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Rotating tool. Is there a way to anchor it? Am I missing something?


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Hi friends,

I love to use the rotating tool. And find that it is really nice in Designer and Photo, but I miss, somehow, and really very much,  a way to anchor the axis point where you can start rotating the shape and getting different effects with it As much as I am working with it, the anchor seems to be in the middle of the shape and so, if I wish to create, let´s say,  a flower with the tear shape, for example, I cannot find a way to rotate it form the right place and that´s it in the little  pointed corner of the tear.  I have worked with quite simple vectorial brushes lid IDraw and Ink Pad and both have this possibility which is making me to create  things much more easier.  Am I missing something or should I wait for the future to have something like this in Affinity?

 

Thanks a lot.

Rosa

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You can´t set a custom anchor point but you can type in the rotate box a number and select one of the given points on the left.

 

This does not work with drawing the handle on the object but it does work with typing in the numbers into the box.

 

 

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Hi Rosa,

 

let me add, that there are certain additional workarounds. Suppose you want to rotate the blue circle in my first video ("Rotate.mov") clockwise around the center of the red one by thirty degrees. As you will note, the center of the red one does not coincide with one of the corner points of the bounding box which contains both the red one and the blue one. So you can’t use the transform panel directly. Now here’s a possible workaround:

  • Draw a line from the center point of the blue circle to the center of the red circle.
  • Group the line and the blue circle (in my video I duplicated this group for easy reference).
  • Select the group and hide the blue circle. Now you will see, that the bounding box of the group snaps to the line you created, thereby making the endpoint of the line (which is coincident with the center point of the red circle) coincident with the group’s bounding box.
  • Now you can use the transform panel to rotate the group. Make sure to choose the appropriate center of transform on the transform panel.
  • Once you’re done, you can delete the unnecessary line.

Another variant of this idea is shown in my second video ("Rotate_Again.mov") … hope that helps a little … 

 

Cheers, Alex  :)

 

EDIT Deleted attachments due to upload limits.

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Interesting methods Alex.  

 

What I have found to be the easiest workaround to rotate a shape around an arbitrary point is to draw a circle holding down the shift and cmd keys so the center of the circle is at the point I want to rotate the primary shape(s) around.  Make the circle large enough that it totally covers the primary shape(s).  

 

Then select the primary shape(s) and the circle.  

 

Using the transform panel with the center selected any angle can be specified.  Alternatively any of the rotate handles around the bounding box can also be used.

 

If you want the circle center to remain visible the Donut shape with a small hole radius is handy instead of a circle.

iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) with macOS Sierra

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WoW!!!! many ideas...

I am going to study the three of them..though I have taken a view to the Alex ones and for me, they need a bit more of study.

Just need time to investigate how to do it and learn from your images and clips. Then, in case I won´t manage to do it, I will send post a sort of trial shape in course, on order to see how  you could I do it with it.

Thanks a lot MBd...(I am waiting for the Ipad Affinity too...intensly!!)

Thank you so, Alex..your movs. have been so great to see and learn from..

Thanks again, Gear maker. I will study your point of view!!

Kind greetings from Bilbao, Spain,

Rosa

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