Rotating and shearing objects

Objects can be rotated and sheared directly on the page using the Move Tool. For page layout, this is especially useful for transforming text titles.

Rotate and shear

(A) Rotated title, (B) Rotated title letter, (C) Sheared title letter.

Positioning the cursor over particular areas of an object, multiple selection, or group and then dragging will allow you to rotate or shear. Feedback is provided by the following cursors.

Rotate cursor Rotate cursor Shear cursor Shear cursor

Rotation is also possible about a custom transform origin positioned on your page.

Move Tool To rotate objects:
  1. With the Move Tool, select one or more objects.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Drag the object's rotation handle.
    • Position the cursor close to one of the object's corner handles and drag on the page when the cursor changes.
To undo the rotation:
Transform Origin To move the transform origin:
  1. Select one or more objects.
  2. Select the Move Tool, then click Enable Transform Origin on the context toolbar. The origin shows centrally within the object or selection.
  3. Drag the origin to a new position in the selected object, another object, or anywhere on the page.

Once you've moved the origin, you can rotate your object(s) about it as described above. If using the Transform panel, rotation is about this custom origin unless you choose to override this and use the panel's Anchor point selector instead.

To reset the transform origin back to its original position:
Move Tool To shear objects:
  1. With the Move Tool, select one or more objects.
  2. Position the cursor close to one of the object or selection's side handles and drag on the page.
To undo the shear:

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