How to Navigate the Document in Adobe InDesign

See Adobe InDesign: Tips and Tricks for similar articles.

With many InDesign projects, it's necessary to zoom in and out repeatedly, as well as navigate through the pages. The Zoom Tool and Hand Tool can be used, but there are more efficient methods you can use.

  1. The Zoom ToolZoom Tool lets you change the magnification of the document within the window. There are also commands in the View menu which have keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts are great time-savers. Zoom Commands in View Menu
  • Zoom In:Ctrl+= (PC) / Command+= (Mac)
  • Zoom Out:Ctrl+- (PC) / Command+- (Mac)
  • Fit Page in Window:Ctrl+0 (PC) / Command+0 (Mac)
  • Fit Spread in Window:Alt+Ctrl+0 (PC) / Option+Command+0 (Mac)
  • Actual Size:Ctrl+1 (PC) / Command+1 (Mac)
  • You may also find yourself frequently going back and forth between the same two magnification levels, in which case you could use the Toggle Zoom shortcut, Alt+Ctrl+2 (PC) / Option+Command+2 (Mac)
  • The Hand ToolHand Tool is used to "push" the page around in the document window, or even go to a different page. It's an alternative to using the scroll bars.
  • The keyboard shortcut to temporarily access the Hand Tool without selecting it is to hold down the Space bar, then drag the page with your mouse.
  • If you were editing text, of course, this wouldn't work, so there's an alternative keystroke, which is using Alt (PC) / Option (Mac) when active in a text frame.
  • Whenever you can avoid going to the Toolbar to switch tools, you're saving time, so these are good shortcuts to learn.