Working with Objects - Adobe Illustrator CS6 on Demand - page 204

• Scale. Drag a corner handle to scale along two axes; drag a side handle to
scale along one axis; Shift-drag to scale proportionally; hold down Alt (Win)
or Option (Mac), and then drag to scale from the center. Also hold down Shift
to scale from the center proportionally.
• Reflect. Drag a side handle all the way across the object to the other side.
• Rotate. Point slightly outside a corner handle (pointer changes to a double ar-
row), and then drag in a circular motion.
To rotate an object 180 degrees, drag a corner handle diagonally all the way
across the object.
To transform an object using exact values or percentages, select the Transform
panel.
Using the Free Transform Tool
The Free Transform tool allows you to rotate, scale (resize), reflect (mirror image), or
shear (slant) an object. In addition, you can apply perspective and distortion to an object.
However, you cannot copy an object or move the reference point. As you drag to trans-
form an object, you can use keyboard keys to alter the results of a transformation. To help
you align the results the way you want, you can use Smart Guides to make it easier.