The Object Manipulation Tools display the transform manipulator to let you visually move, scale, or pivot (rotate) a model. You can also manipulate the projections that you use in texture mapping modes.
Transforming refers to moving models in 3D and rotating around all three axes.
Hover over the Object Manipulation Tools to display the following tools.
Holding Shift while moving and manipulating the controls of a manipulator engages snapping behavior. Snaps occur at .25 meter intervals in the scene in case of translation, 15 degree increments in case of rotation, .25x in case of scale and to bounding box centers, corners midpoints and edges in case of pivot point manipulation.
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Move |
If the Selection Tool is in Model mode,
this tool displays the transform manipulator for visually transforming models and displays the Objects  tab for numerically transforming models.If the Selection Tool is in Appearance mode, this tool displays the texture manipulator for visually mapping textures onto
parts in models and displays the Appearance  tab for numerically mapping
textures.
If you right-click and drag the center yellow square of the move
manipulator, the selected object "sticks" onto any other object you
drag it over. For example, you can use this feature to place an object on a table. It uses the selected object's pivot point as its base, so
moving the pivot to the bottom of the bounding box is recommended.
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Scale |
Displays the scale transform manipulator for visually scaling models. It works the same as the move manipulator, except it scales instead of moving objects.
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Pivot |
Displays the pivot transform manipulator for visually pivoting models. The pivot point is the center of rotation.
The pivot manipulator works the same as the move manipulator, except it acts on only the pivot point of the selected object.
To locate a model's pivot point on the model surface, hold the Ctrl key. A small blue dot that appears in the Viewport, overlayed on top of the model, shows
where you can snap the pivot location.
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Absolute |
When selected, transforms are relative to a copy of the world axis at the pivot point of the model. When cleared, transforms are relative to the model's local axis and pivot point.
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