Moving objects


    You can move objects in your artwork by cutting them from one spot and pasting them into another; by entering horizontal and vertical coordinates; and by dragging them. Dragging also enables you to move a duplicate copy while leaving the original object in its place, as well as to copy objects between open Illustrator files and Photoshop files.

    The Move option in the Transform Each dialog box moves objects in a selection in a specified or random direction. Use the Random option to give a slightly less rigid, more natural look to a group of items. For example, if you draw a brick wall and want the bricks to appear slightly offset from each other instead of perfectly aligned, you could select the Random option.

To move or copy an object by pasting:

  1. Select one or more objects that you want to cut or copy.
  2. Choose Edit > Cut or Edit > Copy.
  3. 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.)

  4. To paste an object into another file, open the file.
  5. 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 in the new file as in the original file.

To move or copy an object by dragging:

  1. Select one or more objects.
  2. With the Selection, Direct Selection, Group Selection, or Free Transform tool, do any of the following:
    • Drag anywhere on the object to its new location. For the selection tools to function with this method, the Selection Restricted To Paths option must be selected in General Preferences. (See Selecting filled objects.)
    • Shift-drag to constrain the object's movement to multiples of 45°.
    • To move a copy of the object with the Selection, Direct Selection, or Group Selection tools, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag the selected object. Use this technique to drag a copy of an object between Illustrator, GoLive, and Photoshop files.

    Tip iconYou 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.

To move an object by using the arrow keys:

  1. Select the object.
  2. Press the arrow key for the direction in which you want to move the object. Press Shift+arrow to move the object ten times the value specified by the Keyboard Increment preference.
  3. 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 set the distance the arrow keys move an object:

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > General (Mac OS).
  2. 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 relative to the object's current location:

  1. Select the object.
  2. Choose Object > Transform > Move.
  3. Tip iconWhen an object is selected, you can also double-click the Selection, Direct Selection, or Group Selection tool 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.

  4. Do any of the following:
    • To move the object left or right, enter either a negative value (moves left) or a positive value (moves right) in the Horizontal text box.
    • To move the object up or down, enter either a negative value (moves down) or positive value (moves up) in the Vertical text box.
    • To move the object by an angle that's relative to the object's x axis, enter either a positive angle (counterclockwise movement) or a negative angle (clockwise movement) in the Distance or Angle text box. You can also enter values between 180° and 360°; 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
    Directions relative to the x axis

To move an object or pattern by entering x, y coordinates:

  1. Select the object.
  2. Choose Window >Transform to display the Transform palette.
  3. The X and Y text boxes display the current position of the selected reference point. The reference point displays as a black square on the bounding box icon in the palette.

  4. To change the reference point, select a white square on the bounding box icon in the palette.
  5. If the object uses a pattern fill, choose any of the following options from the Transform palette menu:
    • Transform Object Only to move the object and not the pattern.
    • Transform Pattern Only to move the pattern and not the object.
    • Transform Both to move both the object and its pattern fill.
  6. Enter new values in either the X or Y text box, or both. (The units are determined by the General units set in the Units & Undo preferences.)
  7. (For more information on using the Transform palette, see Using the Transform palette.)

To move multiple objects uniformly or randomly:

  1. Select the objects you want to move.
  2. Choose Object > Transform > Transform Each.
  3. In the Move Horizontal and Vertical text boxes, enter the distance you want to move the selected objects, or use the associated sliders.
  4. Do one of the following:
    • To move the objects by the specified amounts, click OK.
    • To move the objects randomly, but no more than the specified amounts, select the Random option. Then click OK.