Aligning and Distributing Objects

In Canvas X Draw you can quickly and easily align or distribute selected objects from the Align menu, the Properties bar, or the Align palette.

To Open the Align Palette:

Choose Window | Palettes | Align...

To Align or Distribute Objects:

Select two or more objects.
Do one of the following:
- Choose Object | Align, and select an alignment option.
- In the Properties bar, select an alignment option, or Distribute Inside Vertically or Distribute Inside Horizontally option.
- In the Align palette, select an alignment or distribution option, then click Apply.

You can apply alignment and distribution options to vector objects, grouped objects, paint objects, and text objects. You can align and distribute objects in separate or combined operations. As the reference point for alignment and distribution, you can choose points on the objects or the document.

Aligning objects: When aligning objects, Canvas X Draw lines up key points on the objects in relation to the key object. Choose left, right, top, bottom, or center alignment.
Distributing objects: When distributing objects, Canvas X Draw spreads them out over a specified area and equalizes the space between the key points. Choose inside, top, center, bottom, and outside as methods for distribution; e.g., if you choose left edges for distribution, the left-most point in each object is an equal distance from the leftmost point in each of its neighbors.

If one of the objects you select for alignment is locked, other objects align relative to it. When distributing objects, Canvas X Draw may place all objects relative to the option selected in the Distribute to menu.

Align Palette

Vertical

Align:

None
Top
Center
Bottom
Edge to Edge (Top to Bottom)

Distribute:

Inside
Top
Center
Bottom

Horizontal

Align:

Left
Center
Right
Edge to Edge (Top to Bottom)

Distribute:

Inside
Top
Center
Bottom

Outside Pen

When Outside Pen is off, objects will align based on their bounding boxes.

When applying either horizontal or vertical edge-to-edge alignment, the order of the aligned objects depends on the order in which the objects were created; i.e., the object furthest to the left or at the very top in an edge-to-edge alignment was created first. Both Edge to Edge options have the same effect. They align all the remaining objects edge to edge with the key selection object.