Navigating the CFC Editor with Horizontal Scrolling and Keyboard Shortcuts in PCS 7

In SIMATIC PCS 7 CFC (Continuous Function Chart) editor, moving the horizontal scrollbar quickly to inspect source and destination interconnections without manual mouse dragging can be accomplished using standard keyboard shortcuts: press 'Alt + Page Up' to scroll left and 'Alt + Page Down' to scroll right. To navigate between adjacent CFC sheets horizontally, use 'Ctrl + Left Arrow' and 'Ctrl + Right Arrow'. Additionally, holding 'Shift' while rotating the mouse scroll wheel provides smooth horizontal panning, while double-clicking any green connector tag immediately jumps the viewport to the target interconnection address.

Executive Summary

Continuous Function Charts in SIMATIC PCS 7 frequently span expansive drawing sheets and multiple chart partitions, especially when implementing complex interlocks, cascade control loops, and multi-motor sequences. Navigating between incoming signals on the left sheet bar, logic blocks in the center, and outgoing interconnections on the right sheet bar via standard mouse dragging of the bottom horizontal scrollbar is inefficient and fatiguing during commissioning. This article details the primary horizontal navigation commands in CFC, provides the verified keyboard shortcuts for rapid panning and sheet traversal, and demonstrates interactive navigation techniques using connectors and mouse modifier combinations.

Architecture and Fundamental Mechanics

CFC Viewport Architecture, Panning Mechanics, and Coordinate Traversal:

CFC Canvas Dimensions and Sheet Layout:
In PCS 7, a standard CFC chart consists of 6 distinct drawing sheets organized in a 2-column by 3-row grid (Worksheet A and B).
Each sheet possesses its own left margin (incoming sheet bar), central functional area (divided into cells for block placement), and right margin (outgoing sheet bar).
In zoomed-in sheet view (100% or higher), the visible canvas only covers a fraction of the full sheet width, requiring frequent horizontal panning to trace connections.
Keyboard-Driven Horizontal Panning Mechanics:
The CFC user interface intercepts standard Windows scroll messages and binds specific key combinations:
- Alt + Page Down: Sends a horizontal scroll page-right command, shifting the viewport rightward toward the outgoing sheet bar.
- Alt + Page Up: Sends a horizontal scroll page-left command, shifting the viewport leftward toward the incoming sheet bar.
- Page Up / Page Down (without Alt): Scrolls the viewport vertically up and down.
Sheet-to-Sheet Horizontal Traversal:
When a chart consists of multiple sheets (e.g. Sheet 1 on the left, Sheet 2 on the right):
- Ctrl + Right Arrow: Shifts the active focus directly to the next sheet to the right.
- Ctrl + Left Arrow: Shifts focus to the preceding sheet to the left.
- Ctrl + Up Arrow / Ctrl + Down Arrow: Shifts focus between vertical sheet tiers.
Hardware Mouse Modifiers and Interactive Panning:
Standard vertical mouse wheel scrolling moves the canvas vertically.
In modern Windows environments with PCS 7 V8.x/V9.x, holding Shift + Mouse Wheel tilts the scroll axis horizontally, enabling smooth horizontal gliding across the chart.
Mice equipped with a horizontal tilt wheel or secondary thumb wheel automatically pan the CFC canvas without keyboard interaction.
Direct-Hop Interconnection Navigation:
Rather than scrolling horizontally across the canvas to locate a destination, double-clicking directly on a green connector tag or on the reference address in the sheet bar instantly pans the viewport to the target block and pin, regardless of distance.

Step-by-Step Implementation Procedure

Rapid Horizontal Panning in Active Sheet View:
* Open a CFC chart and zoom to a comfortable editing level (e.g., 100% via Ctrl+Shift+U).
* To inspect outgoing connections on the right margin: press Alt + Page Down on the keyboard.
* To return to the incoming signals on the left margin: press Alt + Page Up.
Horizontal Sheet Traversal across the Chart Grid:
* To move from Sheet 1 to Sheet 2: press Ctrl + Right Arrow.
* To return to Sheet 1: press Ctrl + Left Arrow.
* To switch between Worksheet partitions (Worksheet A to Worksheet B): press Ctrl + Page Down.
Panning with Mouse Modifiers:
* Position the mouse cursor over the open canvas.
* Hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and rotate the mouse wheel forward/backward to scroll horizontally.
* If using a modern mouse with horizontal tilt, push the wheel left or right to scroll.
Utilizing Connector Jumps to Bypass Manual Scrolling:
* When tracing an interconnection from an output pin to an external block:
* Double-click the green connector tag attached to the output pin.
* The CFC editor automatically centers the target block and highlights the connected pin in red, completely eliminating the need to scroll across sheet bars.

Verification

Open a multi-sheet CFC chart containing blocks with cross-sheet connections.
Press Alt + Page Down; verify that the canvas smoothly shifts to reveal the right sheet bar.
Press Alt + Page Up; verify that the canvas returns to the left sheet bar.
Double-click an outgoing connector; verify that CFC jumps immediately to the destination sheet with the receiving pin selected.

Limitations and Operational Precautions

Shortcuts like Alt + Page Down require the CFC drawing window to have active Windows keyboard focus; if a dialog box, catalog pane, or parameter table has focus, the shortcut is intercepted by that specific container. Mouse wheel horizontal scrolling behavior may vary depending on installed third-party mouse drivers and Windows mouse settings.