Moving, copying, and deleting objects
You can move objects in your artwork by cutting them from one spot and pasting them into another, by dragging them, and by using the arrow keys, the Move dialog box, and the Transform Each dialog box. Dragging also enables you to copy objects between open Illustrator files and Photoshop files. Note: You can also move objects using the Transform palette. (See Using the Transform palette.)
To set general preferences that affect how objects move: - Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator > Preferences > General (Mac OS X).
- Choose options for Preferences:
- Enter an angle between 0 and 360 degrees in the Constrain Angle text box to rotate the x and y axes. The rotation of the axes determines how drawing and movement are constrained when you hold down Shift. (See Rotating the x and y axes.)
- Select Transform Pattern Tiles to specify whether you want to transform any patterns within objects when you apply a transformation such as scaling, rotating, or shearing. (See Creating and working with patterns.)
- Deselect Use Area Select to select objects underneath filled objects by clicking an anchor point or path segment (in Preview view). (See Selecting filled objects.)
- Click OK.
Note: Smart Guides preferences also affect how objects move.
To set keyboard preferences that affect how objects move: - Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator > Preferences > General (Mac OS X).
- In the Keyboard Increment text box, enter the distance you want each press of an arrow key to move a selection, and then click OK.
To move or copy an object by pasting: - Select one or more objects that you want to cut or copy.
- Choose Edit > Cut or Edit > Copy.
Note: To copy a bitmap version of the selected object onto the Clipboard for pasting into Adobe Photoshop, choose Edit > Copy. (See Using the Clipboard to copy artwork.) - To paste an object into another file, open the file and choose one of the following commands:
- Edit > Paste to paste the objects into the center of the active window.
- Edit > Paste in Front to paste the object directly in front of the selected object.
- Edit > Paste in Back to paste the object directly in back of the selected object.
Note: The Paste in Front and Paste in Back commands paste the object in the same position on the new file's artboard as in the original file.
To move an object or a copy of an object by dragging: - Select the object.
You can also select multiple objects. - Position the pointer on an anchor point or path segment of the selected object. In Preview view, you can click anywhere on the object when the Use Area Select option is selected in General Preferences.
- Drag the object to its new location. Shift-drag to constrain the object to multiples of 45 degrees.
You can use the Snap to Point command in the View menu to have the cursor snap to an anchor point or guide when you drag an object within 2 pixels of the anchor point or guide. Snap to Point is turned on when a check mark appears by the menu command. To drag a copy of the object, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag. Note: You can use this technique to drag copies of objects between Illustrator and Photoshop files. (See Using the drag-and-drop feature to copy artwork.)
To move an object by using the arrow keys: - Select the object.
- Press the arrow key for the direction in which you want to move the object.
The distance the object moves each time you press an arrow key is determined by the value specified in the Keyboard Increment text box in the General Preferences dialog box. The default distance is 1 point (1/72 of an inch, or .3528 millimeter).
To move a selection with the free transform tool: - With the selection tool
, select one or more objects to move. - Select the free transform tool
. - Drag any part of the selection (but not a handle).
To move or copy an object a specified distance and direction: - Select the object.
- Choose Object > Transform > Move.
When an object is selected, you can also double-click the selection tool--or press Enter or Return--to open the Move dialog box.
The Move dialog box displays the results of the last move or measure operation using the unit of measure set in the Units & Undo Preferences dialog box. - Do one of the following:
- Enter the horizontal and vertical distances that you want the object to move. Positive values move the object up and to the right of the x axis; negative values move the object down and to the left.
- Enter the distance and angle for the move. The angle you enter is calculated in degrees from the x axis. Positive angles specify a counterclockwise move; negative angles specify a clockwise move. You can also enter values between 180 and 360 degrees; these values are converted to their corresponding negative values (for example, a value of 270° is converted to -90°).
Directions relative to the x axis
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