Navigation and shortcuts
The map is built to feel like a real-world chart you can move around in. Here are the gestures and shortcuts that get you from one corner of the portfolio to another in a heartbeat.
01. Pan
Click and hold anywhere on the empty canvas (not on a project) and drag. The whole map follows your cursor.
02. Zoom
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Scroll wheel up or down | Zoom in or out, centred on your cursor |
+ and - buttons (bottom right) | Zoom in or out by a fixed step |
| Click the zoom percentage | Reset to fit-to-screen |
The zoom range goes from fit-to-screen (the whole map visible, shown as 100%) up to one project filling the viewport (5%). The percentage in the bottom-right corner tells you how much of the map is currently in view - higher means you see more.
[ADD SCREENSHOT/IMAGE: Close-up of the bottom-right corner of the canvas — the
+/-zoom buttons stacked vertically, the zoom percentage chip below them, and the Fit-to-screen button above.]
03. Fit to screen
Two ways to recentre on the whole graph:
- Click the Fit-to-screen button above the zoom controls.
- Press
Zon your keyboard.
The canvas glides back to the starting position with a short animation. If you grab the canvas or scroll mid-animation, Synaps cancels it and hands control back to you instantly.
You do not need to fit-to-screen manually after switching between Global and Split View - Synaps does it for you.
04. Minimap
A small overview panel in the bottom-left corner of the canvas shows the whole map at a glance. A dashed rectangle marks the area you are currently looking at.
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Click anywhere on the minimap | The canvas centres on that spot. |
| Click and drag | The visible-area rectangle follows your cursor, panning the canvas in real time. |
Each project appears as a small coloured dot in the minimap. Bigger projects get bigger dots, so the minimap echoes the canvas hierarchy. When you hover or select a project, the faded ones on the canvas also fade in the minimap.
On very small viewports (under 480px wide) the minimap hides itself to give the canvas more room.
[ADD SCREENSHOT/IMAGE: Bottom-left minimap panel — small coloured dots of varying sizes mirroring the main canvas, a dashed rectangle marking the visible area, and a few faded dots showing the same hover/selection state as the canvas behind it.]
05. Distraction-free viewing
Two independent toggles let you maximise the canvas. Fullscreen hides everything around Synaps (Jira chrome, browser toolbars); Hide UI hides everything inside Synaps (navbar, floating panels).
Fullscreen
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Click the fullscreen icon in the navbar | Enter fullscreen |
Click it again, or press Esc | Exit |
Press F | Toggle |
Hide UI
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Click the eye icon in the navbar | Hide the chrome |
| Click the small eye in the top-right corner | Bring it back |
Press H | Toggle |
The small eye in the top-right corner stays clickable when the rest of the chrome is hidden - that is how you bring it back without a keyboard.
F + H together: a borderless dependency graph filling the screen, no Jira chrome, no Synaps chrome. Ideal for demos, PI Planning, screenshots, or focused work.
[ADD SCREENSHOT/IMAGE: Full-bleed Synaps canvas with no Jira chrome and no Synaps navbar or floating panels — just the dependency graph filling the screen, with the small "bring-back" eye icon faintly visible in the top-right corner.]
06. Keyboard shortcuts
All shortcuts are global - press them from anywhere on the map. Shortcuts pause automatically while you are typing in a text field or while a dialog (search, export, dependency detail) is open.
Navigation
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Z | Fit canvas to screen |
| Scroll wheel | Zoom in or out at the cursor |
Cmd K / Ctrl K | Open the search palette |
Views
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
G | Global View |
S | Split View |
Layout and chrome
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
H | Hide or show the navbar and floating panels |
F | Toggle browser fullscreen |
Data
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
R | Refresh dependencies |
Inside dialogs and panels
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Esc | Close the current modal, dialog, or panel |
Enter | In the search palette: select the highlighted project |
Arrow up / Arrow down | In the search palette: move the highlight |
Every navbar button shows its shortcut in its tooltip - hover the button and the key appears as a small badge inside the tooltip. On Mac the search shortcut is shown as Cmd K; on other platforms it shows Ctrl K. Both modifiers work regardless of which platform you are on.
[ADD SCREENSHOT/IMAGE: Hover-state tooltip on a navbar button — descriptive text on top, a small rounded key-cap badge underneath showing the shortcut letter (for example
RorZ).]