# Canvas navigation settings

> Change how dragging, flicking, edge pan, scrolling, zooming and arrow-key jumps move the view on your desks, and try each change on a live preview.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-navigation-settings
Section: Desks and the canvas > Move around a desk
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-10

Everyone's mouse, trackpad and taste are different. These settings change how the view moves when you drag the desk, flick it, push against an edge, scroll, zoom or jump between widgets with the arrow keys. A live preview lets you feel each change before you go back to a desk.

For the controls themselves, see [Move around the canvas](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-navigation).

## Before you start

- **Plan:** these settings are available on every plan.
- **They are saved on this computer.** If you use PlexiDesk on more than one computer, set them on each one.
- **Changes take effect straight away.** There is no Save button.

## Open the settings

1. Click the gear at the right-hand end of the header. Its tooltip says **Appearance settings**, and it opens **Settings**.
2. Click the **Advanced** tab.
3. Scroll down to **Canvas navigation**.



## Try changes on the live preview

At the top of the section is a small dotted box with a dot in it. The dot moves the way your desk does, using your **Click-drag pan** settings.

- Press the dot, drag it and let go with a flick to see how far it glides.
- When you leave it alone, it flicks itself every couple of seconds so you can watch the effect of a slider as you move it.

## Click-drag pan

These settings are about pressing on an empty part of the desk and dragging.

| Setting | What it does | Range | Starts at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Drag the canvas to pan** | Press an empty part of the desk and drag to move the view. | On or off | On |
| **Sensitivity** | How far the view moves for a given drag. 1.0× follows your pointer exactly. | 0.5× to 2.5× | 1.0× |
| **Momentum (slingshot)** | Keeps the view gliding after you let go, instead of stopping dead. | On or off | On |
| **Slingshot strength** | How hard a flick throws the view. Higher throws it further. | 1.0× to 6.0× | 3.2× |
| **Glide** | How long the view coasts before it settles. Low stops soon; high drifts for a while. | 0% to 100% | 60% |
| **Sonar feedback on grab** | A soft ping and a pulsing ring where you press, to show you have hold of the desk. | On or off | On |

Good to know:

- **Turning off Drag the canvas to pan** makes a plain drag on empty space draw a selection box instead. You can still pan by holding `Space` and dragging, or dragging with the middle mouse button. The other settings in this group are greyed out while it is off.
- **Slingshot strength** and **Glide** are greyed out while **Momentum (slingshot)** is off.
- **Sensitivity**, **Momentum** and the ping also apply when you pan with `Space` or the middle mouse button.
- **The ping** follows your sound settings: if **Sound effects** is off, you see the ring without the sound. See [Sounds and haptics](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

## Edge pan

Edge pan moves the view when you bring the pointer close to an edge of the desk.

| Setting | What it does | Range | Starts at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Pan when the cursor nears an edge** | Move the mouse to the edge of the desk and the view moves that way. | On or off | On |
| **Edge-pan speed** | How fast the view moves when the pointer is right at the edge. | 0.3× to 2.5× | 1.0× |

**Edge-pan speed** is greyed out while edge pan is off. With edge pan off, dragging a widget to the edge of the screen no longer moves the desk either.

## Trackpad & zoom

| Setting | What it does | Range | Starts at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Two-finger / wheel pan speed** | How far the view moves when you swipe with two fingers or turn the mouse wheel. | 0.3× to 2.5× | 1.0× |
| **Zoom speed** | How fast pinching, or scrolling while you hold `⌘` (`Ctrl` on Windows), zooms toward the pointer. | 0.3× to 2.5× | 1.0× |
| **Arrow-key zoom** | How large a widget is made when you move to it with the arrow keys. 1.0× keeps it at its normal size; higher fills more of the screen. | 1.0× to 2.0× | 1.25× |

However you set **Arrow-key zoom**, a widget that is too big for the screen is always zoomed out until it fits.

## Go back to the starting settings

Click **Reset** at the top right of the **Canvas navigation** section. Every setting in the section goes back to where it started.

## Suggestions

- **The desk moves too far when you drag.** Lower **Sensitivity**.
- **A flick sends the desk too far, or it drifts too long.** Lower **Slingshot strength** or **Glide**, or turn **Momentum (slingshot)** off so the desk stops the moment you let go.
- **You would rather drag to select several widgets.** Turn off **Drag the canvas to pan**, then hold `Space` and drag when you want to move the view.
- **The desk slides away when you reach for something near the edge of the screen.** Lower **Edge-pan speed**, or turn edge pan off.
- **Scrolling on a trackpad feels too fast or too slow.** Change **Two-finger / wheel pan speed**.
- **You prefer less movement on screen.** Turn off **Momentum (slingshot)**, **Sonar feedback on grab** and edge pan. For more ways to make the app calmer and easier to read, see [Use the desk with a keyboard or screen reader](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-accessibility).

> **Note:**
> **Snap to grid**, which makes widgets you drag land on a regular grid so they line up, is turned on and off from the command palette rather than here. Press `⌘` `K` (`Ctrl` `K` on Windows) with a desk open and choose **Snap to grid: off (turn on)**. See [Select, move and arrange widgets](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-select-arrange).

## Common questions

**A slider is greyed out and will not move.** It depends on a switch above it. Turn on **Drag the canvas to pan**, **Momentum (slingshot)** or **Pan when the cursor nears an edge**, and the settings under it become available.

**My settings are different on my other computer.** These settings are kept on each computer separately. Set them again on the other one.

**I changed too much and the desk feels strange.** Click **Reset** at the top right of the section to go back to the starting settings.

## Related

- [Move around the canvas](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-navigation): every way to pan, zoom and jump between widgets.
- [The minimap and the jump list](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-minimap): see the whole desk and jump to any item by name.
- [Use the desk with a keyboard or screen reader](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-accessibility): keyboard routes, text size, fonts and reduced motion.
- [Desks, rooms and the canvas](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-overview): how desks and widgets fit together.