Double-click the Move Tool icon to display its options in the Tool Settings panel as described here.
Moves an object in object space coordinate system. Axis orientation includes rotations on the object itself. If several objects are selected, each object moves the same amount relative to its own object space coordinate system.
(Default) Moves in the world space coordinate system. The object is aligned to the world space axis.
Moves selected components along an average local reference frame that is computed using component properties like the normal.
When an object is selected, moves the object in object space coordinate system.
Aligns the object to the rotation of the parent object. Movement is constrained to those axes in the local space coordinate system. The object is aligned to the rotation of the parent object and does not include the rotations on the object itself. If several objects are selected, each object moves the same amount relative to its own object space coordinate system.
Moves selected vertices or CVs in the U or V direction of the surface. Typically you would use this option for small sets of CVs. The manipulator indicates the surface Normal, U, and V directions.
When you select Normal, the Update [UVN] Triad check box appears. Turned on, this option causes the manipulator orientation to reflect the moved surface rather than the original surface. This is the default. Turned off, the manipulator retains the orientation for the original surface.
(This setting does not work with Reflection on.) Sets the Move Tool to move objects along the axis of a live object. Most commonly, you would make a construction plane live, but any object can be set live. When you have a live object and select this option, the move arrows of the Move Tool align to the live construction plane. (The geometry of the live object doesn’t matter; the move aligns to the axes of the live object.)
Lets you set a custom orientation. Custom axis orientation is automatically selected when you activate custom pivot editing mode. The offset coordinates update as you edit the orientation of the pivot. See Activate custom pivot editing mode.
Set to Object: Sets the Move tool to move the selected object along another object's axis orientation.
Activates custom pivot editing mode. See Activate custom pivot editing mode.
Resets the custom pivot's position and orientation. See Change the pivot point.
When on, snaps the pivot position to the selected component. By default, pivot position snapping is turned on.
When on, snaps the pivot orientation to the selected component. By default, pivot orientation snapping is turned on.
When on, locks your edits to the custom pivot in place, letting you use the same custom pivot to transform components on the same mesh or on a different mesh. See Pin the custom pivot.
Pivot pinning remains locked during component selection changes, object selection changes, and when you switch to Object selection mode.
Determines whether to display the rotation control in pivot editing mode. Disable this to avoid accidentally re-orienting the pivot if you only want to move it.
Lets you slide components along the edges or the surface of the active mesh.
You can turn on a transform constraint in the Modeling Toolkit or the tool settings for any of the transform tools.
Lets you maintain relative spacing while moving an object. Turn this option Off if you don’t want to preserve relative spacing while translating. Select Relative and enter a value to determine the amount an object is moved in increments.
In Maya 2015 and previous versions, Step Snap was called Step Size and was only available when Discrete Move was turned on.
When on, moving a parent object does not move its children.
When this option is selected, moving components in the scene view causes the corresponding UVs to move accordingly in the UV space. The net result is that the texture does not become warped.
When on, joint offset values are automatically updated when you move joints in a skeleton, ensuring that the parent joint points correctly toward the first child joint.
See also Move joints.
The following settings let you snap to polygon face centers and vertices while translating.
Turned on by default. This means that while Maya moves the component, relative spacing is maintained. Turn this option off if you don’t want to preserve relative spacing while translating and snapping polygonal components.
These settings let you move and snap to a live polygon’s components (face centers and vertices). See Snapping with live objects.
See Symmetry Settings.
Lets you specify whether Shift + dragging a manipulator in Object mode will duplicate the selected objects.
Lets you specify whether Shift + dragging a manipulator in Component mode will extrude the selected components.
Determines the type of duplicate created when Shift+Drag to Duplicate Objects is enabled. For more information, see Copies vs. instances.