The blue highlighted tool cabinet is the selected object.
Whenever I select the tool cabinet, the transform interface is not anywhere near it. I can move it (as shown in right panel), but this is annoying.
Also, after I move the interface to be over the object and deselect, the transform interface goes back to the original position after selecting the object again, far away from the selected object. So every time that I need to manipulate this tool cabinet, I have to move the transform interface every time.
What causes the transform interface to move away from the model in the first place, and what I can do to make it keep this position over the model when I go back to select it again?
That interface thing is called “gizmo.” There are several articles about it, this one may be useful from the manual.
In your first screenshot, it isn’t isolated to the cabinet because something else is selected. The Gizmo will start in the center of the selected item(s).
Gizmo is a very useful device. Depending where you put it, the directional arrows can change… if you put it on an edge, one arrow will be parallel with that edge.
Thanks for the help. You are correct in that I had more than one item selected.
This model was imported and then moved. When I moved it, the sketches remained in the original position. So my gizmo (thanks for the term) was halfway between the sketches (which are hidden) and the object.