How to Rotate Objects

Tips and tricks you want to share with other users. Tutorials, user submitted documentation, etc.

Moderator: andrew

Post Reply
User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 9019
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

How to Rotate Objects

Post by andrew » Wed Sep 06, 2017 9:08 am

There are several ways to rotate entities in QCAD.

Modify > Rotate

The obvious way is to use the tool Modify > Rotate. This tool is the most flexible one with a possibility to create multiple copies, enter an angle or define the angle with the mouse.

Edit > Rotate (Counter-)Clockwise

Most users will find that often they need to rotate a selection by certain angles (usually multiples of 15 degrees) such as 30 degrees, 45 degrees or 90 degrees. The tools Edit > Rotate Counter-Clockwise and Edit > Rotate Clockwise can be used in such situations to quickly adjust the angle of a selection:

- Select the entities
- Hit F5 / F6 to rotate stepwise

You can adjust the angle step for these tools under Edit > Application Preferences > Edit > Rotate.
Note that you can also use F5/F6 to adjust the rotation angle while pasting from the clipboard or inserting a block or text.

Cut / Copy and Paste

The disadvantage of using F5/F6 is that often you will want to rotate around a certain point which is not the center of the selection. Of course, you can simply move the selection after rotating it, but it might be quicker in such situations to use cut and paste instead:

- Select the entities to rotate
- Edit > Cut with Reference (Ctrl-Shift-X or ⇧⌘X)
- Click the reference point (point around which to rotate)
- Edit > Paste (Ctrl-V or ⌘V)

Use F5/F6 to rotate while pasting the selection at the same or a different location, multiple times if needed and right-click when you are done.

Post Reply

Return to “QCAD Tips and Tutorials”