User Guide

Canvas 12 User Guide
Rotating, skewing, and flipping objects
You can rotate Canvas objects clockwise or counter-clockwise, flip them on one or both axes, and
skew their bounding boxes. Rotate and skew around an object’s center, or move the centerpoint to
any location.
When you rotate an object, the object’s bounding box also rotates. If you drag a selection handle of a
rotated object, the bounding box changes shape in the rotated orientation, so you can resize an
object without distorting its basic shape.
To remove effects:
After you rotate, skew, or flip objects, you can return them to their original orientation and shape.
Select the objects and choose Effects | Remove Effects.
To return the rotated bounding box to its original orientation:
Choose Path | Convert To Paths.
Rotating and skewing in freeform mode
When you put an object in freeform mode, you can rotate and skew it by dragging special handles.
To put an object in freeform mode:
Select the object and choose Effects | Freeform. Rotation and skewing handles and the object’s
centerpoint appear.
You can also put a selected object in freeform mode by clicking it. This depends on a setting in the
Configuration Center (see "Setting preferences" on page 97).
To end freeform mode:
Click away from the object, or press Esc.
Rotating objects in freeform mode
In freeform mode, the circular handles at each corner of the bounding box are rotation handles. The
circle and crosshair in the center of the object is the point around which the object rotates.
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