Move, scale, and rotate objects on the canvas

The  Hand Tool will probably be the Explain Everything tool you use the most. It lets you move and shift any object around your infinite canvas as well as scale, rotate, and activate them. Don't worry about making mistakes when creating your project! The Hand Tool gives you the opportunity to go back whenever you like to adjust, calibrate and reposition elements on your whiteboard. 

Move an object

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. To change an object's position, select and move it with one finger (or your stylus).

TipThe Hand Tool also makes it possible to manipulate multiple objects at the same time by using more fingers.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. To change an object's position, select and move it with one finger, your stylus, or the mouse cursor.

TipThe Hand Tool also makes it possible to manipulate multiple objects at the same time by using additional fingers.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. To change an object's position, select and move it with the mouse cursor.

Edit an object or reveal its controls

Use the  Hand Tool to change the color and size of shapes and format text objects or access the volume slider or the scrubber of multimedia objects.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Select an object once to edit it or to reveal its multimedia controls.
3. To stop editing, select outside the object or select a different tool. To hide the multimedia controls, select the object again with the  Hand Tool.

NoteOnly the basic shapes created with the Shape Matching option of the Shape Tool can be edited.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Select an object once to edit it or to reveal its multimedia controls.
3. To stop editing, select outside the object or select a different tool. To hide the multimedia controls, select the object again with the  Hand Tool.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Select an object once to edit it or to reveal its multimedia controls.
3. To stop editing, select outside the object or select a different tool. To hide the multimedia controls, select the object again with the  Hand Tool.

Scale an object

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Use the pinch gesture on an object to make it smaller.
3. Use the reverse-pinch gesture to make it bigger.

With a touchscreen

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Use the pinch gesture on an object to make it smaller.
3. Use the reverse-pinch gesture to make it bigger.

With a mouse

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Hover over an object with the mouse cursor.
3. Move the scroll wheel up or down to change the size of the object.

With a touchpad

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Hover over an object with the mouse cursor.
3. On your touchpad, move two fingers up or down to change the size of the object.

With a mouse

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Hover over an object with the mouse cursor.
3. Move the scroll wheel up or down to change the size of the object.

With a touchpad

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Hover over an object with the mouse cursor.
3. On your touchpad, move two fingers up or down to change the size of the object.

Rotate an object

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Use two fingers to rotate an object.

With a touchscreen

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Use two fingers to rotate an object.

With a mouse and keyboard

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Hover over an object with the mouse cursor.
3. Hold the Alt key on your keyboard and move the scroll wheel up or down to rotate the object.

With a touchpad and keyboard

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Hover over an object with the mouse cursor.
3. Hold the Alt key on your keyboard and move two fingers up or down on your touchpad to rotate the object.

With a mouse and keyboard

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Hover over an object with the mouse cursor.
3. Hold the Alt key on your keyboard and move the scroll wheel up or down to rotate the object.

With a touchpad and keyboard

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Hover over an object with the mouse cursor.
3. Hold the Alt key on your keyboard and move two fingers up or down on your touchpad to rotate the object.

Straighten an object to the nearest right angle

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Double-tap an object to straighten it out.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Double-tap (or double-click) an object to straighten it out.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Double-click an object to straighten it out.

Group and ungroup objects

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Triple-tap where two objects overlap to group them.
3. To ungroup them, simply triple-tap the group.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Triple-tap (or triple-click) objects where the two objects overlap to group them.
3. To ungroup them, simply triple-tap (or triple-click) the group.

1. Select the  Hand Tool from the Toolbar.
2. Triple-click objects where the two objects overlap to group them.
3. To ungroup them, simply triple-click the group.

TipFor more granular control over grouped objects, check out the  Inspector.

Advanced Hand Tool options

You can select the Hand Tool twice to reveal additional options.

• Snap to objects: When on, any object moved with the Hand Tool snaps to the center or the edge of other objects. To help indicate the snap, a red guideline appears, but don't worry, it won't be visible on your recordings.
• Touch and hold: When on, you can tap and hold the object you'd like to work on — this enables the  Inspector (learn more about the Inspector and its functions here).
• Drag and drop: When on, it lets you insert files by dragging and dropping them directly from the apps installed on your device (e.g. Photos or iCloud Drive). Also, it allows you to drag e.g. images from your Explain Everything project and drop them outside the app.
• Zoom and pan: When on, you're able to zoom in and out using the pinch and reverse-pinch gestures to view the infinite canvas of Explain Everything.

Additional Hand Tool options aren't available on Android and Chromebook versions of Explain Everything yet.

Additional Hand Tool options aren't available on the Web version of Explain Everything yet.