Commands - Move

In this section we are listing all the commands that are here to help you move objects' positions

Center Pivot

Moves the selected transforms as pivot to the center of all their children transform

Quick Name: CPI

Hot Keys: ALT+HOME

Usage: Use this command when you want to recenter the parent object based on the position of its children objects: the parent will then be positioned in the gravity center of all the objects.

Example: You moved few trees under a new parent, but this parent's position is 0,0,0, resulting in a weird transform tool position and confusing behavior: centering the pivot often makes things much clearer to use.

Clamp Position

Clamps the position so that is is a multiple of the specified value

Quick Name: CLP

Usage: Clamps the position of the object like in Pro Grid: the difference is that you do not have to mess up with your grid configuration: you can do it once for a group of objects, and be done with it.

Example: You duplicated a bunch of column on a room with a tiling on the ground, but the tiling is smaller than the grid you use with ProGrid: you can use this command to quickly align the column to the tiling on the floor without changing your grid

Clamp Rotation

Clamps the rotation so that is is a multiple of the specified value

Quick Name: CLR

Usage: Rotations of objects are sometimes not exactly a multiple of a round value: to align perfectly few objects in the same direction, it sometimes is much faster to just clamp it to a multiple of a value (like 45 degrees or 90 degrees)

Example: You spawned a bunch of boxes and let them fall on the floor with physics, but now you want to make sure their Y axis rotation is a multiple of 45 degrees to fit your gameplay grid, you can use this method on all your boxes to do that.

Clamp Scale

Clamps the scale so that is is a multiple of the specified value

Quick Name: CLS

Usage: Scale of objects is one of the things that can be annoying to set when balance games such as platformers or action adventures: if you set your jump to always reach a certain height, a little misalignment of the scale can break it: clamping it can ensure it always follow your design.

Example: You created few boxes that grow in scale so that the player can jump from one to the other, but you eyeballed the dimensions: by clamping the scale, you can ensure it is exactly what it should be.

Copy Position

Copies the position of an object, by default the first object selected

Quick Name: CP

Hot Keys: ALT+C

Usage: Copying position of objects is one of the most common thing you do when manipulating objects, and doing so is surprisingly annoying in Unity, as you need to copy the transform component, and then paste value (which also means you cannot apply a position to a group of objects.

Example: You are editing a bunch of particle systems as prefab instances, and you want to visualize how they would look like in the position of few objects. You can copy their position to the specified object one after the other to check it out without having to manually approximate their position.

Copy Rotation

Copies the rotation of an object, by default the first object selected

Quick Name: CR

Hot Keys: ALT+R

Usage: Same as for position, copying rotation is both common and annoying to do in Unity.

Example: You are spawning few houses next to each other , and you want all the houses to be oriented in a similar fashion: you can copy the rotation of the first one your oriented on all of them directly.

Copy Transform

Copies the transform (scale ignored) of an object, by default the first object selected

Quick Name: CT

Hot Keys: ALT+T

Usage: Same as the two upper, but combined

Example: You are testing weapon attachment look on your player character: you create instances of few weapons, and copy the position and rotation of the anchor point, to check how it looks like, without having to re-parent the object and mess up with your prefabs.

Look At

Make the selected objects all look at a specific one, by default the first selected

Quick Name: L

Hot Keys: ALT+L

Usage: Unity does not give you the tool to orient objects easily: if you want to make an object look at another one, you can only approximate the rotation, which can be annoying and long to do, especially if you have to do regular adjustments.

Example: You want a spotlight to point at a certain object on the scene to highlight it: you can use this command to directly make it point at it. This si event more powerful when you want few objects to point at one: if few houses need to be oriented towards the center of the village, selecting all the houses will make them all look at the center at once.

Look At Interactive

Constrains the selected objects to always look at another one (by default the first selected)

Quick Name: LI

Usage: Similar to "Look At", this command makes objects look in the direction of another. The difference with the "Look At" command is that this one is an "Interactive" command, which means that the objects will look at the target for as long as the command is active. This can be very useful when adjusting the position of an object while you want some other to look at it.

