Viewer shortcuts: keyboard, mouse and touch.
The in-browser PcbDoc viewer reads your board locally — nothing is uploaded — and is built to be driven from the keyboard like a desktop EDA tool. This page lists every control it implements today, and nothing it does not.
Keys, and when they work.
Shortcuts belong to the viewer, not to the page: they fire while the viewer has focus or your pointer is over it, and nowhere else — outside the frame the arrow keys still scroll the page. They are ignored while you type in a field, and — apart from ⌘/Ctrl K — when Ctrl, Cmd or Alt is held, so they never collide with the browser's own shortcuts. ? and Esc work with or without a board loaded.
| KEYS | ACTION | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| + | Zoom in | Steps of 1.25× around the centre of the view. The = key works too. |
| − | Zoom out | Steps of 0.8× around the centre. The _ key works too. |
| 0 | Reset zoom to 100% | Returns to actual size (1×) and re-centres the view on the middle of the canvas — it does not keep the point you were looking at. Press F afterwards to frame the board again. |
| F | Fit document to view | Fits the board's bounds to the canvas. Lower-case f works too. |
| ← | Pan left | Moves the view 48 px per press. |
| → | Pan right | Moves the view 48 px per press. |
| ↑ | Pan up | Moves the view 48 px per press. |
| ↓ | Pan down | Moves the view 48 px per press. |
| B | Flip board (view from below) | Mirrors the board so you read it from below; the layer colours and the text mirror with it. Boards only. |
| M | Measure distance (two clicks) | Click two points; the readout gives the distance in millimetres and mils. Esc cancels the measurement. |
| ⌘/CtrlK | Search nets and designators | Opens the Search panel and puts the caret in it. Type a net name or a designator to highlight it and dim the rest. |
| ShiftF | Toggle fullscreen | Uses the browser's Fullscreen API, and falls back to a full-window layout when the browser refuses it. |
| ? | Show keyboard shortcuts | Opens or closes the in-viewer shortcuts dialog — the same table as below. |
| Esc | Close dialog · cancel tool · clear selection · exit fullscreen | Closes the shortcuts dialog, cancels a measurement in progress, clears the current selection or highlight, or leaves fullscreen — whichever applies first. It does not close the side panel; that panel has its own control. |
Mouse, trackpad and the toolbar.
Scroll to zoom · drag to pan · pinch on touch · double-click to zoom in
- Scroll wheel
Zooms around the cursor, by as much as you scroll — a full mouse notch is about 1.12×, a small trackpad nudge is a fraction of that; the page does not scroll while the cursor is over the board.
- Drag
Pans the board. Pointer capture keeps the drag alive past the canvas edge.
- Double-click
Zooms in 1.6× at the point you clicked.
- Hover and click
Hovering names the object under the cursor; clicking pins it in the Inspect panel.
- Navigator (minimap)
Click anywhere on the navigator to centre the view there. It can be collapsed with its own chevron.
- Zoom readout
Click the percentage in the toolbar to return to actual size.
- Toolbar
Zoom out · zoom in · Fit board to view · Flip board · Measure distance · Save PNG snapshot · Keyboard shortcuts · Fullscreen · Open a .PcbDoc / Open another.
- Layers / Inspect / Search panel
Click a layer to hide or show it, or dim every other layer with the opacity control; Inspect holds the object you clicked; Search matches nets and designators and highlights the hits.
- Resize handle
Drag the bar under the viewer to make it taller or shorter; double-click it to go back to the automatic height. It is focusable, so the arrow keys and Home do the same.
On a phone or tablet.
A one-finger drag pans the board. Pinch with two fingers to zoom: the view scales by the distance between them and pans with their midpoint, so you can zoom and move in one gesture. Double-tap zooms in at the point you tapped. The board area swallows the browser's own pan-and-zoom while you are on it, so the page never scrolls out from under the gesture. The toolbar's zoom, fit and fullscreen buttons do the same things without a gesture; the navigator can be collapsed when the screen is small.
Drop it, or browse for it.
- Drag and drop
Drop a .PcbDoc anywhere on the viewer; a dashed outline confirms the target.
- Browse files / Open a .PcbDoc
The toolbar button and the empty-state button open a file picker limited to .PcbDoc.
- Open another
Once a board is loaded the toolbar button switches to opening a new file.
- Local only
The file is read entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing leaves your machine.
- If it cannot be read
The viewer shows the reason. It draws the binary form of a .PcbDoc only — for the ASCII text form it says so and points you at the migration, which does read that form; a pre-V6 board is outside both.
Frequently asked questions.
Why do the arrow keys do nothing?
The viewer only takes the keyboard while it owns the interaction — while it has focus, or while your pointer is over it. Click the board once, or move the pointer onto it, and the arrow keys pan. Anywhere else on the page they keep scrolling the page, which is the point. They are also ignored while a text field such as the search box has focus.
Does the viewer upload my .PcbDoc?
No. The file is parsed in your browser; nothing is sent to Crosspad. That is why the viewer works without an account.
Can I pinch to zoom on a phone?
Yes. Pinch with two fingers to zoom and move both fingers to pan in the same gesture; a one-finger drag pans and a double-tap zooms in. The toolbar's zoom and fit buttons do the same without a gesture.
How do I search for a net or a component?
Press ⌘/Ctrl K, or open the Search panel beside the board. Type a net name or a designator: matches are highlighted on the board and everything else is dimmed. Nothing is sent anywhere — the index is built from the file already in your browser.
How do I get back to the whole board?
Press F to fit the board to the view, or 0 to return to actual size. The fit control in the toolbar does the same, and Esc leaves fullscreen.
Open a .PcbDoc — then see what a migration keeps.
Look at the board in your browser; when you need it in KiCad, run the free analysis for evidence about your own project.
The analysis is free. The viewer needs no account.
Last updated 2026-09-05. The shortcut table is generated from the viewer's own shortcut definitions, so it cannot fall behind the viewer.