Rotating

You can rotate selected objects by using either the Action Bar or the resize and rotation handles. It is also possible to rotate an entire document (see below).

To rotate a selected object (or group of objects or nodes) with the handles, position the cursor near but outside one of the corner handles. Drag around the object to rotate it. You will have more control over the angle by placing the cursor farther from the center of transformation while dragging. To constrain the rotation angle to 45- or 90-degree increments, hold down the SHIFT key while dragging. (You can change the constraint angles by adjusting the Rotation steps setting in the Units and Grids panel of the  Options dialog box.)

Note that you can also drag the point of transformation (which by default is in the center of the bounding box) to a different location on your page. When you do this, the rotation will occur around that coordinate.

A shape being rotated by dragging the upper-right handle

Tip: You can rotate and duplicate your selection at the same time by holding down ALT while dragging a handle.

Rotating objects with the Action Bar

To use the Action Bar to rotate a selected object (or objects):

1. Select the reference point by clicking the icon on the left side of the Action Bar . For example, if you want the upper-right corner of an object to remain in place while the rest of the object rotates, click the upper-right corner of the reference point icon.
2. Adjust the Rotation Angle  slider value by dragging it, or, if you want to type a numeric value, by clicking it.

Rotating a document

The Rotate Document submenu on the File menu lets you rotate every object and image in your document by 90 degrees or 180 degrees. When you rotate your document by 90 degrees, the document frame also rotates (so a portrait page becomes landscape, and vice versa).