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In Mountain Lion's Preview.app the toolbar was changed quite drastically.

While I can see why they did it, I found that it misses the Hand tool that one can use to move enlarged documents around with the mouse.

How to get it back?

Pro Backup
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leberwurstsaft
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    Also, gone are all the shortcuts to choose between the hand, rectangle select and text select tools. Instead, Preview.app now tries to be clever and select the "right" tool for you, depending on the file type (images have the rectangle selection Tool activated, while text and PDF have the text selection tool). However, if I open a PDF, to select a rectangle (for example, to crop an area) I need to use the mouse to get to the required tool, which is very inconvenient. – leberwurstsaft Aug 06 '12 at 20:36

4 Answers4

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Use the move tool by pressing ⌥ Option+Space. The cursor changes to the hand that allows you to scroll the content in all directions.

bjornte
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user70427
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    That's it! Quite hidden. Is this documented somewhere? – leberwurstsaft Feb 16 '14 at 09:46
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    I'm using this shortcut for Albert... :( – Rafael Oliveira Sep 30 '15 at 14:39
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    If you're using a mouse with a mouse-wheel, you can roll the wheel for vertical scrolling and hold down shift to change it to horizontal scrolling. I like the Opt-Space better, though. What I want to know is how to zoom in/out without using Cmd-+/-. If your hand is on the mouse those buttons are too far apart for single-handed operation. – Mayyit Jun 22 '16 at 22:47
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    This only works while I hold Option+Space. Very strange interface. Is there a way to permanently toggle to the hand? – Timmmm Jan 07 '19 at 17:17
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    -1 Apple - why has this changed? If you're deliberately trying to make the Mac harder to use why not change other useful shortcuts like Cmd C and Cmd V. – Snowcrash Jan 14 '19 at 11:14
  • Really wish there was a way to map this to space bar, if anyone has a way to do that please reply. Seems this modifier isn't anywhere in the menus, so we can't use the Keyboard panel of System Preferences to change the behavior. – jerclarke Jan 15 '20 at 16:20
  • Having it be OPT+SPACE is super disruptive for PDFs, where if you accidentally hit SPACE even once, you jump down to the next page. I guess I need to train myself on using SHIFT+SCROLLWHEEL to horizontal scroll instead. Really wish it worked like Affinity Designer/Adobe products with spacebar. – jerclarke Jan 15 '20 at 16:22
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    Every time I have to google to find out how to do something simple on Mac OS, it always makes me wonder: WHY?????? – doraemon Feb 24 '20 at 03:46
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    Apple bad UIX strikes again. Constantly re-inventing the wheel for interactions that have been set in stone. Not even sure why I'm surprised at this point. – GFargo Jun 11 '20 at 17:36
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    The use of OPT-SPACE is NOT EVEN in the Preview HELP.... at least if it were there. Google should not know more about macOS than the built-in help for basic functionality. Not the same Apple I grew up with since 1984. – sw.smayer97 Apr 09 '21 at 05:07
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    Removing functionality just to sell more magic mouse and magic trackpads... – tmlen Nov 21 '21 at 12:38
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    And if you don't let go at exactly the same time, but first let go of option and then space, you scroll down page by page. Rarely had such a bad UX. – Michael S. Jun 18 '22 at 05:55
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Here is the trick I use for large images. I select random rectangle than grab it and move selection to where I want my view span to be. Just like old hand mode. Works for me.

bioffe
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    Interesting workaround, but its not the same. Its more like joystick movement, not direct control of the content. – leberwurstsaft Aug 14 '12 at 17:51
  • Still, if you want to get it done without using your other hand, which means you neither want to hold opt+shift, nor hold shift to scroll left and right, this is a great solution! – jerclarke Jul 01 '22 at 17:02
2

When opening PDFs in Safari (in embedded mode), the hand tool is still available.

You could install Acrobat Reader and use this (instead of Preview) for PDF documents.

nohillside
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1

You really can’t get it back…

Apple is emphasising the use of gestures for navigation a lot. Them removing the Pan tool is a step in that direction. I miss it too. You can pan around by moving two fingers on your trackpad or mouse.

duci9y
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