Navigate images and manage canvas views

Last updated on Oct 14, 2026

Learn how to navigate and pan images in Adobe Photoshop without changing magnification.

Panning lets you move around an image while keeping the current magnification. It is useful when working with large images or detailed areas.

Practice panning and navigation techniques directly in Photoshop.

Change screen modes in Photoshop

Photoshop offers three screen modes that control how much interface space your canvas occupies. Press F to cycle through the available screen modes.

Select View > Screen Mode > Standard Screen Mode to display the default view with menu bar and scroll bars.

Select View > Screen Mode > Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar to display a full-screen window with a menu bar and 50% gray background but no title bar or scroll bars.

Select View > Screen Mode > Full Screen Mode to display a full-screen window with only a black background and no interface elements.

Select the Screen Mode icon in the Application bar, then select a screen mode.

Pan images with the Hand tool

The Hand tool lets you view different areas of an image without changing magnification.

Select the Hand tool from the toolbar, or press H.

Drag in any direction to move the image within the document window.

Hold down the spacebar while any other tool is active to temporarily switch to the Hand tool.

Turn on flick panning

Flick panning continues the pan motion after a quick drag gesture.

Select Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > General (macOS).

Select Enable Flick Panning.

Select OK to apply the setting.

With flick panning enabled, a quick drag gesture continues the pan motion.

Navigate images with the Navigator panel

The Navigator panel lets you navigate images using a thumbnail preview and a proxy view area.

Select Window > Navigator to display the panel.

Drag the proxy view area box in the thumbnail to change which part of the image appears in the document window.

Adjust magnification by dragging the zoom slider, selecting the Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons, or entering a specific percentage in the zoom text box.

Ctrl-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (macOS) in the Navigator thumbnail to simultaneously set both the size and position of the proxy view area.

A. Panel menu button B. Thumbnail display of artwork C. Proxy preview area D. Zoom text box E. Zoom Out Button F. Zoom slider G. Zoom In button

Navigator panel

You can customize the proxy view area color by selecting Panel Options from the Navigator panel menu, then choosing a preset color or selecting a custom color.

Rotate the canvas view

The Rotate View tool rotates only the canvas view without transforming the actual image data. This feature requires OpenGL support and lets you paint or draw at different angles.

Hold down the Hand tool in the toolbar and select the Rotate View tool.

Drag in the image to rotate the canvas to your desired angle or enter a specific value in the Rotation Angle field in the options bar for precise rotation.

Select Reset View in the options bar to restore the original canvas angle.

A compass indicator shows north in the image regardless of the current canvas angle. On devices with multi-touch trackpads, use rotate gestures to adjust the canvas angle.

Manage trackpad gestures in Photoshop

If inadvertent canvas changes occur when using a multi-touch trackpad, you can disable gesture support.

Select Photoshop > Preferences > Interface.

In the General section, deselect Enable Gestures.

Select OK to save the setting.