Drag empty space to orbit, right-drag to pan and scroll to zoom, or fly through the graph with [W] [A] [S] [D].
Where: Space Studio › the canvas · Keys: Drag, Right-drag, Scroll wheel, [W] [A] [S] [D], [Q] [E], arrow keys, [F]
Navigation: Controls and 2D vs 3D0:56 · plays from YouTubePlay video
What it is
The graph is a space you move through, the way you move round a 3D model or a map. Orbit, pan and zoom work as they do in most 3D apps, and the fly keys are there for anyone who's played a game or used CAD. Moving the camera never moves your nodes.
How to use it
Orbit, pan and zoom
Drag empty space to orbit round the graph.
Middle-drag orbits too, round whatever's nearest your cursor: a node, then a connector, then your selection, then whatever's in view.
Right-drag pans.
Scroll wheel zooms in and out.
In 2D the camera faces the graph straight on and doesn't orbit, so right-drag to move about and scroll to zoom. See 2D and 3D.
Fly keys
[W] and [S] fly forward and back.
[A] and [D], or [←] and [→], strafe left and right.
[Q] or [↓] descends, and [E] or [↑] ascends.
The camera glides to a stop when you let go. If left and right, or up and down, feel the wrong way round, swap them in Settings › Controls › Fly mode with Invert horizontal and Invert vertical.
Trackpad and touch
On a trackpad:
swipe with two fingers to pan
press and drag to orbit
pinch to zoom
On a touchscreen, drag one finger to orbit, two fingers to pan, pinch to zoom and tap to select. A three-finger tap opens the canvas menu.
Frame the selection [F]
Select one or more nodes and press [F], and the camera flies to fit them. Two more ways to find your place, from a right-click on empty canvas:
Reset camera to origin takes the camera back to its starting point.
Centre on entity… opens a search: type part of a node's name and pick it.
Right-click a node and choose Centre view on this to fly to that one. Clicking a node in the Left Panel, or picking one from search [Ctrl+K], flies there too.
Tips
Press [Esc] to clear the selection and step out of most modes, such as connecting or picking a route.
[G] shows or hides the grid, a floor to keep your bearings while you build. [T] hides every text label, which is handy when you're sharing your screen.
The keys don't fire while you're typing in a note or a field.
A dense graph reads better from further out: zoom out and the structure reads as a shape. Connector Length in Forces pushes everything further apart.
How this helps you
Use orbit when you want to see the shape of a structure, and the fly keys when you want to travel through a big one.
Use [F] after a search or a selection to bring the part you're working on to the middle of the screen.
