Hand Tool - Azyrom Help

The Hand tool allows you to pan and navigate around the canvas without selecting or modifying any elements. It's essential for navigating large designs and exploring different areas of your project.

Activating the Hand Tool

Press H on your keyboard to activate the Hand tool
Hold Space with any tool to temporarily switch to the Hand tool
Click the Hand tool icon in the toolbar

Using the Hand Tool

Click and drag anywhere on the canvas to pan
The cursor changes to a hand icon when the tool is active
Release the mouse button to stop panning
If using Space, release the key to return to your previous tool

Alternative Navigation Methods

You can also navigate the canvas using these methods:

Scroll Wheel - Scroll vertically to pan up and down
Shift + Scroll Wheel - Pan left and right horizontally
Trackpad - Two-finger swipe to pan in any direction
Zoom Controls - Use Cmd + and Cmd - to zoom in and out

Temporary Hand Tool (Space)

The most efficient way to pan is using the Space key:

Hold Space while using any tool (Rectangle, Text, Pen, etc.)
The cursor temporarily changes to the Hand tool
Drag to pan the canvas
Release Space to immediately return to your previous tool
This allows fluid navigation without switching tools

Common Uses

Large Canvases - Navigate infinite canvas designs
Detailed Work - Pan to different areas while zoomed in
Presentations - Show different parts of your design to stakeholders
Review - Explore the entire design without accidentally selecting elements
Multi-Frame Projects - Move between different frames and artboards

Navigation Best Practices

Use Space for Quick Panning - Hold Space instead of switching to Hand tool
Combine with Zoom - Zoom in (Cmd +) for detail work, pan to navigate, zoom out (Cmd -) for overview
Use Zoom to Fit - Press Shift + 1 to zoom to fit all elements, Shift + 2 to fit selection
Trackpad Gestures - On Mac, two-finger swipe is the fastest way to pan
Mouse Users - Use Space + Drag or scroll wheel for efficient navigation

Tips

The Hand tool never selects or modifies elements - it's purely for navigation
Space is temporarily disabled when typing in text fields
Use the Hand tool when presenting to avoid accidentally moving elements
Combine panning with zooming for efficient canvas navigation
The infinite canvas extends in all directions - you can always pan to find more space

Keyboard Shortcuts Summary

Action	Shortcut
Activate Hand tool	`H`
Temporary Hand tool	`Space` (hold)
Pan vertically	Scroll wheel
Pan horizontally	`Shift` + Scroll wheel
Zoom in	`Cmd +`
Zoom out	`Cmd -`
Zoom to fit all	`Shift + 1`
Zoom to fit selection	`Shift + 2`