Transform By Number

With all transformation tools, such as Scale, Rotate, and Shear, you can transform manually by dragging the mouse – or numerically. Double-click on any transformation tool to get a dialog for a numeric transformation.

By default, the reference point for the transformation is the center of the object. But to open the dialog and set a different reference point, hold down Option and click in the spot you’d like to use as a reference point.

Quick Flip

When you need to flip an object horizontally or vertically, ignore the Reflect tool and jump right to the transform palette (Window>transform). Select the object and from the palette’s flyout menu choose either Flip Horizontally or Flip Vertically.

Memorize These Letters

In the good old days of Illustrator, you could press Command-Tab to switch between the Selection and Direct selection tools. As of OS X on the Mac, this shortcut doesn’t work anymore. So to switch between the two selection tools, you’ll have to press "v" for the Selection tool, and "a" for the Direct Selection tool.

Cut or Add to a Point

When youÕre using the scissors tool to cut a path, you may want to add an anchor point or two to help edit the path. Rather than switching to the Pen tool or the Add Anchor Point tool, just hold down Option and the Scissors tool will switch (temporarily) to the Add Anchor point tool. Click on the path to add a point, then let go of Option/ Alt to return to the Scissors tool.

Same as the Other One

Click on the artboard with a tool to get the dialog where you can enter the width and height of an object. To make the width and the height both the same amount, enter your number in the Width field, and the click on the word "Height" to use the same measurement.