Hi everyone,
I’ve opened a GitHub issue to discuss a problem with editor navigation in Defold on macOS that I believe significantly reduces productivity and makes the editor feel less native to the platform.
What is the problem?
The current pan and zoom controls in the Defold editor on macOS require non-standard actions for trackpad users:
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Zooming: Vertical two-finger drag.
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Panning: Holding the Option key + one-finger drag.
This approach deviates significantly from the macOS standard adopted by the vast majority of professional creative applications.
Why is this critical for productivity?
A developer frequently switches between Defold and other asset creation tools like Rive, Photoshop, Figma, Affinity Photo, or Studio One.
In 100% of these programs, they use the standard navigation:
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Zooming: Pinch-to-Zoom gesture (two fingers moving apart/together).
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Panning: Two-finger drag.
Constantly switching between these two control schemes (the macOS standard and the current Defold method) forces the brain to “relearn” the controls every time you change windows. This creates unnecessary friction and slows down the overall workflow. The official collaboration with Rive makes this issue even more relevant, as many developers are now using it alongside Defold.
Proposed Solution
I am requesting the addition of an alternative trackpad control scheme that aligns with the macOS standard:
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Zooming: Pinch-to-Zoom.
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Panning: Two-finger drag.
Ideally, this would be an option in the editor settings to avoid disrupting the workflow of existing users who are comfortable with the current setup.
I urge all macOS users who face this problem (or who want the Defold editor to feel more native and ergonomic) to leave a comment or a 
on the GitHub issue. Your support will help raise the priority of this feature!
Link to GitHub issue: Implement standard macOS trackpad gestures for editor view · Issue #11249 · defold/defold · GitHub