Rotating and moving patterns in filled objects (Illustrator 10/CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

If you're drawing objects in Illustrator and filling these objects with patterns, chances are your patterns don't always line up the way you expect. You can move and rotate the pattern inside the object.

Choose the Direct Selection tool and select any part of your illustration that contains the pattern. Press the tilde [~] key and hold it as you press the arrow keys to move the pattern. You can also use the Shear tool, Rotate tool, and Reflect tool to adjust the location of the pattern.