Transformations

To move an object by small increments, i.e., to nudge it into place in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Optionally, set the Keyboard Increment in the preferences panel (Edit > Preferences> General, or Ctrl + k).
2. Select the art.
3. Tap an arrow key.

When you move or copy an object, Ai automatically remembers the parameters.

In Adobe Illustrator, to repeat a copy or move operation that you have just finished performing, simply :

1. Execute the command sequence Object > Transform > Transform Again (Ctrl + d).

To move an object using the Transformation panel in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the Object.
2. Go to the Window > Transform panel.
3. Update the X and Y coordinates.
4. Press the Enter key. Ai will move the shape to the specified location.

To rotate an object (or objects) using the Rotate dialog box settings in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the Object.
2. Go to the Rotation tool and either:
   1. Double click the tool, or
   2. Select the tool and press the Enter key.
3. Specify the rotation angle. Ai will rotate the object around the Reference point, which by default is at the center of the selected object or objects.
4. If the object has a pattern fill, choose one of the buttons in the Options row to specify whether you want to rotate the object only, the pattern only, or both the pattern and the object together (the default).
5. Check the Preview checkbox to see the effect of the change.
6. Click Copy to create a new copy in the specified position, or click OK to just rotate the object counterclockwise through the specified angle.

Hint

The Rotate tool dialog box (unlike the Transform panel) does not provide a field to set the Reference point. Ai simply places a default Reference point at the center of the Bounding Area (the area that would be covered by the Bounding Box if it were turned on). Of course, it is not necessary to have Bounding Boxes enabled, but it is worth keeping in mind that Ai uses the Bounding Area as a frame of reference. Therefore, the center about which an object rotates will be, not the center of the object, but the center of the Bounding Box.

You can both set the Reference Point visually (anywhere on the Artboard), and use the Rotate dialog to precisely set the angle of rotation. In stead of step 2, Alt + click to set the reference point.  Ai will both (a) set the Reference Point and (b) pop up the Rotate Dialog.

Using the Transform panel to rotate objects has the advantage that you can use the small, square 3 x 3 array of buttons (at the upper left of the panel) to set the Reference Point, i.e., the fixed point about which you want the object to rotate.

To use the Transform panel to rotate an object in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the Object.
2. Go to the Window > Transform panel.
3. Select the Reference Point about which you want the object to rotate.
4. If the object has a pattern fill, open the Transform panel's Options dropdown list by clicking on the hamburger button in the upper right corner. Choose whether you want to rotate the object only, the pattern only, or both.
5. Specify the rotation angle.
6. Press the Enter key. Ai will rotate the object counterclockwise through the specified angle.

The Rotate tool has the advantage that you can set the Reference point (about which you want to rotate the object) visually and set it anywhere on the artboard, even outside of the object that you rotate.

To use the Rotate tool to rotate an object in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the object or objects that you want to rotate.
2. Click the Rotate tool (shortcut is the r key). Ai will change the cursor to a crosshair.
3. Click once with the crosshair to fix the Reference point, i.e., the point around which the object will rotate.
4. Ai will change the cursor to one that looks like the Selection tool's black arrow.
5. With the black arrow, click and drag to rotate the object. As you drag, Ai will rotate the object about the Reference point.

Hint

You can both set the Reference Point visually (anywhere on the Artboard), and use the Rotate dialog to precisely set the angle of rotation. Simply, Alt + click to set the reference point.  Ai will both (a) set the Reference Point and (b) pop up the Rotate Dialog.

To reflect an object using the Reflect tool's dialog box in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the object.
2. Go to the Reflect tool and either:
   1. Double click the tool, or
   2. Select the tool and press the Enter key.
3. Specify the rotation angle.
4. If the object has a pattern fill, choose one of the buttons in the Options row to specify whether you want to rotate the object only, the pattern only, or both the pattern and the object together (the default).
5. Check the Preview checkbox to see the effect of the change.
6. Click Copy to create a new copy in the specified position, or click OK to just rotate the object counterclockwise through the specified angle.

To specify an axis of reflection and reflect an object relative to the axis in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the object.
2. Click the Reflect tool (under the Rotate tool.
3. Define the reflection axis by specifying two points:
   1. Click on the first point that you want to be the reflection axis line.  The cursor will change to a pointer.
   2. Then either click, or Alt + Click to create the second point. Ai will create the reflection as soon as you click the second time. If you simply click, AI will just reflect the object. If you Alt + Click, Ai will create a copy as soon as you make the second click.

Hint

Reflecting, with copying is often used to complete a symmetrical figure from a drawing of one half of it. To complete the missing half of a symmetric figure:

1. Select the completed half.
2. Get the Reflect tool. Ai will change the cursor to a crosshair to set the Reference point.
3. Click the bottom anchor point on the open side of the figure to make it the Reference point. Ai will change the cursor to the Selection tool.
4. Constraining the proportions via Shift key) and creating a copy via Alt key, Alt + Shift + Click on the top anchor point to create the mirror image part of the figure.
5. To combine the two halves, marquee select one of the anchor points and execute the Object > Path > Join (Ctrl + j) command.

The Scale dialog allows you to multiply the dimensions of a selected object by a percentage factor times its current value (i.e., a scaling factor of 100% causes no change). By checking the Scale Corners or the Scale Strokes and Effects checkboxes, you can also tell the dialog to proportionally scale the target object's corners, or its Strokes and Effects

To scale an object or objects quantitatively using the Scale dialog box settings in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the Object.
2. Go to the Scale tool and either:
   1. Double click the tool, or
   2. Select the tool and press the Enter key.
3. Select a radio button for either uniform or non-uniform scaling.
4. Enter the scaling percentage or percentages: a single value for uniform scaling or both a horizontal and a vertical value for non-uniform scaling.  
5. Optionally, use the checkboxes the tell Illustrator if you want it to scale the corners or scale the strokes and effects (or both), without which the scaled figure can look decidedly weird.
6. Check the Preview checkbox to see the effect of the change.
7. Either click Copy to create a new copy in the specified position, or click OK to just scale the object.

