Figma Canvas and Navigation (beginner guide)

Learn to move around the Figma canvas — the foundation for everything that follows. Here’s how to do it in Figma on macOS, step by step — part of the free Figma beginner curriculum.

Lesson 1 of the Figma curriculum. Next up: Shapes and the Frame Tool.

What you’ll do

• Pan with the Hand tool or by holding Space and dragging
• Zoom in and out with Command + / Command - and scroll
• Zoom to fit (Shift 1), zoom to 100% (Shift 0), zoom to selection (Shift 2)
• Find the toolbar at the bottom of the editor (UI3)
• Identify the four main regions: canvas, toolbar, navigation panel (left), properties panel (right)
• Open the in-app keyboard shortcuts panel (Control Shift ?)
• Open the Actions menu with Command / or Command P

Do it hands-free with Skilly

Reading steps is one thing; doing them while the menus are in front of you is another. Skilly is a voice-first tutor for macOS: you ask out loud — “where’s the canvas panel?” — and it answers while moving your cursor to the exact button, watching your actual Figma window. It’s the same Figma curriculum these lessons come from, taught live instead of read. Free to start.

Keep going

This is one stage of the full Figma beginner curriculum. Continue with Shapes and the Frame Tool.