Pan Tool

Navigate around your PDF plans by clicking and dragging. The Pan tool lets you move the view to examine different areas of your drawings without changing your zoom level.

Overview

The Pan tool is your primary navigation tool for moving around large PDF plans. When active, your cursor changes to a hand icon, indicating you can grab and drag the view.

Property	Value
Keyboard Shortcut	H
Cursor	Hand (grab)
Mode	Navigation only

How to Use

Activating the Pan Tool

Method 1: Keyboard Shortcut

• Press H to switch to the Pan tool

Method 2: Toolbar

• Click the Hand icon in the left toolbar

Panning the View

1. Click and hold anywhere on the PDF
2. Drag in any direction to move the view
3. Release when you've reached your desired position

The cursor changes from an open hand (grab) to a closed hand (grabbing) while dragging to indicate the pan is active.

TIP

Pan works in all views including the main editor, split-screen reference pane, shared project links, and admin preview.

When to Use Pan

• Exploring large plans - Navigate across multi-page or large-format drawings
• Examining details - Move to specific areas after zooming in
• Comparing sections - Quickly move between different parts of a plan
• After zooming - Reposition the view when zoomed in on details

Pan vs. Scroll

Action	Behavior
Pan Tool	Click and drag to move view in any direction
Mouse Scroll	Vertical scrolling through pages
Trackpad Scroll	Two-finger scroll in any direction

INFO

You can always use trackpad gestures or scroll wheel to move around, but the Pan tool provides more precise control for positioning the view exactly where you want it.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
H	Activate Pan tool
V	Switch to Select tool
+ / =	Zoom in
-	Zoom out
0	Fit to screen

Read-Only Views

The Pan tool is automatically active in read-only views:

• Shared project links - Viewers can pan and zoom but not edit
• Reference pane - The split-screen reference view is always in pan mode
• Admin preview - Admins can switch between Pan and Select modes

Tips

Best Practices

• Use Pan for navigation - Switch to Pan when you need to move around, then switch back to Select or other tools for editing
• Combine with zoom - Zoom in first, then pan to the exact area you need
• Quick access - Press H for instant pan mode, then press V to return to Select

Common Workflow

1. Start in Select mode for general work
2. Press H to switch to Pan when you need to navigate
3. Click and drag to move to a new area
4. Press V to return to Select mode for editing

Troubleshooting

Pan not working?

• Make sure you're in Pan mode (check for hand cursor)
• Click directly on the PDF area, not on UI elements
• If just zoomed, wait a moment for the zoom animation to complete

Cursor not changing?

• Ensure the Pan tool is selected (press H)
• The cursor only changes when hovering over the PDF canvas

Accidentally panning when trying to select?

• Press V or S to switch to Select mode
• Use Select mode for clicking on symbols or zones