Example: A bunch of village houses should look at a statue in the center of the village: using this command allows you to move the statue around to explore the look of your scene.

Look At Mouse Interactive

Makes the selected objects look at the mouse until confirmed

Quick Name: LM

Usage: Similar to "Lock Look At", but looks at the raycasted position of the mouse. Useful when you want objects to look in a specific direction more than at a specific object.

Example: You want the enemies of a level to all look at the center of the arena: you can move your mouse to the center to achieve this effect directly.

Align Between Interactive

Constrains the objects to align to the axis between two objects (by default first two selected)

Quick Name: AB

Usage: Like for the "Duplicate On Axis" Command, this command is mainly useful when you want to create a geometrical repetition in your level, and ensure that the distance between objects is exact and not approximate. Because this is an "Interactive" Command, it will keep the alignment for as long as the command is active, which is very useful to make real time adjustments. The best way to use this command is to create two objects that you will use as guides for the alignment. By adding an icon to them you can easily select them on the scene, and move them around to change the alignment of objects

Example:You are making a straight fence for a field, but you are not sure yet what is the orientation of the field: using this command lets you adjust the alignment in real time until you get it exactly right without having to manually move each and every object manually.

Align Axis Interactive

Constrains the objects to align to the axis of another one, (default first selected)

Quick Name: AAI

Usage: Similar to "Align Between Interactive", this command aligns the selected objects according to an axis on the first selected object. Since this command is a "Lock" one, the alignment will remain as long as the command is active, allowing you to move the reference object around.

Example: There is a wall with few paintings on it aligned on the X axis. You want to move all the paintings to another wall while keeping the alignment.

You can use Align Axis Interactive to make sure all the paintings are aligned to the first one. Then, you can use "Move Under Mouse" to move the first painting onto another wall, and all the other painting will also follow.

Lock In Chain

Constrains the selected objects so they act like attached by a chain from the first selected to the last

Quick Name: LC

Usage: This command is very useful when making organic line of object that smoothly transition from one to another. Because it is a "Lock" command, it will be active as long the command is active. You can use this command to create wooden path, connecting fences, rocks that border a cliff, or anything that needs to follow a smooth line.

Example: You want to make a wooden plank path that goes through the forest. You can first duplicate a plank X amount of times and then use the command on all the duplicates. You can then drag the first plank (or any plank you want) around to make the path follow a specific direction. If combined with "Lock Collision" on all planks, you can on the top have the planks stick to the ground. If combine with "Lock Distance All" you can even make sure trees around your path are gonna get pushed when your path gets near them

Move Until Collision Interactive

Constrains the selected objects to move on the selected axis until the next raycast hit

Quick Name: MCD

Usage: One of the most useful command for Level Design: if you want to make sure a bunch of objects always stick to the ground no matter how you move them, this command is for you. Thanks to this you can rapidly move a big group of objects around without having to manually adjust every single one of them.

Example: You want to move around few rocks of a mountain, but still following the surface of the mountain: using this command, moving the parent object of these rocks will have them still follow the surface

Lock Distance

Constrains the selected objects' distance to the reference one (by default first selected)

Quick Name: LD

Usage: A very crucial command for level design: You can decided to make some objects always be at a certain distance of another one, or observe a minimum or maximum distance. This can be especially useful when you want to make sure your props will give enough space for a character to go through.

Example: You are building a platformer game, and want to make sure the player can navigate around a specific tree in a forest without being blocked by collision: by applying min distance between that tree and the others that is as bigger than the collision capsule of your character, you'll make sure it is the case.

Lock Distance All

Constrains the selected objects' distance between each other

Quick Name: LDA

Usage: Similar to lock distance, but applies to all the objects selected. This command is especially useful when spreading objects of a landscape around: if you place a lot of object randomly but want to make sure they do not overlap too much, this is the command for you. This can also be very useful after using the "Duplicate" command. Since all the duplicated objects will end up in the same location, you can spread them by using this command to make sure they don't all end up in the same place.

