Scaling
When you select a layer, eight scale handles appear around the edge of the layer’s
bounding box. Drag the handles to resize the layer. By default, the width and height of
a layer are not locked together when you adjust scale handles. This means that the aspect
ratio of a layer can be changed. (The aspect ratio of a layer is the ratio of its width to its
height.) To preserve a layer’s aspect ratio, press Shift while dragging a scale handle.
Changes made to the scale of a layer are applied to the Scale parameter in the Properties
Inspector.
Note: The onscreen Select/Transform controls for Motion-created shapes include a
roundness handle in the upper-left corner of the bounding box; this control is not present
in the Select/Transform controls for other layers. For more information, see
Editing Shapes
.
To resize the height and width of a layer in the Canvas independently
1
Click to select the layer in the Canvas.
Note: If you have another tool selected, such as a Mask or Shape tool, pressing the S key
returns you to the 2D transform tools.
A bounding box appears around the selected layer.
Note: You can also Control-click the layer in the Canvas, then choose Transform from the
shortcut menu.
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2
Do one of the following:
• Drag a corner handle to resize the layer’s width and height at the same time. By default,
you can resize the width and height independently, by any amount.
• Press Shift, then drag a corner handle to resize the layer while locking its width and
height together, maintaining the layer’s current aspect ratio.
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• Drag the top or bottom scale handle to limit scale changes to the layer’s height, or
drag the left or right scale handle to limit scale changes to the layer’s width.
• Press Option while dragging any scale handle to resize a layer around its anchor point,
rather than unilaterally.
As you drag the scale handles, the new width and height percentages appear in the status
bar above the Canvas.
Status area shows scaling amount
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Note: Scaling the width or height of a layer by a negative value reverses the image,
flipping its direction.