Camera controls: rotate, pan, roll and zoom the view

Exactly how to move around any scene, on mouse or touchpad

To inspect a model you constantly rotate, pan, roll and zoom the camera. This article lists the default mouse and touchpad controls and shows where to change them. Camera moves change only the view: your objects stay where they are.

Heads-up: Some Viewport tools (e.g., Section, Transform gizmo, Select Primitives) “capture” mouse/touchpad clicks. If your usual orbit gesture stops working, press and hold Alt (Option on macOS) while you drag to force camera rotation. The other camera controls work with Alt as well.

Default controls

The defaults differ between Windows and macOS. On macOS, Cmd replaces Ctrl.

Rotate (Orbit) the Camera

Device	Action
Mouse, Windows	Hold the middle mouse button (the wheel) and drag.
Mouse, macOS	Hold the Left Mouse Button (LMB) and drag.
Mouse, web version	The LMB on a Mac or on a device without a mouse, otherwise the middle button. You can switch it under Rotate With: Middle Mouse Button or Left Mouse Button / Press and Drag.
Touchpad	Swipe with two fingers. On macOS you can also press and hold, then slide a finger. Holding Alt (Option on macOS) switches the swipe to panning.

Pan (Move) the Camera

Device	Action
Mouse	Hold Right Mouse Button (RMB) and drag.
Touchpad	Hold Alt (Option on macOS) and swipe with two fingers. If you set Swipe Mode to Swipe Moves Camera (see below), a two-finger swipe pans without Alt.

Roll the Scene (tilt horizon)

Device	Action
Mouse, Windows	Hold Ctrl + the middle mouse button and drag left/right.
Mouse, macOS	Hold Cmd + LMB and drag left/right.
Touchpad, macOS	Cmd + press and drag with a finger.

Zoom In & Out

Platform	Action
Desktop (mouse)	Scroll wheel forward = zoom in, backward = zoom out.
Touchpad (desktop & web)	Pinch in = zoom out, stretch = zoom in.
Web touchpad — alt gesture	Two-finger slide up = zoom out, down = zoom in.

Change the controls

Open Home › Settings (Ctrl+,, macOS: Cmd+,) and go to the Control tab.

• Mouse: Zoom Gain sets how fast the mouse wheel zooms. For each camera action (Rotation, Translation, Roll) click Set other with the mouse button you prefer, with or without Alt, Ctrl or Shift.
• Touchpad: Swipe Mode chooses what a two-finger swipe does: Swipe Rotates Camera (default) or Swipe Moves Camera. Ignore Kinetic Movements stops the camera from coasting after you lift your fingers, and Allow System to Interrupt Gestures lets the system cancel a gesture and revert its changes.

Tips

• In the two- and four-viewport layouts, the camera moves in the viewport under the cursor.
• If you lose the model after panning or zooming, click View › Fit Data (Ctrl+Alt+F).
• To move the camera with the keyboard arrow keys, use View › Camera Navigation.