Rotate object & keep original orientation

[Vectorgeek]

I was trying to rotate an object 360 degrees around a center point like a clock face yet keep the original object orientation.  I thought I had it figured out by grouping the object and resetting the bounding box. It worked on my workstation with a same version. After rotation I could click on the Transform panel and set the object angle to zero. When I tried tonight it just doesn't work. As soon as you rotate the object the bounding box resets to zero.

I am stumped.

[Monika Gause]

Are you sure it's the same version?

When was the last computer restart?

[Vectorgeek]

I'll have to verify but I just updated both this week. What does the version matter through? Shouldn't the angle show after rotation regardless of version?

[Jeff Witchel, ACI]

You should be a able to "unRotate" your objects in the Transform panel afterwards as you mentioned. In your closeup screenshot, it looks as if the Bounding Box was reset. Did you use Object menu > Shape > Expand Shape at one point?

If a Restart (as Monika suggests) does not work, you may want to try using a Blend instead.

See the following video about Blends: http://www.jeffwitchel.net/2011/11/blend-tips/

Making a Blend follow a circle starts about 1:40 into the video. Blends allow you to set the Orientation of the objects to your Page or your Path. So setting to the Page would give you what you're looking for.

[Vectorgeek]

I tried several different methods including expand shape, group, and reset bounding box before using the rotate tool. In every instance the bounding box is reset to zero even after the object is rotated. I was going to do the blend method but I just want to figure out why rotate isn't working. Oddly enough I was able to get it to work in Indesign.

[Monika Gause]

Vectorgeek  schrieb

Oddly enough I was able to get it to work in Indesign.

InDesign works completely differently in this respect.

Which version do you have?

I could get it to work in CC2017. The feature was introduced in CC2015.3.

[jane-e]

Vectorgeek  wrote

I tried several different methods including expand shape,

When you expand a shape, it's no longer a shape, it's just a regular path. You can convert it back to a Shape in the Object menu as long as it meets the proper conditions to be a Shape.

For example, an ellipse or circle Path can be converted to a Shape and will be called a Circle. If the anchor points have been moved, it can't be converted.

What are you working with? A circle or a path? If you say group, go inside the group and look further.

[Omar.Fathy]

You tried to use the scatter brush with [ Rotation relative to page ] ?!

[Ton Frederiks]

Shapes remember their individual rotation.

As long as the objects are Shapes, you can select them and reset the rotation.

The circles with the cross in your example are not Shapes.

You could try a script to replace the rotated objects with an unrotated object.

See zamena [Illustrator Praxis]

[Monika Gause]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Ton+Frederiks  schrieb

Shapes remember their individual rotation.

As long as the objects are Shapes, you can select them and reset the rotation.

The circles with the cross in your example are not Shapes.

You could try a script to replace the rotated objects with an unrotated object.

See zamena [Illustrator Praxis]

This is a group. I have rotated it, closed and reopened the file:

It's a CC2015.3 feature:

[Ton Frederiks]

Yes it will remeber the rotation angle for the group.

But unlike the rotation angle of shapes you cannot select multiple rotated groups and reset the angle at once.

[Monika Gause]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Ton+Frederiks  schrieb

you cannot select multiple rotated groups and reset the angle at once.

The screenshot in the original post only shows one selected element. That should work. I tried exactly the described workflow yesterday.

[Ton Frederiks]

Yes, one by one at the time should work.

But he/she wants multiple objects rotation set to zero as the left part of the first screenschot shows.

A script is faster.

[Vectorgeek]

Ok had some time to play with it. I am running Adobe Illustrator CC ver 22.1

I know shape objects remember their orientation but this is a group with the circle shape and two lines forming an X in the middle. I thought I figured it out on Friday by grouping it and resetting the bounding box before rotation but I can't repeat that behavior for some reason.

Every time I rotate that group and then click on the group and look at the transform pallet the object angle remains at zero.

It's driving me nuts. I've been using Illustrator for 20 years and not being able to figure something this simple is beyond me. I keep thinking there is some preference thing I'm missing. I know there are scripts that will reset the bounding box but if it's at zero that is not going to help. I didn't want to do a blend trick either since I'm doing this for a bunch of electrical connectors and some have over 100 pins.

[Ton Frederiks]

It seems that, if all the objects in a group have the same orientation inititally, the rotation will be remembered.

If the objects  in a group have a different angle, the rotation will not be remembered.

But that does not help you with your problem.

Resetting bounding boxes will not work either, because resetting a bounding box does not undo an object rotation, it just resets the rotation of the bounding box.

A script (like I mentioned in reply 7) will help.

[Vectorgeek]

Thanks Tom. I tried just redrawing everything from scratch and can't get it to work. Object Grouped> Rotate Tool >Alt click rotate. Bounding box is still zero. I ended up doing all the circles separate and copy dragging the Xs to each circle. Smart guides made it  pretty easy.

To top it off after finishing all the connector diagrams the engineer wanted all the Xs removed LOL! Problem solved!

[Ton Frederiks · Accepted solution]

In that case Symbols would have helped.

I just discovered that using Symbols would have solved your rotation problem too.

If your rotated object would have been a Symbol, then selecting them and right click > Reset Transformation would have reset them ot zero.

[Vectorgeek]

Thanks for the symbol tip Jeff!!! That was the holy Grail method I should have used the whole time.

Not only can you rotate them to zero if you need to alter the symbol you update all of them with one edit. Also the reset bounding box script should work to rotate all of them with a few clicks. Still not sure why the group object didn't retain the angle though but now I don't care.

[Ton Frederiks]

Good to hear that helped.

[angie_taylor]

Ton, you are the best 🙂

[Ton Frederiks]

Angie, I can say the same about you 🙂

[angie_taylor]

Aww, shucks! 🙂 x

[Vectorgeek]

I also checked out the zamena script. It's worked like a champ. Thanks again Ton!

[Vectorgeek]

Sorry I called you Jeff. Got my threads mixed up.;-)

[Ton Frederiks]

No problem, I understood who you were answering 🙂