Adobe Illustrator CS4 - Manual (Page 217)

210 USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
Selecting and arranging objects
See also
“ Layers panel overview ” on page 215
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, and you
can align to a selection, an artboard, or a key object. A key object is one specific object in a selection of multiple objects.
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.
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.
For a video on aligning and distributing objects, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0035 .
See also
“ Workspace overview ” on page 10
“ Using multiple artboards ” on page 37
Align or distribute relative to the bounding box of all selected objects
1 Select the objects to align or distribute.
2 In the Align panel or Control panel, select Align To Selection , and then click the button for the type of
alignment or distribution you want.
Align or distribute relative to one anchor point
1 Click the Direct-Selection tool, hold down Shift, and select the anchor points you want to align or distribute. The
last anchor point you select becomes the key anchor point.
The Align To Key Anchor option is automatically selected in the Align panel and Control panel.
2 In the Align panel or Control panel, click the button for the type of alignment or distribution you want.
Align or distribute relative to a key object
1 Select the objects to align or distribute.
2 Click again on the object you want to use as a key object (you don’t need to hold down Shift as you click this time).
A blue outline appears around the key object, and Align To Key Object is automatically selected in the Control
panel and Align panel.
3 In the Align panel or Control panel, click the button for the type of alignment or distribution you want.
Note: To stop aligning and distributing relative to an object, click again on the object to remove the blue outline, or
choose Cancel Key Object from the Align panel menu.
Align or distribute relative to an artboard
1 Select the objects to align or distribute.
2 Using the Selection tool, Shift-click in the artboard you want to use to activate it. The active artboard has a darker
outline than the others.