Axis Rotate

The Axis Rotate tool allows you to rotate a selection by a specific number of degrees. It is different from the standard Rotate tool in that it is limited to editing a single axis at a time, determined by the Work Plane position. It also has a different on-screen control display than the other transform tools, providing a greater degree of control over the amount of rotation depending on how long or short you drag out the handle length. Hold Ctrl to constrain the rotation to fixed 15° intervals. After applying a transform amount, middle-click to re-apply the previous offset amount. This way, you can easily apply an edit multiple times. Activate the command in the Model viewport's Basic sub-tab (you may need to press Shift to show alternate tools). Axis Rotate is also available in the menu bar, under Edit > Transform > Axis Rotate or by pressing Alt+Shift+E.

In the component modes (vertices, edges, and polygons), the tool affects the selected geometry directly. When nothing is selected, it affects all active foreground geometry. Active foreground items are those that are visible and selected in the Items list. In Items mode, the tool affects all the currently selected items in the Items list. If nothing is selected, then the tools appear to do nothing. In material mode, it works the same way as in any of the component modes. Lastly, in the Center and Pivot modes, it modifies the center or pivots respectively.

Note:  You need to select either the center or the pivot itself, depending on the mode, prior to activating the tool, as in Items mode, with no selection, the tool appears to do nothing.

When you define any of the falloffs, application of the tool can be attenuated across a user-defined area. For more information on using falloffs, see Using Falloffs.

Once you activate the tool, Modo draws the relevant tool handles in the viewport. At this point, you can click and haul anywhere in the desired viewport to interactively transform the geometry. Depending on the action center, this may also set the rotation center based on the mouse click position intersecting the Work Plane. Additionally, you may prefer to utilize the on screen display, either clicking on the wheel to rotate to a specific amount, or by dragging the handles on the value bar across the top of the viewport (when Advanced Handles is enabled). When you click on the wheel, a handle is drawn displaying the number of degrees. When using this handle, the rotation sensitivity is adjusted based on the distance the mouse is from the handles as you drag. This can be thought of as extending a lever. The longer the lever, the more mouse movement is required to rotate the element and thus the granularity of control is increased. To interactively scale the size of the handles themselves, use the - (minus) key to decrease size and = (equals) to increase their size.

The Rotate tool also respects the settings for action center, and originates the appropriate action from the defined position. For more information on understanding and using actions centers, see Specifying Action Centers and Falloffs .

Option	Description
Axis Rotate
Angle	Apply a specific rotational value, calculated in degrees. When adjusting an object interactively in the viewport, these input fields display the current rotation amount, providing useful feedback.
Advanced Handles	Determines whether or not Modo displays the additional information in the viewport.