Move and Arrange Objects
Learn the basics of arranging objects in Dimension, from moving, rotating, and scaling your 3D objects to easily snapping objects to each other.
Published
In this video we will look at how to move and place objects in our Dimension scene.
When you place objects in 3D they are positioned just like they are in the real world.
As you place them they are given a three-way coordinate, this means they will have values for horizontal, vertical and depth positioning.
We call it the X Y and Z coordinates.
You can view all of the objects in your scene by looking at the ‘Scene’ panel.
You select objects by clicking on them in the Scene panel or in the 3D viewport.
Dimension, by default, has the ‘select’ tool active, you can find other tools in this panel on the left.
The shortcut for the select tool is V.
You can also view each tool’s options by right clicking or performing a long left click on the icon.
This will bring up a pop-up menu beside it where you can adjust how the tool performs.
When you select an object, a gizmo will appear at the original pivot position of the object.
The pivot position can be changed in the object’s transform settings in the properties panel on the right.
Use the pivot handle found in the center of the gizmo to move the object around the scene, snapping it to any surfaces.
Use Control or command to move the object along the camera plane, use shift to keep its orientation while snapping to a surface.
When you click on the object itself and drag it, it will move the object parallel to the ground plane.
The colored handles let you move, scale, and rotate the object around its pivot.
Use the arrow shapes to move the object along each axis, use the circular shapes to rotate the object around the pivot point, and use the square shapes to scale the object.
Hold down shift when rotating to snap to 5 degree increments.
Hold down shift when scaling to scale along a single axis.
To place an object back on the ground, use the Move To Ground button on the right, or shortcut Control or Command period.
Sometimes, you may want to move an object that has already been rotated.
The gizmo is now facing a different way so moving along a singular axis will be difficult.
You can jump between object and world transform spaces by using the button at the top of the viewport or by using the shortcut ‘T’ to swap between them.
By swapping to world transform space, you can then move the rotated object along your desired axis.
You can select multiple objects by holding down shift as you select them.
Some objects consist of multiple geometries grouped together.
These show up in the Scene Panel as a folder.
You can click the little arrow to the left of the folder to expand it and select each component individually .
You can also do this in the viewport by holding down the Control/Command key and clicking the specific geometry you want to select.
We hope this has been helpful in getting you started with moving objects in Dimension, we can’t wait to see what you make!