Example: You duplicated a wooden box that serves as a physics prop in an action box: you now have 8 boxes all at the same location: using this command will allow you to spread the boxes so that they don't touch each other.

Lock Distance With Children

Constrains the selected objects' distance to the reference one's children (by default first selected)

Quick Name: LDC

Usage: Similar to "Lock Distance", this command is useful when you want a group of object to respect a certain distance to another group of object, but want to keep the objects withing a group out of this distance constrain.

Example: You put rocks in a specific arrow pattern to guide your players, so they are tight together. You want other rocks around it to observe a minimum distance to all the rocks in the arrow so that it is visible in a rock field: using this method on the arrow parent vs all the rocks around will achieve what you want.

Lock Transforms

Prevents the selected objects' transforms from moving while the command is active

Quick Name: LT

Usage: Since it prevents a transform from moving, it can be useful when few "Lock" commands are active, or when you want to move a parent object without moving some of its children: this is especially useful when you are trying to make a parent object a pivot at a specific location without breaking the hierarchy.

Example: You want to move the parent object of few objects without moving them (for instance, you want to put the parent as a pivot for a door). You can lock the position of the children using this command, so that only the parent object is moving without messing with the hierarchy.

Move Until Collision

Moves the selected objects in the selected axis until the next raycast hit, by default global axes

Quick Name: MC

Hot Keys: ALT+DOWN

Usage: One of the most useful commands: will instantly move all the selected objects until a collision is encountered, along the specified axis. This is very useful because Unity does not have any functionality like that: it can clamp to the surface, but this mode only works for one object, and does not align the object to the surface. This command will work on any axis, with as many objects as you want, and has an option to align to the surface.

Example: You are making a cave level, and want a group of vine hanging from the ceiling. You modify a bit the structure of the cave, which means that all the previously positioned vines are now wrongly put and are not attached to any surface: by using this command and raycast on the up direction, you can position all the vines instantly back to the ceiling, no matter its shape.

Move Under Mouse

Moves the selected objects to the position raycasted from the mouse

Quick Name: MM

Hot Keys: ALT+UP

Usage: This command move an object under the raycasted position of the mouse: this is useful when you want to quickly adjust the positon of an object. Since you can also rotate the camera while doing this and since this command can also align the object to the surface hit, this can be particularly useful for interior design.

Example: You want to move a ceiling lamp to another room: using this command, you will not need to tweak the exact position for a long time: you can just move the camera to the other room, and point at the location you want on the ceiling to directly achieve what you want.

Move Pivot

Moves the selected transforms as pivot, which means that their children will not move or rotate

Quick Name: MP

Hot Keys: ALT+M

Usage: Quite often you need to change the location of the pivot of an object for animation and gameplay purposes, but this requires you to break the hierarchy which can lead to errors and mistakes, especially when working with prefabs. This command lets you move the pivot without touching the children.

Example: You want a swinging axe trap for a platformer, but the pivot of your axe is it its center: using this command you can quickly move the pivot to the top of the axe to animate easily a nice swing.

Randomize Position

Randomizes the local position of the selected objects within a specified range (by default -1 to 1)

Quick Name: RAP

Hot Keys: ALT+SHIFT+1

Usage: Randomizes the position of the selected objects along the selected axes. The distance of randomization is relative to the initial position, so the randomization wont corrupt the inital look over time. This command is especially useful when you want to create organic and natural looks.

Example: You duplicated a tree 50 times, and now want to generate a forest from these trees. By using this command, you can quickly spread the trees around and iterate the look.

Randomize Rotation

Randomizes the local rotation of the selected objects within a specified range (by default 0 to 360)

Quick Name: RAR

Hot Keys: ALT+SHIFT+2

Usage: This command is great to remove repetitivity in the look of your environments. It can also help you reuse a limited amount of assets to hide their similarities very fast.

Example: You only have 3 rocks at your disposition, but you want to create a convincing cliff out of them. You can spawn them around and then use the command to hide similarities between them.

