How to Use the Move Tool in Affinity Designer

In the previous Affinity Designer 2 tutorial, we learned how to create an artboard and add reference images. In this tutorial, we'll get to know the Move Tool and the different options it has to offer.

Are you a big fan of video tutorials? Go check out our complete Affinity Designer 2 tutorial course from the Tuts+ YouTube channel. You can also follow along on the Affinity Designer for Beginners course page.

Watch the Lesson: How to Use the Move Tool

What Is the Affinity Designer Move Tool For?

The Affinity Designer Move Tool (V) is analogous to the Select Tool in Adobe Illustrator. As the name suggests, it allows you to select objects on your page.

You'll identify it as the black arrow icon at the very top of the toolbar.

Don't confuse the Move Tool (black arrow) with the Node Tool (white arrow), which is specifically for working with vector objects.

Affinity Designer Move Tool

You can select multiple objects with the Move Tool by holding Shift. You can also drag a box around them.

To scale an active selection:

Use the handles on the sides to scale on the x-axis
Use the handles on the top and bottom to scale on the y-axis
Use the handles on the corners to scale on both y- and x-axis at the same time

If you want to keep things proportional while scaling, hold Shift as you drag. If you want to scale from the center of your selection, hold the Command key (or Control on Windows).

We can also rotate using the little handle at the top or just outside the selection, near one of the corners. Holding Shift will make it rotate in 15-degree increments.

Now that we have something selected, you'll see some options appear on the context bar:

Group

Quickly group our selection from the layer stack.

Auto Select

Select things from the interface using three auto-select modes: Default (selects everything), Objects, or Groups.

Turn off this option to avoid selecting/deselecting by accident.

Origin

Small blue circle that helps rotate and scale around a particular spot.

As you scale an object, it'll move the origin with respect to the new scale. It won't scale directly to it.

Hide Selection While Dragging

Hide all the interface lines to easily see what the object is lining up with as you move it.

Show Alignment Handles

Make fine adjustments and position objects exactly where you want them.

Transform Objects Separately

Instead of dragging the entire group around its common center, simultaneously rotate and scale each item around its own center.

Explore More Affinity Designer Tutorials

Well done! You learned how to use the Move Tool in this Affinity Designer beginner tutorial. You're just getting started, so go check out more of our Envato Tuts+ and Envato Blog tutorials to master your creative tools from top to bottom. In the next tutorial, we'll cover how to use the Pen and Node Tools in Affinity Designer.

You can also get unlimited Affinity Designer assets with an Envato subscription! We've got the whole must-have package for creatives that you don't want to miss.

Here you have more Affinity Designer tutorials worth reading: