Rotate

Rotate turns an object around an axis by a given angle. The axis is a construction plane: the plane’s normal is what the object turns around, and the plane’s origin is the point it turns about.

How to Use

  1. Select an object
  2. Click Rotate in the Transform group of the toolbar
  3. Set the rotation angle in the Properties panel
  4. Choose the axis under Rotate About — a tab, typed values, or a face picked off a model

You can also rotate objects directly in the viewport by clicking the rotate corner controls on a selected object. Moving your mouse over the angle indicators snaps to 45-degree increments.

Parameters

  • Rotate About - The construction plane whose normal is the axis of rotation and whose origin is the centre of rotation.
  • Angle - The rotation angle in degrees (default 0; the slider runs 3 to 360, and you can type any angle, negative ones included). Supports expressions.

Rotate About

The plane is shown in the viewport while the Rotate is selected, so you can see the axis you are turning around.

  • XY / XZ / YZ / Custom - The tabs choose the axis: XY turns about Z, XZ about Y, YZ about X. Custom shows the plane’s values for an axis none of the tabs describe. Choosing a tab re-aims the axis and leaves the Origin where it is.
  • Flip - Reverses the axis, so the same positive angle turns the other way.
  • Origin - The point the object pivots about. It starts at the centre of the object’s bounding box.
  • Normal - The axis itself. Type any direction; it does not need to be unit length.
  • X Direction - Not used by Rotate. An axis has no need of a sideways direction, so leave it alone.
  • Pick Face - Click the button, then click a flat face anywhere in the scene to turn about that face’s normal. Press Esc to cancel.

Each of Origin and Normal takes expressions per component, so the axis can be driven by the rest of the design.

Older files

A Rotate created before construction planes shipped keeps its original Rotate About control — a Direction Axis with an axis dropdown — and keeps working exactly as it did. New Rotate operations get the construction plane described above. To move an old one over, delete it and apply Rotate again.

Tips

  • The rotation is centered on the object’s bounding box center by default
  • For 90-degree rotations, the snap indicators make it easy to get exact values
  • Use the Rotate operation (rather than viewport controls) when you need a precise angle that isn’t a multiple of 45 degrees
  • You can change the rotation axis after applying the operation by editing the Rotate About property
  • To turn about a slanted feature of your model, use Pick Face rather than working the direction out by hand