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 Models
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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