by Head » Thu Jul 19, 2012 12:39 pm
We'd be lost without the ability to accurately fine-tune the transformation of an object or objects around a given origin, e.g. to scale a tracing image precisely to fit within a given set of dimensions or to match the size of an existing object.
One quick and accurate way of achieving this is to action a transformation in the 'Transform' palette, then hit the keyboard shortcut for 'Transform again' repeatedly until a result is achieved, fine-tuning the transformation values if necessary to achieve a precision result.
Makes more sense in practice than when put into words, and can be invaluable for manipulating a selection in circumstances where numerical accuracy is key, and when simply dragging a selection by a corner handle won't provide the required degree of accuracy.
Key features required to make this and similar processes work are:
1. The ability within the transformation palette to set an origin for a transformation.
2. The facility to specify independent X and Y transformation values, and for these values to be viable up to two decimal places.
3. The ability to independently control from within the transformation palette whether a selection's contents, fills and strokes are transformed or not.
4. The software must remember all transformation parameters actioned within the transform palette as mentioned above, so that all combined aspects of the transformation can be immediately repeated using the 'Transform again' command.
5. The original transformation and subsequent instances of 'Transform again' must operate consistently on individual selections, multiple selections and grouped objects.