Magic Gestures

Astropad Studio’s Magic Gestures help speed up your work by turning simple finger movements and your Apple Pencil into quick commands. You can use one, two, or three fingers along with the Pencil to get things done faster, right from your iPad Pro.

Gestures with Apple Pencil

These gestures use a combination of your fingers and the Apple Pencil. To activate them, hold your fingers on the screen and use your Pencil. The gesture will stop when you lift your fingers.

One Finger + Pencil: Can be set to erase

One Finger + Pencil gesture example

Two Fingers + Pencil: Can be set to right-click

Two Fingers + Pencil gesture example

Three Fingers + Pencil: Can be set to a keyboard shortcut or middle mouse click

Three Fingers + Pencil gesture example

Gesture Functions

Eraser

Set your gesture to act like the eraser tool in your app. Use Command or Control + E, hold your fingers on the screen, and erase with the Pencil.

Hover

This gesture moves the cursor without drawing. A crosshair will show up where the Pencil tip is. Great for quickly navigating without touching the screen.

Hover works well with the One Finger + Pencil gesture

Right Mouse Click

Turns the Apple Pencil into a right-click button, helpful in 3D or design software.

Set Right Mouse Click to Three Fingers + Pencil

Middle Mouse Click

Use the Apple Pencil like a middle mouse button. Commonly used in 3D programs.

Modifier Keys

Use gestures for shortcuts like Shift, Command, Option, or Control. You can also combine them. For example, Shift + Option in one gesture acts like pressing both on a keyboard.

Example: Shift set to Two Fingers + Pencil

Gestures Without Apple Pencil

You can still use Magic Gestures even without the Apple Pencil. Just tap the screen with two or three fingers to trigger shortcuts.

Two-Finger Tap: Undo

Two-Finger Tap set to Undo

Three-Finger Tap: Redo

Three-Finger Tap set to Redo

You can customize these tap gestures to run any shortcut. Edit them here

Undo and Redo

Undo and Redo are set by default to Two and Three-Finger Taps. You can change them anytime for different apps or workspaces.

When Undo is activated

When Redo is activated

Panning and Zooming

Use two fingers to zoom and pan just like a trackpad. Pinch to zoom in and out, and drag with two fingers to move the canvas.

Two-Finger Zoom and Pan

You can also rotate the canvas with two fingers in supported apps.

Two-Finger Rotate

How to Customize Gestures

You can change gestures anytime to match the app you’re using. To customize Finger + Pencil gestures, open the sidebar and tap Magic Gestures.

Examples:

One Finger + Pencil: Use for Hover, Eraser, or Option
Three Finger + Pencil: Use for Shift + Control or Middle Mouse

You can also pick a custom preview line color for each gesture. Once you're done, tap “Back” and your changes will be saved.

Editing One Finger + Pencil

To change Tap gestures (without Pencil), go to “Workspace” in the sidebar, then tap “Edit Shortcuts”. These can be linked to any keyboard shortcut.

More Shortcuts

Two-Finger Tap: Option, Command+Z, Control+Z, or a custom shortcut
Three-Finger Tap: Redo, Delete, or any combo like Shift + Command + N

Turning Off Gestures

If you want to disable a gesture, set it to “No Action.” You can always turn it back on later.