Shape size, position or rotation cannot be edited

Symptoms

If one or more of these match what you are seeing, you are on the right page.

• •The element cannot be selected on the canvas at all
• •Handles appear but dragging does nothing
• •Changing width also changes height
• •Rotation pivots around an unexpected point

Causes and fixes

Ordered from most to least likely. Work down the list — each cause is paired with what to do about it.

1. 1

   The layer is locked.

   Click the padlock icon on the layer row in the Layer Panel to unlock it. Locked layers cannot be selected or transformed on the canvas.

2. 2

   The element is inside a group.

   Double-click the group to enter it — the rest of the canvas dims and the panels scope to the group’s members. Press Escape to exit. Editing from outside the group transforms the whole group instead.

3. 3

   The aspect ratio lock is engaged.

   The chain-link icon between the W and H fields locks proportional scaling for numeric entry. Click it to unlink so the dimensions can change independently.

4. 4

   The anchor point is not where you expect.

   Rotation and scale pivot on the anchor point, which defaults to the geometric centre. Reposition it with the 3×3 grid in the Properties Panel, or enable Custom Anchor for an explicit offset.

5. 5

   You are trying to drag a value that needs typing.

   Click the X, Y, W, H or Rotation field and type. Prefix with + or - for a relative change — typing +50 in X moves the element 50px right. Arrow keys nudge by 1px, Shift+Arrow by 10px.

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