89 Resize from Center. 89 of 95.
89/EDITOR GEOMETRY/89 of 95
Resize from Center
Alt can mirror growth around the center.
Best experienced with a pointer.
The problem
Corner-anchored resize shifts the object's visual center, which is awkward when the author wanted symmetric growth.
The solution
Alt mirrors handle movement so both sides grow from the center.
Experiment
Play with the values
36px
How it works
- The resize starts from a handle, which normally anchors the opposite corner.
- Alt or Option is detected as the center-resize modifier.
- The object's center at the start of the drag is cached.
- The pointer's delta is mirrored on the opposite side.
- The center stays fixed while both sides grow or shrink.
- Releasing the modifier returns to corner-anchored resize.
Seen in
Shape editors
Alt-resize expands ellipses and rects outward from their center.
Crop tools
Centered crop adjustments keep the subject framed symmetrically.
UI layout canvases
Frames grow evenly when designers hold Alt while resizing.
Diagram nodes
Nodes stay anchored in place while scaling from the middle.