Illustrator

Align and distribute objects

You use the Align panel (Window > Align) and the align options in the Control panel to align or distribute selected objects along the axis you specify. You can use either the object edges or anchor points as the reference point.

The Align options are visible in the Control panel when an object is selected. If they do not appear, choose Align from the Control panel menu.

For a video on aligning and distributing objects, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0035.

Align or distribute objects

  1. Select the objects to align or distribute. To align an anchor point on the object, use the Direct Selection tool and select the anchor point.
  2. In the Align panel or Control panel, do any of the following:

    • To align or distribute relative to the bounding box of all selected objects, click the button for the type of alignment or distribution you want.

    • To align or distribute relative to one of the selected objects, click that object again (you don’t need to hold down Shift as you click this time). Then click the button for the type of alignment or distribution you want.

      Note: To stop aligning and distributing relative to an object, choose Cancel Key Object from the Align panel menu.

    • To align relative to a crop area, specify the crop area you want to align to by selecting it with the Crop tool. Click the Align To Crop Area button  or click the Align menu  and choose Align To Crop Area. Then click the button for the type of alignment you want.

    • To align relative to the artboard, click the Align To Artboard button  or click the Align menu  and choose Align To Artboard. Then click the button for the type of alignment you want.

      By default, Illustrator calculates alignment and distribution based on the objects’ paths. However, when working with objects that have different stroke weights, you can use the edge of the stroke to calculate alignment and distribution instead. To do this, select Use Preview Bounds from the Align panel menu.

Distribute objects by specific amounts

You can distribute objects using exact distances between their paths.

  1. Select the objects to distribute.
  2. In the Align panel, enter the amount of space to appear between objects in the Distribute Spacing text box.

    If the Distribute Spacing options aren’t displayed, select Show Options from the panel menu.

  3. Use the Selection tool  to click the path of the object you want the other objects to distribute around. The object you click will remain fixed in its position.
  4. Click either the Vertical Distribute Space button or the Horizontal Distribute Space button.