Randomize Scale

Randomizes the local scale of the selected objects within a specified range (by default .8 to 1.2)

Quick Name: RAS

Hot Keys: ALT+SHIFT+3

Usage: Similar to "Randomize Rotation", this command really helps hiding repetitivity in your environment. This is especially true when using assets that can be convincing at different scales like trees or rocks.

Example: You are building a cave system that is covered by rocks: by randomizing the scale on the wall rocks you can give it a more interesting look, and by using the command on the same assets on the floor, you can give it a more natural look.

Reset Rotation

Sets all the local rotations of the selected transform to default

Quick Name: RR

Hot Keys: ALT+SHIFT+R

Usage: This command is a faster way to manually pass the three rotation angle to zero.

Example: You had an object under a parent with a rotation, and when you un-parented this object, the rotation values remained but you wanted to reset it. This command will do it faster than manually clicking on the fields

Reset Transforms

Sets all the local values of the selected transform to default

Quick Name: RT

Hot Keys: ALT+SHIFT+T

Usage: Same as "Reset Rotation", but for the position and scale as well. Faster alternative to manually change the fields.

Example: You instantiated a prefab that spawns at a strange location due to the position saved in it. Using this command puts it at the origin of the scene.

Spread And Align Between

Spreads equally and aligns objects between the two selected

Quick Name: SA

Usage: This command is useful when you want to align properly few objects when they are not perfectly aligned.

Example: You positioned manually few columns in a room, but you want them to be perfectly aligned according to an axis that cannot be clamped on a grid. Select the two ends columns to align all the columns in between and spread them along the axis.

Select Siblings

Selects the siblings of all the selected objects

Quick Name: SS

Hot Keys: CTRL+ALT+S

Set Local Position

Set the specified rotation on the selected objects

Quick Name: SLP

Hot Keys: ALT+1

Usage: This command is useful if you learn how to use it fast, with hotkeys. In that case you wont need to click on the fields on the transform.

Set Local Rotation

Set the specified rotation on the selected objects

Quick Name: SLR

Hot Keys: ALT+2

Usage: Similar to "Set Local Position", this command is useful if you learn the hotkeys so that it becomes faster than clicking on the field

Set Local Scale

Set the specified scale on the selected objects

Quick Name: SLS

Hot Keys: ALT+3

Usage: Similar to "Set Local Position", this command is useful if you learn the hotkeys so that it becomes faster than clicking on the field

Set Parent

Sets the parent of the selected objects

Quick Name: SP

Hot Keys: CTRL+ALT+M

Usage: Useful when you quickly want to move a bunch of objects elsewhere in the hierarchy.

Example: You have some weapons placed in the the Zone A under the Zone B parent object: you can move them to the Zone A object at once, which is useful if the hierarchy is big and hard to navigate by.

Position In Circle

Positions all the selected objects in circle around the specified object (by default the first selected)

Quick Name: PIC

Usage: This can be useful to create geometrically perfect circles without having to manually position all the objects.

Example: You want to create a ring of rocks around a tree to make it look magical. Selecting the trees and then all the rocks and applying the command will do that!

Rotate Around

Rotates the selected objects around a specified one (by default the first selected), on one of its local axes.

Quick Name: RA

Usage: This command is very useful when you have few objects you want to rotate at once without having to reparent objects. It's also more precise since you can specify an exact angle.

Example: Few Statues are positioned in circle around a light in a center of the room: if you want to all rotate then 45 degrees at once around the light, this command will do this.

Rotate

Rotates the selected objects on their own axes.

Quick Name: RO

Usage: This is equivalent to using the rotation transform handle of unity, but has the advantage of allowing you to put precise angles instead of manually tweaking it.

Example: You want to rotate few turrets on your level by 90 degrees, and you can use this command to do it in one go.

Project On Plane Interactive

Locks the selected objects on a plane defined by a point (by default the first object selected) and a normal

Quick Name: PPI

Usage: This is a quick way to move an object without reparenting it, and is especially useful when working outside of a grid.

Example: You are not sure about the orientation of a wall, but don't want to parent some decors under it: constraining them on the plane defined by the wall while moving it will grant you more freedom.