you move or resize them. This makes it easy to create neat, aligned layouts.
Smart Guides
Smart guides appear automatically when you move shapes near other shapes:
- Pink dashed lines show alignment (edges or centers lining up)
- Shapes snap to nearby edges and centers
- This works even with snap-to-grid disabled
Smart guides make it easy to align shapes without thinking about exact coordinates.
Performance Notes
For the best experience with large diagrams:
- Viewport culling is automatic — Shapes outside the visible area aren't rendered, so pan freely
- Group related shapes — Reduces hit-testing overhead
- Use the Layer Panel — Hide layers you're not actively editing to reduce visual clutter