d its role in transformation. It represents a rectangle touching object borders from four sides (top, bottom, left, and right). However, you may notice that the bounding box is oftentimes altered when the object is transformed - for instance, after rotation by 45 degreed the bounding box will no longer be a perfectly positioned rectangle, as the angle will be changed.
Still, you may face a need to change the view of bounding box back to frontal rectangle with horizontal and vertical sides. To do it, go to Object > Transform > Reset Bounding Box. It will be changed back to the default rectangle, while the object remains rotated by 45 degrees.
Transform Each (Several Objects)
As you may have guessed, it is possible to transform not only one separate object, but a group of objects. To do it, simply select all the objects you need (holding down Shift will add an object to selection).
However, in this case the virtual bounding box will be drawn around all the objects. This means that, for instance, rotation will be performed as if it was one large object, according to the bounding box. Still, we sometimes need to transform all the selected objects separately - say, rotate them. Here is when Transform each works best.
Select all the objects you need and go to Object > Transform > Transform Each (Alt + Shift + Command + D). You'll see a dialog with numerous parameters. All the transformation methods are combined there, so you may enter horizontal and vertical move, horizontal and vertical scale, rotation angle, reflection along X or Y axis, and also change a transformation point from center to any bounding box handle in a little proxy on the right. All selected objects will be transformed separately, and you can also press Copy to duplicate them. Another useful feature is the Random checkbox, check it if you want objects to transform randomly.
Transform Each (One Object)
I want to mention one more creative way of using the Transform Each command. Remember the Transform again feature? Unfortunately, it memorizes only one last transformation applied - move, scale, reflect, etc. But sometimes we want to make a series of object copies with a few kinds of transformation applied to each. For example, ten rectangle copies rotated by 10 degrees and scaled down to 90% each. We won't be able to repeat both transformation methods with Command + D to achieve this effect, as rotation and scaling are two separate steps.
But here is a trick - select the object and run it through the Transform Each command, enter all parameters and press Copy - this command combines all four transformation methods still being considered a single step. Now you can transform the object again for as many copies as you need.
Section 4. Important Keys and Shortcuts
Like most graphic programs, Illustrator has plenty of secret shortcuts to make your work easier. Transformation has numerous helpful keys and shortcuts worth memorizing.
Transform Tools Shortcuts
Almost every transform tool has a key. To remind you again, let's remember all of them: Move Tool (V), Scale Tool (S), Rotate Tool (R), Reflect Tool (O), Free Transform Tool (E), and Warp Tools group (Shift + R). Shear and Reshape tools don't have default hot keys, but you can easily assign them shortcuts in Edit > Keyboard shortcuts (Alt + Shift + Command + K).
Transform Helpful Keys
Although we already mentioned this, I think it might be helpful to remind again - while transforming manually with specific tools, you might want to use special modifier keys for changing some parameters. They work almost equally for every transformation tool you use, so remember these simple modifiers, as they will save you time and make the transformation process easier.
Section 5. Transforming with Panel
Besides the transformation tools and menu, there is another way of transforming objects in Illustrator. The entire panel is dedicated to it - Transform panel (Shift + F8). Keep in mind, that the Transform panel works with entire objects or groups of objects, and that here absolute measurements are used, unlike with the transform