# Move around and zoom the view

> Zoom in and out with the mouse wheel, move around with the wheel pressed down, and find the whole drawing again with Show all.

3 min · Updated 2026-11-11 · https://vcad.dk/en/help/move-and-zoom-the-view

Once you are done, the part of the drawing you want to work in is in front of you. It also works while a tool is active, so you can zoom and move around in the middle of drawing a line.

## What you need before you start

- A mouse with a wheel.

> **Using a touchpad?** Swipe up or down with two fingers to zoom. The touchpad cannot move the drawing sideways, so zoom out, put the pointer over the spot you want to see, and zoom in again.

## Zoom in and out

1. Hold the mouse over the spot in the drawing you want to see closer and roll the wheel away from you.

    [Video: The mouse rests on a point while the drawing zooms in toward it and out again, the point staying under the mouse](https://vcad.dk/help/move-and-zoom-the-view/zoom.mp4)

    > If the wheel does not zoom, hold the mouse over the drawing itself, not over a panel.

2. Roll the wheel toward you. The drawing zooms out.

## Move around the drawing

1. Press the wheel down and hold it.

2. Drag the mouse.

    [Video: With the wheel pressed down you pan the drawing from right to left, and the pointer shows a grabbing hand](https://vcad.dk/help/move-and-zoom-the-view/pan.mp4)

    > If you drag with the left button on an empty spot, you draw a selection box instead of moving the drawing. See [Select objects](https://vcad.dk/en/help/select-objects.md).

3. Let go of the wheel when you are there.

## Find the whole drawing again

1. Right-click in the drawing.

    ![An empty drawing area where the drawing has been moved out of sight, and the right-click menu open at the mouse with Show all ringed](https://vcad.dk/help/move-and-zoom-the-view/show-all-menu-en.png)

2. Click **Show all**. VCAD zooms so that everything visible fills the drawing area.

    ![The whole drawing with points, kerb lines, buildings and the boundary filling the drawing area just after Show all](https://vcad.dk/help/move-and-zoom-the-view/show-all.png)

> A double-click with the wheel is quicker. It does the same as **Show all**.

## If something doesn't work

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| Show all does not show every object | Objects on frozen layers and hidden objects are not counted. Thaw the layer in the **Layers** panel. If you hid or isolated objects, right-click and choose **Isolate objects**, **End isolation**. |

## Related guides

- [Find your way around VCAD](https://vcad.dk/en/help/find-your-way-around.md): See where things are in the VCAD window: your session tabs, the toolbar, the panels, the bar at the bottom and the account menu.
- [Select objects](https://vcad.dk/en/help/select-objects.md): Select objects with a click or a box, take single objects out of the selection again, and clear it with Esc.

Stuck? Write to us at info@vcad.dk