August 8, 2006

ASK MORDY: Origin Point Hell

This great question comes from Mark Gervais:

One thing that has been frustrating me with Illustrator is the centerpoint when using the Rotate tool. Since I have the Rotate tool selected there is a ceterpoint defined by the cross hairs in the middle of a selected shape. Often times I'll hold down the Command key (to switch to the Selection Tool) and click on a shape and drag a copy of it by holding the option key. When I release the Command key and try to rotate my newly duplicated shape the center point is still back over in the middle of the original shape. Now rotating the new shape moves it in an arc as opposed to rotating it from it's own center point. I guess my question is... Is there a way to make sure the center point of a shape is always locked to the new shape when drag-duplicating? I don't know how many times this has bugged the heck out of me but it's pretty much on a daily basis. arrrg.

Not every question that is asked at the Real World Illustrator Blog has an answer. But then again, much of life is about finding another way that works. In this case, I can say that I share your frustration. Since you mention that you use the Command and Option keys to both switch to the Selection tool and drag a copy of your object, I also assume that you're using the "R" keyboard shortcut to switch to the Rotate tool. So here are two "solutions":

1. Don't use the Rotate tool. Instead, use the Free Transform tool (keyboard shortcut "E"). The Free Transform tool doesn't have a user-definable origin point and always uses the center of an object. So your keyboard shortcuts and workflow are the same, but you're using the Free Transform tool instead of the Rotate tool. Give it a try.

2. After you've dragged a copy of your object, press the Command (Ctrl on Windows) key to switch to the selection tool and click outside the object to deselect it -- then, while still holding the Command key, click the object to select it again. The origin point for the Rotate tool will be reset to the center of the new object.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know it doesn't help you much now, but I fixed this bug a little over a year ago, on 5 Aug 2005. The fix will be in CS3.

Unknown said...

You know, I'll be honest. Back when I was a product manager on the Illustrator team, I remember how different it was for me. Customers would tell me about a bug they were experiencing and I knew that the bug was fixed months before and so I had already written it off in my mind as something that was already addressed and fixed. But the reality of course was that the public wouldn't be seeing that fix for quite some time yet.

Thanks for the info Teri -- it's always nice to know that even the "small" things are important enough for the Illustrator team to fix up.

Anonymous said...

HA. I'm glad to hear I'm not alone on this one. Thanks for the tip and the news on the future fix. The Free Transform work around is a good option. I'll just have to retrain those fingers to hit the new key combos.

I'm always learning something new about AI. Actually, some of your info on Groups was news to me (Lynda: Illustrator/Flash Tutorial) and I've already put it to good use.

Thanks again

Anonymous said...

Play free game kanser youtube video directory oyun adult porno sex shop image hosting
japan auto store ara utube ytube video share online games adult

Kanser -
Akciğer Kanseri -
Rahim Kanseri -
Lenf Kanseri -
Mide Kanseri -
Yumurtalık Kanseri -

Play game -
Play mario -
sim taxi -
Play game -
Adult games -
Play game -
Play game -
Youtube video

Play action games -
Play arcade games -
Play casino games -
Play misc games -
Play puzzle games -
Play game -
Play shooting games -
Play sport games -

About everything -
you tube video -
Hediye -
Play free game kanser youtube video directory oyun adult porno sex shop image hosting
japan auto store ara mario games erotik fantazi fantezi iç giyim utube ytube tube
video share online games adult
Porn tube

Japan autos -
Alışveriş -
Sex shop -
Image hosting -
Image hosting -
Porn Video -
Porn Video -
Porno Video -
Play free game kanser youtube video directory oyun adult porno sex shop image hosting
japan auto store ara mario games erotik fantazi fantezi iç giyim utube ytube
video share online games adult tube
Porn tube
Porn Video -
Youtube Video -
Sex Shop -
Sex Shop, Kozmetik -
erotik iç giyim -
Sex Shop -
Video Hosting -
Porn Video -
Hediye -
porno -
Directory -
Directory

Play free game kanser youtube video directory oyun adult porno sex shop image hosting
japan auto store ara mario games erotik fantazi fantezi iç giyim utube ytube
video share online games adult tube