Canvas zoom allows you to easily navigate around the canvas and zoom in to make it easier to position figures accurately. When zoomed out of a complex frame containing many figures it can often be difficult to drag the correct handle, especially if the handles are small due to short segments. Zooming in solves this problem since the handles never exceed the maximum size. It's also possible to zoom out to less than 100%, which can be useful if using large animation dimensions.
Note that changing the canvas zoom does not directly affect the frame being edited. Use the Virtual Camera to achieve camera zoom and pan affects in the animation.
Canvas zoom works in exactly the same way in the Figure Builder window, making the creation of detailed figures much easier. The pan and zoom of the main canvas can even be set to follow the pan and zoom of the figure builder window when in transparent mode by using the Match Canvas Pan/Zoom option in the Figure Builder View menu.
The basic canvas zoom and scroll controls after zooming in to 400%
Navigation Using the Middle Mouse Wheel Button
Zooming and scrolling around the canvas can be achieved quickly using only the middle mouse wheel button.
Rotating the mouse wheel up and down results in zooming in and out respectively. The zoom level can be seen as a percentage in the lower right hand side of the status bar. The position of the cursor affects the center of the zoom such that the cursor will remain in position relative to the animation objects. Holding the Shift key allows for finer zooming control.
Dragging the canvas while holding down the mouse wheel or middle mouse button results in moving the canvas. This is equivalent to dragging the scroll bars but will result in the cursor staying in position relative to the animation objects. This can also be achieved by holding down the space bar while dragging the canvas with the left mouse button.
If you're using a laptop with no mouse then you can pan by holding the space bar and clicking and dragging with the touchpad, or by dragging the scroll bars at the end of the window. You can zoom using the + and - keys.
View Menu Controls
The View menu offers various options for quickly setting the zoom or scroll of the canvas.
The keyboard shortcuts (+,- and F1-F6) can also be used at any time.
Shortcut
Zoom In
Equivalent to rotating the mouse wheel up. Use Shift for finer zooming
+
Zoom Out
Equivalent to rotating the mouse wheel down. Use Shift for finer zooming
-
Zoom 100%
Return to the default 100% zoom level
F1
Zoom 200%
Zoom to 200%
F2
Zoom 50%
Zoom to 50%
F5
Zoom Selected
Zoom and pan to fit the selected figure or figures within the visible canvas area
F3
Zoom Animation
Zoom and pan to fit the animation area within the visible canvas area
F4
Zoom Camera
Zoom and pan to fit the virtual camera viewport within the visible canvas area
F6
Reset Zoom While Playing
The canvas zoom will reset to 100% while playing the animation if enabled. It will return to its previous state when the animation is stopped.
Figure Positioning Using the Arrow Keys
Figures can also be positioned accurately by using the arrow keys to move the selected figure or figures in 1 screen pixel increments regardless of the zoom level. If the cursor is positioned over a red handle, then this will have the affect of rotating the segment in 1 screen pixel increments instead of moving the whole figure. This means that finer than 1 animation pixel positioning can be achieved by first zooming in. For example, zooming to 400% and pressing an arrow key to move a figure is equivalent to moving the figure by a quarter pixel.
Figures can also be positioned accurately by using the arrow keys to move the selected figure or figures in 1 screen pixel increments regardless of the zoom level. If the cursor is positioned over a red handle, then this will have the affect of rotating the segment in 1 screen pixel increments instead of moving the whole figure. This means that finer than 1 animation pixel positioning can be achieved by first