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Quickly and easily align and distribute objects with no guesswork
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When you have multiple objects in an Adobe Illustrator composition, it can be challenging to get them perfectly aligned or to distribute them evenly. Luckily, Adobe Illustrator has an Align tool that allows you to quickly align objects as well as evenly distribute them with no guesswork. This wikiHow article teaches how to align and distribute objects in Adobe Illustrator.
Quick Steps
- Select the objects you want to align or distribute.
- Open the Align panel to the right.
- Click the More Options button with three dots.
- Select how you want to align or distribute your objects below “Align To.”
- Click one of the alignment or distribution options.
Steps
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Select the objects to be aligned. Click and drag a bounding box around two or more objects you want to align.
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Open the Align panel. You should see the Align panel appear in the menu bar to the right. On some older versions of Illustrator, it may appear at the top of the screen. If the Align panel doesn’t appear, use the following steps to open it:
- Click Window in the menu bar at the top.
- Click Align .
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Click the icon with three dots ⋯ . It’s to the right of the align buttons. This displays more options.
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Select how you want to align your objects. The align panel has three options on how you can align your objects below “Align To:” in the lower-right corner. They are as follows:
- Align to Selection: This option will align all objects relative to your selection.
- Align to Key Object: This option will align all objects relative to a key object that you select. You can also use this option to select a key anchor point.
- Align to Artboard: This option will align your selected objects relative to the artboard.
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Select a key object or anchor point (optional). If you are aligning your objects to a key object, click the object you want to use as your key object. This will highlight the object with a bold blue line.
- If you want to align your object to a key anchor point, press A to select the Direct Selection Tool. It’s the icon that resembles a white mouse cursor in the toolbar. Click the anchor points you want to align. The last anchor point you click will become your key anchor point.
- If you are aligning to your selection or the artboard, you do not need to select a key object or anchor point.
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Click one of the buttons below “Align Objects. ” You can align objects vertically or horizontally. The align object buttons are as follows:
- Horizontal Align Left: It’s the button that resembles a square and a rectangle aligned against a vertical line to the left. This aligns your selected objects horizontally to the left relative to your selection, key object, or artboard.
- Horizontal Align Center: It’s the button that resembles a square and a rectangle with a vertical line through the center. This aligns your selected objects horizontally down the center relative to your selection, key object, or artboard.
- Horizontal Align Right: It’s the button that resembles a square and a rectangle aligned against a vertical line to the right. This aligns your selected objects horizontally to the right relative to your selection, key object, or artboard.
- Vertical Align Top: It’s the button that resembles a square and a rectangle aligned against a line at the top. This aligns all objects in your selection vertically against the top relative to your selection, key object, or artboard.
- Vertical Align Center: It’s the button that resembles a square and a rectangle with a vertical line through the center. This aligns all objects in your selection vertically through the center relative to your selection, key object, or artboard.
- Vertical Align Bottom: It’s the button that resembles a square and a rectangle aligned against a line at the bottom. This aligns all objects in your selection vertically against the bottom relative to your selection, key object, or artboard.
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Select the objects you want to distribute. In addition to aligning objects, you can also evenly distribute them by spacing them out evenly vertically or horizontally. Click and drag a bounding box around the objects you want to distribute.
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Open the Align panel. You should see the Align panel appear in the menu bar to the right. On some older versions of Illustrator, it may appear at the top of the screen. If the Align panel doesn’t appear, use the following steps to pull it up:
- Click Window in the menu bar at the top.
- Click Align .
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Click the icon with three dots ⋯ . It’s to the right of the align buttons. This displays more options.
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Select how you want to distribute your objects. Just like how you can select how you want to align an object, the options below “Align To” can be used to select how you want to distribute your objects. They are as follows:
- Align to Selection: This option will distribute all objects relative to your selection.
- Align to Key Object: This option will distribute all objects relative to a key object that you select. You can also use this option to distribute anchor points. [1] X Research source
- Align to Artboard: This option will distribute your selected objects relative to the artboard.
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Select a key object or anchor point (optional). If you are distributing your objects relative to a key object, click the object you want to use as your key object. This will highlight the object with a bold blue line.
- If you want to distribute your object to a key anchor point, press A to select the Direct Selection Tool. It’s the icon that resembles a white mouse cursor in the toolbar. Click the anchor points you want to distribute. The last anchor point you click will become your key anchor point.
- If you are distributing to your objects relative to a selection or the artboard, you do not need to select a key object or anchor point.
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Set a distribution space amount (optional). If you want a specific amount of space between the objects you’re distributing, here’s how to set it:
- With the objects you want to distribute selected, use the Selection Tool to click the path of the object around which you want to distribute the other objects.
- Enter your desired amount of space in the “Distribute Spacing” text box in the Align panel.
- Select Vertical Distribute Space or Horizontal Distribute Space from the distribution options (see below).
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Click how you want to distribute your objects. There are eight options. They are as follows:
- Vertical Distribute Top: It has a button that resembles a square and a rectangle with lines at the tops. This vertically distributes your objects evenly using the top of your objects as a reference point.
- Vertical Distribute Center: It has a button that resembles a square and a rectangle with horizontal lines through the center. This vertically distributes your objects evenly using the center of your objects as a reference point.
- Vertical Distribute Bottom: It has a button that resembles a square and a rectangle with lines at the bottom. This vertically distributes your objects evenly using the bottom of your objects as a reference point.
- Horizontal Distribute Left: It has a button that resembles a square and a rectangle with lines on the left side. This horizontally distributes your objects evenly using the left side of your objects as a reference point.
- Horizontal Distribute Center: It has a button that resembles a square and a rectangle with vertical lines through the center. This horizontally distributes your objects evenly using the center as a reference point.
- Horizontal Distribute Right: It has a button that resembles a square and rectangle with lines at the right. This horizontally distributes your objects evenly using the right side of your object as a reference point.
- Vertical Distribute Space: It has a button that resembles a rectangle and a square with two horizontal lines between them. This vertically distributes the space between your objects evenly.
- Horizontal Distribute Space: It has a button that resembles a rectangle and a square with two vertical lines between them. This horizontally distributes the space between your objects evenly.
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