What is Navigation in Vani and How to Use It

Moving around the Space

In Vani, there are multiple ways to navigate your Space. Whether you’re tracking ideas, exploring different areas, or collaborating with teammates, you can move around quickly without losing your place on the infinite canvas.

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Use these tools to move across the canvas and quickly access the areas you need:

 

  • Minimap – See an overview of the canvas and jump to any area.
  • Hand tool – Move around without selecting objects.
  • Zoom controls – Zoom in or out to adjust your view.
  • Pins – Mark and return to important points (see Pins and hyperlinks).
  • Live cursor – Follow a teammate’s cursor in real time (see Live cursor).

Basic navigation  

  • Mac: Use standard trackpad or mouse scrolling to move around the Space.
  • Windows: Right-click and hold to use the Hand tool for navigation.

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Hand tool  

The Hand tool allows you to click and drag to move around the Space. This is especially useful when you want to move without selecting objects.

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You can enable the Hand tool by:

  • Clicking the Hand tool icon in the navigation toolbar
  • Right-click on the canvas and select the Hand tool or
  • Pressing H on your keyboard

You can also temporarily access it by holding the space bar.

Note: Ensure no objects are selected before using this shortcut.


Minimap  

The Minimap gives you an overview of the entire Space, showing all frames and objects on the canvas.

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Use it to:

  • Locate your position when you’re in a blank area
  • Drag the view within the Minimap to quickly navigate to another part of the Space

Zooming in and out  

  • Use the Slider on the navigation bar in the bottom-left corner.
  • Windows: Ctrl + + / Ctrl + -
  • Mac: Cmd + + / Cmd + -
  • For 100% zoom: Cmd + 0
  • Touchpad: Pinch to zoom

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Note: When following a teammate’s cursor, your zoom level matches theirs automatically.

Fullscreen mode  

  • Click the Fullscreen icon in the navigation toolbar to expand the Space to your entire screen.
  • Press Esc to exit fullscreen.

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Zen mode  

Zen mode hides all UI elements so you can focus on your work.

  • Click the Zen mode icon to hide menus.
  • Hover near their usual position to access them temporarily.
  • Click the Zen mode icon again to restore the UI.


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