This tutorial will show you how to resize, rotate, and rearrange shapes.
Selection Tool
The selection tool is used for moving objects around a document and can also be used for resizing, rotating, and reordering them.
The icon for the tool is the black arrow at the top of the tool panel. Single click on it to use this tool.
![illustrator selection tool in tool panel selection tool in tool panel](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-selection-tool-in-tool-panel.png)
Resize and Rotate a Shape
Resize
- With the Selection Tool selected, click on something you want to resize or rotate.
![illustrator select shape click to select shape](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-select-shape.png)
The item that’s selected will have handles on each edge and corner of its selection box.
- Click and drag one of the handles to resize the object.
NOTE: Holding down Shift while dragging will maintain the object’s proportions.
![illustrator resize shape drag edge handles to resize shape](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-resize-shape.png)
Rotate
- With the Selection Tool, hover your cursor near one of the corners, but not actually over it, until the curved-double-arrow rotate icon appears.
- Click and drag to rotate.
NOTE: Holding shift while rotating will snap the rotation at 45º, 90º, and 180º.
![illustrator hover near corner handle to get rotate tool hover near corner handle to get rotate tool](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-hover-near-corner-handle-to-get-rotate-tool.png)
Move
To move an object, just click-and-drag it, or use the arrow keys on your keyboard with the object selected.
![illustrator rotated triangle illustrator rotated triangle](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-rotated-triangle.png)
Rearranging Objects
If you created your shapes and text in the wrong order, you don’t have to delete them and start over. You can rearrange them instead.
- Click one of the objects you want to reorder.
![illustrator select rectangle select rectangle](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-select-rectangle-1024x389.png)
- Right-click (or control+click on a Mac) to open the menu.
![illustrator arrange send to back arrange send to back](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-arrange-send-to-back-1024x801.png)
- Towards the bottom of the menu, hover over Arrange, and then pick from the options.
![illustrator reordered shapes reordered shapes](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-reordered-shapes-1024x400.png)
- Save your progress by selecting Save in the File menu.
![illustrator save from file menu save from file menu](https://mediacommons.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/illustrator-save-from-file-menu-3.png)