Translate Item#
The Translate Item tool allows you to translate items using manipulator gizmos. This manipulator is bound to the W key. To translate a selection just click-drag on one of the axis.
The axis will highlighted in yellow when hovering over it. Use Middle Button to move the item through the normal plane of the selected axis. Middle-clicking to center square will move the item through the normal plane of the view.
Pressing Esc while dragging cancels the action.
It is possible to hide/show the manipulator by pressing X. Pressing O offsets the manipulator to the center of the selection, M repositions the manipulator under the mouse cursor and P resets the manipulator offset.
Like the Select tool, it is possible to use the Translate Item to manage selections. Please refer to the Select tool for more information.
This tool also offers a comprehensive set of snapping functions. For more information please refer to Snapping.
To access to more options use the Tool Options widget or double-click on the tool icon in the toolbar.
Using the preferences panel, it is possible to set the default behavior of the manipulator options. Go to Edit > Preferences... > Layout.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Opacity Threshold | Set the opacity threshold under which the picked item is considered as invisible and therefore not selectable. For more information please refer to Picking Transparent Items. |
| Space | Select manipulator transformation space. |
| Mode | Set the mode of the tool. When set to Translate, the manipulator gizmo translates the selection. When set to Offset, the gizmos update the Translate Offset of the selection. |
| Skip Children | Skip children transformation update in case both parent and children are manipulated together. |
| Manipulator Display Offset | Set a display offset of the manipulator |
| Align To Normal | When enabled, the rotation of the selection is modified so that the item is aligned on the underlying normal when snapping on a surface. |
| Snap Default Plane | Select default plane to snap on when mouse cursor doesn't target any items when snapping. |
| Snap Distance | Set the distance in screen space to search for nearby vertices when performing vertex snapping. |
| Snap Manipulator Only | Snap the manipulator instead of the selection. This basically computes the proper translate offset so that the manipulator is positioned on the selected surface without moving the actual items. |
| Snap Enabled | Enable grid snapping. |
| Snap Increment | Set the snap increment of the tool in all axis. This basically controls the size of the snapping grid unit. |
Manipulating Item Translate Offset#
Using the Translate Item it is possible to edit the translation offset of the items in-place without moving the position of the items. Press Ins key to enter the offset edition mode.
Alternatively, you can set the Mode option to Offset using the Tool Options widget. When in Offset edition mode, axis lines are displayed as dashed lines. Pressing Ins a second time returns to the Translate mode.
Offset Mode
Manipulator Space#
It is possible to control in which space manipulators are expressed. By default, they are set to Parent to reflect the attribute values of the items which are expressed in parent coordinates.
| Space | Description |
|---|---|
| Parent | Set the manipulator in parent coordinates to reflect the actual attribute values of the item |
| Object | Set the manipulator in object coordinates. |
| World | Set the manipulator in world coordinates so that they are aligned with the world axis. |
| Manipulator | Set the manipulator in its own coordinates system. |
When space is set to Manipulator, you have access to the Manipulator Initialization group of options in the Tool Options widget. It defines how the tool is initialized when the selection is changing. You can specify the initialization behavior for single selections and multi-selections.
| Single Selection mode / Multi Selection mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Unchanged | The manipulator stays in place |
| World Origin | The manipulator stays at the world origin |
| Object Pivot / Last Selected Pivot | The manipulator is placed at the pivot location of the selected object |
| Object Bounding Box Center / Selection Bounding Box Center | The manipulator is placed at the center of the bounding box |
| Object Bounding Box Ground / Selection Bounding Box Ground | The manipulator is placed at the bottom center of the bounding box |