Transform Objects

Every object you draw or insert can be rotated, resized, and reshaped — by dragging on the canvas or by entering exact values in the Transform window.

Tips

Rotating or flipping the whole canvas (Edit Image) merges all layers. Transform individual objects instead to keep your document editable.

Enter Transform Mode

Select the object you want to transform, then choose one of:

Object > Transform… (⌘T): rotation, resize, plus skew, distortion, and perspective.
Object > Rotate & Resize… (⌘R): rotation and resize only.

Info

Transform commands apply to one object at a time. To transform several objects together, group them first. While transform mode is active, the menu item changes to End Rotating & Resizing; choose it again to exit transform mode.

A floating, non-modal Transform window opens (titled Rotate & Resize when you enter from that menu) and eight control knobs appear at the corners and edge midpoints. Shapes with a locked aspect ratio — square, circle, equilateral triangle — show only the four corner knobs until the full transform mode offers quad editing. Edits apply live — there is no OK button. Click Close when you are done, and press ⌘Z to undo.

Rotate

By hand: while transform mode is active, drag the object itself — the pointer becomes a rotation cursor, and a tip shows the angle as you turn. Press Esc during a drag to cancel it.
By 90°: click the two rotate buttons in the Transform window, or choose Object > Rotate 90° Left, Rotate 90° Right, or Rotate 180°.
By angle: type a value in the Angle field or use its stepper.

Objects turn around their own center; the pivot cannot be moved.

Resize

By dragging: pull any of the visible knobs. Hold Shift to keep the original aspect ratio — especially useful for images. Hold Option to toggle snapping.
By numbers: enter Width and Height in the Transform window. Units include pixels, percent, inches, cm, mm, and feet. Tick Scale proportionally to lock the ratio; untick it after a non-uniform change.

Resizing with the numeric fields keeps the object centered. Constrained shapes, such as the equilateral triangle, always keep their ratio.

Skew, Distort, and Perspective

When the object supports it, the Transform window gains a mode row at the top with four segments:

Resize: drag knobs to change size.
Skew: drag knobs to slant the object along the dominant axis.
Distort: drag any corner knob freely.
Perspective: corner knobs move in symmetric pairs; dragging an edge knob moves the whole pair of corners on that side.

Hold Option while dragging a knob to toggle snapping. The reshaping stays attached to the object, so it survives later resizing. Click Reset to remove the current skew, distortion, or perspective.

While an object carries a quad transform, the size fields show percent only, relative to the original shape.

Tips

The mode row is hidden for items that cannot take a quad transform, such as an active selection area.

Position Precisely

The Position box in the Transform window sets the object's distance from each canvas edge — Left, Top, Right, and Bottom. Editing one field updates the opposite one, and the unit pop-up is independent of the size units. Values are clamped so the object stays at least partly visible.

Rotate a Selection

With a rectangular or magic selection active, enter transform mode and drag to rotate: Paint S cuts the selected pixels out into a new image object and rotates that, leaving a transparent hole behind. This is the quickest way to angle a part of a flat image. Continue with the new object like any other.