Moving around the map
Release 9.1 Last modified December 7, 2006	Print all topics in : "Getting started with ArcMap"

About moving around a map

As you work with a map, you can easily change how you view the data it contains. When you're just browsing a map, you might want to pan and zoom around the data to investigate different areas and features. Most of the tools for navigating your data are found on the Tools toolbar.

The Pan and Zoom tools on the Layout toolbar are used to pan or zoom your layout and are only available when you're in layout view.

How to move around a map

Zooming in or out

1. Click the Zoom In button or Zoom Out button on the Tools toolbar.
2. Move the mouse pointer over the map display and click once to zoom around a point.
Alternatively, click and drag a rectangle defining the area on which you want to zoom in or out.

Tips

If your map has more than one data frame, panning and zooming will occur in the active data frame. In layout view, clicking a data frame will activate it. If you want to zoom in and out of the layout view, you need to use the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons on the Layout toolbar. If your layer doesn't draw when you zoom in or out, it probably has a Visible Scale Range set that prevents it from displaying on the map at certain scales. You can clear the scale range by right-clicking the layer in the table of contents and clicking Visible Scale Range. If the Zoom buttons on the Tools toolbar are disabled, the data frame may be set to a fixed extent or fixed scale. To enable these buttons, click the View menu, click Data Frame Properties, click the Data Frame tab, and click Automatic extent.

Panning

1. Click the Pan button on the Tools toolbar.
2. Move the mouse pointer over the map display and click and drag the pointer.

Tips

You can also pan the map in data view by dragging the scroll bars. If your map has more than one data frame, panning and zooming will occur in the active data frame. In layout view, clicking a data frame will activate it. If the Pan button on the Tools toolbar is disabled, the data frame may be set to a fixed extent or fixed scale. To enable the Pan button, click the View menu, click Data Frame Properties, click the Data Frame tab, and click Automatic extent.

Zooming to the full extent of the data

1. Click the Full Extent button on the Tools toolbar.

Tips

If your layer doesn't draw when you zoom in or out, it probably has a Visible Scale Range set that prevents it from displaying on the map at certain scales. You can clear the scale range by right-clicking the layer in the table of contents and clicking Visible Scale Range. If your map has more than one data frame, panning and zooming will occur in the active data frame. In layout view, clicking a data frame will activate it. If the Full Extent button on the Tools toolbar is disabled, the data frame may be set to a fixed extent or fixed scale. To enable the Full Extent button, click the View menu, click Data Frame Properties, click the Data Frame tab, and click Automatic extent.

Moving back or forward one display

1. Click the Back or Forward Extent buttons on the Tools toolbar.

Tips

If your layer doesn't draw when you zoom in or out, it probably has a Visible Scale Range set that prevents it from displaying on the map at certain scales. You can clear the scale range by right-clicking the layer in the table of contents and clicking Visible Scale Range. If your map has more than one data frame, panning and zooming will occur in the active data frame. In layout view, clicking a data frame will activate it.

Zooming to the extent of a layer

1. Right-click the layer or layers to which you want to zoom.
2. Click Zoom To Layer.

Tips

To select a layer in the table of contents, click it. Hold down the Shift or Ctrl key to select multiple layers. If your map has more than one data frame, panning and zooming will occur in the active data frame. In layout view, clicking a data frame will activate it.

Zooming to a specific scale

1. Type the desired scale on the Standard toolbar.

Tips

If your layer doesn't draw when you zoom in or out, it probably has a Visible Scale Range set that prevents it from displaying on the map at certain scales. You can clear the scale range by right-clicking the layer in the table of contents and clicking Visible Scale Range. If your map has more than one data frame, panning and zooming will occur in the active data frame. In layout view, clicking a data frame will activate it. If the scale box on the Standard toolbar is disabled, the data frame may be set to a fixed extent or fixed scale. To enable the scale box, click the View menu, click Data Frame Properties, click the Data Frame tab, and click Automatic extent.

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