To scale an object or objects using the Scale tool in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the object or objects to be scaled.
2. Get the Scale tool.
3. Click once to fix the Reference point, i.e., the point from which the object will scale. Ai will change the cursor to the Selection tool.
4. Click + Drag to scale the object, or Alt + Click + Drag to create a scaled copy of the original object.

To Shear a figure quantitatively with the Shear dialog box in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the objects that you want to Shear.
2. Optionally, if you want to set the Reference point to a place other than the center of the selection, get the Shear tool and Alt + Click inside the selection. Ai will mark the point as the Reference point and launch the Shear dialog box.  
3. Alternatively, if you do not want to set a Reference point, double-click the Shear tool. Ai will open the Shear Dialog box, and place the reference point in the center.
4. Set the Shear Angle, the degree of slant. Ai measures the Shear Angle from the perpendicular line, in the clockwise direction.
5. Set the Shear Axis (which Ai measures in the counterclockwise direction from the bottom of the Artboard) in one of three ways:
   • Click the Horizontal radio button. Ai will set the Shear Axis (the angle along which Ai will push all the points to 0.  The perpendicular will then be vertical.
   • Click the Vertical radio button. Ai will set the Shear Axis (the angle along which Ai will push all the points to 90 degrees.  The perpendicular will then be horizontal.
   • Click the Angle radio button and set the Shear Axis to an arbitrary angle (x). The perpendicular will then be x + 90 degrees.
6. Click the OK or the Copy button.

To shear and copy an object or objects using the Shearing tool in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Select the object (or objects).
2. Get the Shear tool (under the Scale tool).
3. Click once inside the selection to position the Reference Point i.e., the point that will remain invariant during the shearing operation.
4. Drag the cursor to shear the object or Alt + Drag to make a copy of the sheared object. Ai will perform the shearing operation in which the Reference point will remain unchanged and the Bounding Area will slant in the direction in which you dragged the cursor. That is, the direction in which you drag is the Shearing Axis.

To use the Bounding Box areas to make transformations in Adobe Illustrator, you must both place your cursor in a specific area and execute a specific gesture, as described below:

Modifier Keys

Illustrator provides two modifier keys that constrain the stretching, and compression of the Bounding Box and its content:

• The Shift-key constrains the result of rotation, stretching, and compression. When dragging the bent arrow cursor to perform rotation, the Shift-key constrains the rotation to angles that are multiples of 45 degrees. When dragging a corner or a side, the Shift-key constrains the result to scaling that preserves the aspect ratio of the Bounding Box, i.e., the scaled figure is always directly proportional (geometrically similar) to the original.
• The Alt-key makes Ai scale from the center of the Bounding Box. That is, when scaling by dragging a corner, Ai moves the corner and its opposite corner, but the center remains fixed. Similarly, when scaling by dragging a side, both sides move, but the center remains fixed.

To visually transform a figure with the Free Transform tool in Adobe Illustrator:

1. Activate the tool on an object:
   1. Select the figure (the to be transformed object).

      

   2. Click the Free Transform tool (e-key). Ai will surround the figure with a bounding box that has unfilled control points. The bounding box is unique to the tool; it is not the bounding box that you get by executing the View > Show Bounding Box command. The tool's bounding box provides unfilled side and corner points that you can grab to visually transform the figure. The unfilled control points become important when you want to target one of them to begin a transformation relative to that point. Ai signals that you have successfully targeted the point by changing the unfilled point to a filled point.
2. The result of using the tool depends upon: (A) What bounding box point you target, (B) What modifier keys you press, and (C) How you drag with the mouse. Take one of the following actions:

   1. 

      To Scale a selected figure along both dimensions: Hover over a corner point on the bounding box. Ai will switch to an x-shaped cursor that is made up of a curved arrow that is crossed by a straight arrow. Depress the right mouse button, and reposition the cursor slightly until you see that Ai has filled the point. Then drag the corner.  Shift + Click + Drag constrains the scaling to be proportional.

   2. 

      To Scale a selected figure along only one dimension.  Hover over a side point on the bounding box. Ai will switch to a plus-shaped (+), double-arrow cursor. Depress the right mouse button, and reposition the cursor slightly until you see that Ai has filled the point. Then Click + Drag the point in a direction that is parallel to one of the dimensions of the bounding box. 

   3. 

      To Skew a selected figure: Hover over a side point on the bounding box. Ai will switch to a plus-shaped (+), double-arrow cursor. Depress the right mouse button, and reposition it slightly until you see that Ai has filled the point. Then drag the point in the direction toward which you want the figure to skew.  

   4. 

      To Rotate a selected figure: Hover outside a corner until you see Ai switch to a cursor that is shaped like a curved double-arrow. Then Click + Drag around the object.  Shift

   5. 

      To Distort a selected figure by moving a corner point: Hover over the point. Ai will switch to an x-shaped cursor that is made up of a curved arrow that is crossed by a straight arrow. Depress the right mouse button. When you see that Ai has filled the point, press the Ctrl-key and drag.

   6. 

      To Perspective Distort a selected figure from a bounding box corner point: Hover over the point. Ai will switch to an x-shaped cursor that is made up of a curved arrow that is crossed by a straight arrow. Depress the right mouse button. When you see that Ai has filled the corner point, press the Ctrl-key + the Shift-key + the Alt-key and drag the corner in a direction that is parallel to one of the dimensions of the bounding box.