Select, move & transform
Select
With the Select tool (V):
- Click an object to select it. Clicking a grouped object selects its whole group.
- Ctrl-click selects a single object inside a group.
- Shift-click adds or removes objects.
- Drag a box on empty canvas to select everything it touches.
- Ctrl A selects everything on unlocked, visible layers.
Move
- Drag the selection. Smart guides snap to other objects and the artboard when snapping is on (View menu).
- Arrow keys nudge by 1 px; Shift + arrow by 10 px.
- Hold Alt while you start dragging to drag a copy and leave the original in place. One undo removes the copy.
Note: On a selected object, the small target in the middle is the pivot for rotating and scaling. Dragging it moves the pivot, not the object — grab the object anywhere else to move it.
Copy, paste & duplicate
| Command | Keys | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate | Ctrl D | A copy, slightly offset, right above the original and in the same group. |
| Copy / Cut | Ctrl C / Ctrl X | To the clipboard. |
| Paste | Ctrl V | Offset a little each time you paste. |
| Paste in Place | Ctrl F | Exactly where it was copied or cut from. |
Resize, rotate and distort
- Resize with the handles of the selection box, or type exact values in Properties → Transform (X, Y, W, H, rotation). The pivot grid picks which point stays fixed.
- Rotate (R): drag around the pivot. The angle is shown while you drag.
- Transform (D): drag the corners to distort — perspective, free or axis-locked.
- Flip: Object → Flip Horizontal / Flip Vertical.
Align and distribute
With two or more objects selected, the Align section aligns their edges or centers and distributes them evenly.
- Click one selected object a second time to make it the key object — the others then align to it instead of to the selection.
- H Touch / V Touch pack objects side by side with no gap.
Lock and hide
Object → Lock / Unlock and Hide / Show — or use the lock and eye icons in Layers. Locked objects can't be selected or erased.