Motion Move a layer’s anchor point
Selecting the Anchor Point tool activates Canvas controls to adjust the point in a layer around which geometric transforms are performed.
Layers rotate around the anchor point, but the anchor point also affects resizing operations. For example, the default anchor point for any layer is the center of the bounding box that defines the layer’s edges. If you rotate a layer, it spins around this central anchor point.
If you offset the anchor point, however, the layer no longer rotates around its own center, but instead rotates around the new anchor point.
Change the anchor point of a layer in the Canvas
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Select a layer in the Layers list or Canvas.
A bounding box appears around the selected layer in the Canvas.
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Click the 2D transform tools pop-up menu in the toolbar and, holding down the mouse button, choose the Anchor Point tool.
In the Canvas, the selected layer’s anchor point appears as a round target surrounded with three colored arrows representing the X, Y, and Z coordinate axes. For more information on coordinate axes, see Transform layers in 3D space.
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Do one of the following:
Drag the white circle to move the anchor point vertically or horizontally.
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Drag an arrow to move the anchor point along the corresponding axis.
As you drag the anchor point, a line stretches from the default position of the anchor point to its new position. Additionally, the status bar shows you the anchor point’s new coordinates and the delta (amount of change) between the anchor point’s new and old positions, and the Anchor Point parameter is updated in the Properties Inspector.
Note: If the anchor point is close to the center or edges of the layer, and both Snapping and Dynamic Guides are turned on, the anchor point snaps to that location.