Zooming and panning in drawings

Tekla Structures
Modified: 28 Oct 2024
2023
Tekla Structures

Zooming and panning in drawings

The zooming commands in the context menu in drawings allow you to focus on a particular area, or pull out for a wider view. You can also use the mouse, keyboard shortcuts or Quick Launch. You can also pan (move) the drawings.

Tip: Try the advanced option XS_USE_SMART_PAN: To activate optimized zooming and panning in drawings, set this advanced option to TRUE. When the smart pan is enabled while you pan or zoom a heavy drawing with lots of graphics, the whole screen is not drawn, empty space is left on the edges, and zooming and panning is faster. The default setting is FALSE, because using the optimization sometimes results in an unwanted checkerboard effect.
Note:

The point at which the level of detail is reduced in drawings was set earlier starting from the Tekla Structures version 2020. This means that zooming out in drawings drops details earlier than before. As a result, overall zooming and panning is smoother, while some drawing content is simplified and some is left out when zoomed out to certain extent. The effect is easy to notice in large drawings with a high amount of content.

The change in the level of detail affects:

  • Hidden lines, which are not drawn

  • Very short lines, which are not drawn

  • Hatches, which are drawn as a cloud of points

  • Text, which is replaced by a line

Zoom in and out

You can use a variety of tools to zoom in and out in the drawing. By default, the mouse pointer position determines the center point of zooming.

To

Do this

Zoom in

Do one of the following:

  • Scroll forward with the mouse wheel.

  • Press Page Up on the keyboard.
  • Right-click the drawing and select Zoom > Zoom in. Then click the location in the view that you want to zoom in.

  • Go to Quick Launch, enter Zoom in and select the command from the list.

Zoom out

Do one of the following:

  • Scroll backwards with the mouse wheel.

  • Press Page Down on the keyboard.

  • Right-click the drawing and select Zoom > Zoom out. Then click the location in the view that you want to zoom out.

  • Go to Quick Launch, enterZoom out and select the command from the list.

Zoom to selected objects

  1. Select the objects in the drawing.

    To select multiple objects, hold down Ctrl.

  2. Right-click and select Zoom > Zoom selected.

Shift+Space is the default shortcut for the Zoom selected command.

You can also go to Quick Launch, type Zoom selected and select the command from the list.

Zoom selected works for any drawing objects that you select inside and outside the drawing views, and also for selected views.

Note that Zoom selected also works for templates.

Restore the original zoom level

Do one of the following:

  • Right-click the drawing and select Zoom > Zoom original.

  • Press Home on the keyboard.

  • Go to Quick Launch, enter Zoom original and select the command from the list.

Return to the previous zoom level

Do one of the following:

  • Right-click the drawing and select Zoom > Zoom previous.

  • Press End on the keyboard.

  • Go to Quick Launch, enter Zoom previous and select the command from the list.

Create a zoom window

  1. Right-click the drawing and select Zoom > Create zoom window.

  2. Click a starting corner for the zoom window, and then drag the pointer to size the window.

You can also go to Quick Launch, enter Create zoom window and select the command from the list.

Pan in drawings

To

Do this

Activate panning

Do one of the following:

  • Press P on the keyboard.

  • Go to Quick Launch, enter Pan and select the command from the list.

In an open drawing, the Pan command moves the whole drawing. The pointer will change to a hand. Click and drag the mouse to move the drawing anywhere within the window.

  • To deactivate panning, press Esc.

Activate middle mouse button pan

Do one of the following:

  • Select File > Settings > Middle button pan.

  • Press Shift+M on the keyboard.

  • Go to Quick Launch, enter Toggle middle button pan and select the command from the list.

When middle mouse button panning is active, the text Pan is shown at the bottom of the Tekla Structures window. Hold down the middle mouse button and drag the drawing anywhere within the window.

  • To deactivate middle mouse button panning, clear the Middle button pan check box or press Shift+M again.
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