Move Object lets you move, rotate or scale objects by dragging them with the mouse in the viewport. Use it for rough placement, for example to bring two scans of the same part close to each other before you align them exactly with Align Manually or Registration.
To start, click Transform › Move Object. The same button is also on the toolbar above the viewport.
The Move Object panel opens. Its first line tells you what a drag does in the current mode, for example Drag object with LMB to move (LMB is the left mouse button).
Modes
The Mode section sets what a drag does. Only one mode is active at a time: choose it in the panel, or hold a modifier key while you drag.
| Mode | How to use it | Key while dragging |
|---|---|---|
| Move | Drag the object with the left mouse button. It moves parallel to the screen | none |
| Rotate | Drag with the left mouse button. The object turns around the centre of its bounding box, about the axis that points at you | Ctrl, or Cmd on macOS |
| Scale | Drag with the left mouse button to scale evenly, or with the right mouse button to stretch it along the line from its centre to the pointer | Alt, or Option on macOS |
While you drag, a tooltip shows the value of the change: Distance, Angle, Uniform Scale or Non-Uniform Scale. In the Rotate and Scale modes, a grey circle with a red dot marks the centre of the object.
Move translates the object in 3D space.
Rotate turns the object around its centre.
Scale changes the size of the object.
To move an object along a hidden direction, such as depth, turn the view first: Move always works in the plane of the screen.
Target
The Target section sets which objects a drag affects.
- Picked object, shown in the screenshots above, transforms the object you drag.
- Selected object(s), shown in the screenshot below, transforms all objects selected in the Scene tree together. Choose it in the panel or hold Shift while you drag.
Exact Values and Applying the Change
Move Object has no snapping and no fixed axes. To set exact values, type them in the Transform section on the left (Translation, Rotation XYZ, scale) or use Transform Object: its widget has coloured axes and rotation rings to move or turn the object along one axis.
Move Object changes only the position of the object (its transform), not the mesh. To write the new position into the vertex coordinates, click Transform › Apply Transform. To undo a drag, use Undo (Ctrl+Z, or Cmd+Z on macOS).
