Home > Transformations > Resize or scale an object

Resize or scale an object

Resizing and scaling are two different ways in Microsoft® Expression Blend™ to change the size of an object:

• Resizing an object changes only the dimensions of the object—the object's width, height. For example, when you resize an object that has a specific stroke thickness, the stroke thickness stays the same as the object resizes.
• Scaling applies a transform to the object that resizes the object based upon a multiple of the initial X, Y, and Z (three-dimensional objects only) values. For example, when you scale an object that has a specific stroke thickness, the stroke thickness scales as the object scales. This means that if you scale the object only by its x-axis value (the object's width), the stroke thickness for the width of the object will be different from the stroke thickness for the height (y-axis) of the object.

To resize an object

1. Select the object that you want to resize, by using either the Selection tool or the Direct Selection tool and then clicking the object on the artboard.
2. Do one of the following:
   • In the Properties panel, under Layout, enter values in the Width of Height boxes, or both. Changes in width and height might make it necessary to change the values in the HorizontalAlignment, VerticalAlignment, or Margin boxes as well.
   • On the artboard, move your pointer over the corner handles or the midpoint handles of an object until the pointer becomes a double-ended arrow (, , , or ), and then drag the pointer to change the object's size. Hold down the SHIFT key to constrain the proportions of the object as you resize it. Hold down the ALT key to maintain the center point.

To scale an object

1. Select the object that you want to scale, by using either the Selection tool or the Direct Selection tool and then clicking the object on the artboard.
2. In the RenderTransform category under Transform in the Properties panel, click the Scale tab.

   For information about the RenderTransform and LayoutTransform transform categories, see Transforming objects.

3. Enter a decimal number in the boxes for the X, Y, and Z (only for three-dimensional objects) properties that represents a multiple of the initial size of the object. For example, a value of 2.0 doubles the initial size.

   It is not possible to scale an object freely on the artboard by using handles on the object's bounding box unless you are modifying your object in a trigger or an animation timeline.