How to change the Pivot Point in Unreal Engine (Fixed & Temp.)

So you’re working in Unreal Engine and you need to move and change the position of a static mesh’s pivot point. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered in this tutorial!

Continue reading to learn two effective methods: the first will temporarily change the pivot point, and the second will permanently change the location.

Let’s get started!

How to Temporarily Adjust the Pivot in Unreal

Option 1 (Middle Mouse)

By pressing the middle mouse button on the white sphere in the center of the Translation tool, you can change the location of an Actor’s center point. Then, you can drag it to move that center point around.

Option 2 (ALT + Middle Mouse)

On the other hand, if you’d like to move the pivot using the gizmo arrows:

Hold down the ALT key + the middle mouse button together, then drag one of the arrows.
Alternatively, hold ALT and click the middle mouse button where you want the new pivot point to be.

The pivot point of an actor in Unreal Engine can also be moved, rotated and scaled by doing this. For more information, see our post on Transforming actors in Unreal Engine.

Tip: When using these two techniques, the pivot point returns to its initial position as soon as any other object is selected.

How to Permanently move the Pivot in UE5

Option 1 (Pivot)

After you’ve moved the pivot to its new desired location, right-click and select one of the pivot options listed below:

Set as Pivot Offset: Sets the current pivot location as the pivot offset for this actor.
Reset Pivot Offset: Resets the pivot offset for this actor.
Set Pivot Offset Here: Sets the pivot offset to the clicked location.
Set Pivot Offset Here (Snapped): Sets the pivot offset to the nearest grid point to the clicked location.
Center on Selection: Centers the pivot to the middle of the selection.

Tip: If you’re having difficulty choosing the pivot location due to accidentally selecting other objects, remember that you can hide them by pressing the H key. When you’re done, press CTRL+H to bring back all the objects in your level.

Option 2 (Modeling Tools)

Personally, this is my favorite approach for permanently changing the pivot point of a static mesh:

Simply enter Modeling Mode (SHIFT+5) and select Pivot from the Transform section.

As a result you can now move the pivot point using the Gizmo in the Viewport.

Alternatively, you can use the from the modeling panel on the left. Where you will be able to quickly choose a new predefined position such as the object’s center, bottom, top, left, right, back, or front.

When you’re finished, just hit the blue accept button.