| FreePCB User Guide | Version 1.2

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5. PCB Layout (continued)

5.7 Panning and Zooming

Notice that there are no scroll bars in the FreePCB window. Using scrollbars for panning is not very practical for a PCB layout program, since panning must often be performed while routing traces or moving parts. It is inefficient to have to move the cursor away from the work area to the scroll bar.

Therefore, panning and zooming in FreePCB are performed with either keyboard keys or (preferably) the scroll wheel on the mouse. To pan, move the cursor to a point on the PCB which will be the new center of the image, and press the spacebar or roll the scroll wheel one detent in either direction. The image will recenter on the cursor position. To zoom in, press the "Page Up" key or roll the scroll wheel forward more than one detent. To zoom out, press "Page Down" or roll the scroll wheel backward. If you don't have a mouse with a scroll wheel, I would recommend getting one.

You can display the entire PCB outline using the View->Show board outline menu item. You can show all of the elements in the project (which may be outside of the PCB outline) by selecting View->Show all, or by pressing the "Home" key. You can select a part and pan to its location using View->Show part...

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