If the object has been rotated with no other transformation applied then [shift+ctrl+x] opens the XML Editor dialog. Rotated objects have an entry that looks like transform rotate(-15,16.119417,16.517121) Use the bin icon to delete this attribute and reset the rotation.
When you combine multiple transformations (scale, rotate, skew, shift) Inkscape doesn't store the individual operations but instead calculates a single transformation matrix for the object. In this case you can't simply reset the rotation to zero.
Beginners' Questions Clear rotation
Inkscape.org
Hi,
how do I clear (ie, reset to zero) the rotation of an object?
Cheers,
bitrat
If the object has been rotated with no other transformation applied then [shift+ctrl+x] opens the XML Editor dialog. Rotated objects have an entry that looks like
transform rotate(-15,16.119417,16.517121)
Use the bin icon to delete this attribute and reset the rotation.
When you combine multiple transformations (scale, rotate, skew, shift) Inkscape doesn't store the individual operations but instead calculates a single transformation matrix for the object. In this case you can't simply reset the rotation to zero.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affine_transformation
Note: Path objects might not have the transform attribute in the XML when transforms are set to "Optimized" in preferences.
@Paddy_CAD @Tyler Durden
Thanks, that's really interesting! I knew it was possible to manipulate Inkscape's SVG programmatically, but I didn't know about this feature.
I see there are limits on the usefulness of direct manipulation of transforms, but just deleting the attribute does what I want for now.
I can think of other potential use cases, like editing text in place.
Might be time to RTFM!