Operation Manual
237
USING ILLUSTRATOR
Reshaping objects
Last updated 11/8/2011
Note: You cannot enter a specific width for scaling multiple objects. In Illustrator, you can only scale objects in percentage
measurements.
3 Set percentages for horizontal and vertical scaling in the Scale section of the dialog box.
4 To change the reference point, click a white square on the reference point locator .
5 Click OK, or click Copy to scale a copy of each object.
Shear objects
Shearing an object slants, or skews, the object along the horizontal or vertical axis, or a specified angle that’s relative
to a specified axis. Objects shear relative to a reference point which varies depending on the shearing method you
choose and can be changed for most shearing methods. You can lock one dimension of an object as you shear it, and
you can shear one object or multiple objects simultaneously.
Shearing is useful for creating cast shadows.
Shearing relative to the center (left) compared to shearing relative to a user-defined reference point (right)
More Help topics
“Reshaping tool gallery” on page 23
“Transform panel overview” on page 233
Shear objects with the Shear tool
1 Select one or more objects.
2 Select the Shear tool .
3 Do one of the following:
• To shear relative to the object’s center, drag anywhere in the document window.
• To shear relative to a different reference point , click anywhere in the document window to move the reference
point, move the pointer away from the reference point, and then drag until the object is at the desired slant.
• To shear along the object’s vertical axis, drag anywhere in the document window in an up or down direction. To
constrain the object to its original width, hold down Shift.
• To shear along the object’s horizontal axis, drag anywhere in the document window in a left or right direction. To
constrain the object to its original height, hold down Shift.
Shear objects with the Shear command
1 Select one or more objects.
2 Do one of the following:
• To shear from the center, choose Object > Transform > Shear or double-click the Shear tool .