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Resizing and rotating layers

Last updated on 24 Aug 2023
2 min read

Resizing layers

Resizing and rotating layers

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To adjust a layer’s height or width, drag any of its edges. To adjust both the height and width at once, you can use the corner handles.

You can resize a layer by clicking and dragging anywhere on the layer

Holding and dragging will resize the layer proportionately, keeping its height and width at the same ratio. If you want to resize a later from its center, hold and drag.

Keep in mind that resizing will be affected by any Resizing constraints you’ve applied.

Resizing layers in the Inspector

You can also resize a layer by selecting it and typing new dimensions in the Inspector. As you type, you’ll see a preview of how your layer will look. When you’re done, press to apply your changes.

How to resize layers using the Inspector (v94 October 2022).

By default, resizing is anchored to the top-left corner. You can change this by entering these keyboard operators after a dimension in the Inspector’s Layer Properties fields:

l Scale from the left (default)
r Scale from the right
t Scale from the top (default)
b Scale from the bottom
c / m Scale from the center/middle

You can also use the operators w,h,x, andy as stand-ins for the width, height, X, and Y of a selected layer. For example, if you set a rectangle’s height tow it will turn it into a square.

How to use the width operator in the Inspector (v91 August 2022).

The Inspector also lets you use math to resize or move layers:

+ Add (e.g. 50+10r)
- Subtract (e.g. 45-5)
* Multiply (e.g. 128*2)
/ Divide (e.g. 960/2)

Resizing controls in the Inspector (v91 August 2022).

You can also use percentages to change the height or width of layers relative to its group or Artboard. For example, setting a layer’s height to 10% in a 960 pixel-wide Artboard will change its width to 96px.

Finally, if you’re editing the corner radius of a rounded rectangle, you can use ; to specify a different value for each corner (e.g. 30;40;20;30).

You can click the lock icon Lock/Unlock rulers that’s between the width and the height values or use the shortcut L to make sure the layer resizes proportionately.

Resizing layers with keyboard shortcuts

For precise adjustments, you can select layers and resize them using these keyboard shortcuts:

Increase width by 1px
Decrease width by 1px
Increase width by 10px
Decrease width by 10px

You can set your own increment values for these shortcuts using the Nudging options in the Canvas tab of the Settings window.

Rotating layers

To rotate a layer, hold and click on any of the corner selection handles to rotate it in the direction you want.

How to rotate a layer on the Canvas (v91 August 2022).