Quantum GIS Basics - Desktop GIS: Mapping the Planet with Open Source Tools - page 327

Panning
Panning is done using the Pan tool on the toolbar. It looks like a hand
and is located in the same toolbar as the zoom tools. Again, use the
mouse hover and tooltips to help determine the function of any tool on
the toolbars. To pan, select the tool, and drag it on the map canvas to
move the view.
You can also pan using the mouse and without clicking the map canvas.
This works only if the map canvas has the focus, meaning you haven't
just worked with some other component of the interface, such as the
legend. To pan, hold down the spacebar, and move the mouse. This
method of panning is very useful when digitizing data, since switching
to the Pan tool may have undesired consequences.
Spatial Bookmarks
Bookmarks are everywhere—in your web browser, text editors, and
even books. QGIS supports spatial bookmarks, a way to save a location
and return to it later. Spatial bookmarks are stored globally, meaning
they are available in QGIS regardless if you have the same layers loaded
as when the bookmark was created.
To create a bookmark for an area you are viewing, simply click the
New Bookmark tool (its the half-globe with star above it), or choose New
Bookmark from the View menu. This opens a simple one-line dialog box
that allows you to enter a bookmark name. Click OK, and the bookmark
is created. Make sure the name you create is descriptive. You might also
want to append the coordinate system to the name as a reminder. The
bookmark tool doesn't store the projection (it just stores coordinates),
so it's up to you to remember or annotate it if it's important.
We can manage our bookmarks using the Geospatial Bookmarks dialog
box shown in Figure D.2 , on the next page. Note we have four book-
marks stored. The name and coordinates (Extent) are visible. Since
bookmarks are global, QGIS doesn't currently store anything in the
Project column. To zoom to a bookmark, select it from the list, and
click the Zoom To button. You can also zoom to a bookmark by double-
clicking it in the list.
You can't do much in the way of managing bookmarks, other than
delete them. There is no way to rename a bookmark or edit the extents.
Be sure to take a look at the context help (click the Help button) for
more information.