ing. Oftentimes when you need to scale the object from the dialog, you also want the default transformation point changed. Simply Alt-click where you want the new point to sit, and the dialog will open.
The Rotate Tool (R) is a small circular arrow. To rotate an object, select it and drag it in the needed direction. As the default transformation point is in the object center, it will be rotated around itself. You can assign different reference points by clicking in the needed place prior to rotating. Also you may want to know that holding Shift allows you to rotate on the angles divided by 45, such as: 45, 90, 135, 180, and so on.
Of course, if you need a precise angle, double-click Rotate in the Tools panel and insert a degree in the dialog. Positive numbers rotate counter-clockwise, and negative numbers rotate clockwise. You may press Copy to duplicate an object while rotating. To change the transformation point from the object center to any other place, Alt-click to assign the new point and open the dialog.
The Reflect Tool (O) is a small mirrored triangle hidden under the Rotation Tool. To reflect a selected object, just drag it to the needed direction. The default reference point is in the center, so the object will be reflected around the axis that intersects it's center. To use exact horizontal or vertical axes for mirroring, hold down Shift. To change the transformation point, as usual, click where you want to place it before transforming.
Again, for precise reflection, double-click Reflect in the Tools panel and insert an axis you need in the dialog. Yo can choose Vertical or Horizontal axes for perfect symmetry, or enter a custom angle. To duplicate an object while reflecting, press Copy. To change the transformation point from the object center to any other place, Alt-click to assign the new point and open the dialog at the same time.
The Shear Tool looks like a little slanted rectangle and is hidden under the Scale Tool. To shear a selected object, drag anywhere in the needed direction. The transformation point will be fixed in the center. To shear along a horizontal axis, drag horizontally, and to shear along a vertical axis, drag vertical. To constrain an object's width or height, or to shear along axes slanted by a 45-divided degree, hold down Shift. As with other transformation tools, assign different reference points by clicking in the needed place prior to shearing.
For a precise angle, double-click Shear in Tools panel and insert the shear amount in degrees and axis in the dialog. Press Copy to duplicate an object while skewing. To change the transformation point from the object center to any other place, Alt-click to assign the new point and open the dialog.
Using the Black Arrow/Direction Selection Tool
As I already mentioned, the Selection Tool (V) is used for Move - the first and most important type of transformation. Still, this tool can also be used to manually perform some other transformation methods. We can easily change not only the object's position, but it's size and angle.
To scale with the Selection Tool (V) select an object and simply drag the handles on it's bounding box (white squares in the corners and on the sides). The object will be scaled in the direction you drag.
If you want to constrain the proportions, hold down Shift to scale in both directions while dragging the corner handler. The reference point is not considered in this case, so the object will be transformed according to the direction you drag without any fixed transformation point specified. You cannot determine the reference point, but if you want to fix a central point while scaling an object with the Selection Tool, hold down the Alt button.
To rotate with the Selection Tool (V), select an object and place the cursor over any corner handle of its bounding box. When the little double arrow appears, you can rotate the object in any direction and angle.
In order to keep the exact angles (45, 90, and so on), hold down Shift - the object will snap to this angle while rotating. The reference point can not be changed while 