Align and arrange drawing objects - Word

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Align and arrange drawing objects

Applies to: Microsoft Office Word 2003

The following procedures work with floating (floating object: A graphic or other object that is inserted in the drawing layer so that you can position it precisely on the page or in front of or behind text or other objects.) drawing objects, but not with inline (inline object: A graphic or other object that is positioned directly in the text of a Microsoft Word document at the insertion point.) drawing objects.

Do one of the following:

Show Align drawing objects relative to each other, to a drawing canvas, or to the page

Select the floating drawing objects (drawing object: Any graphic you draw or insert, which can be changed and enhanced. Drawing objects include AutoShapes, curves, lines, and WordArt.) you want to align.
Do one of the following:
To align floating objects relative to each other
1. On the Drawing toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), click Draw.
2. Point to Align or Distribute, and make sure that Relative to Page or Relative to Canvas is not selected.
3. Select the alignment you want.
To align floating objects relative to the drawing canvas
To use this procedure, the objects must be on a drawing canvas (drawing canvas: An area on which you can draw multiple shapes. Because the shapes are contained within the drawing canvas, they can be moved and resized as a unit.).
1. On the Drawing toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), click Draw.
2. Point to Align or Distribute, and then select Relative to Canvas.
3. Click Draw again, point to Align or Distribute, and then select the alignment you want.
To align floating objects relative to the page
To use this procedure, the objects can not be on a drawing canvas, and you must be working in print layout view (print layout view: A view of a document or other object as it will appear when you print it. For example, items such as headers, footnotes, columns, and text boxes appear in their actual positions.).
1. On the Drawing toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), click Draw.
2. Point to Align or Distribute, and then select Relative to Page.
3. Click Draw again, point to Align or Distribute, and then select the alignment you want.

Show Align floating drawing objects on a grid

On the Drawing toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), click Draw, and then click Grid.
Do one or both of the following:
- To automatically align drawing objects on an invisible grid (grid: A set of intersecting lines used to align objects.), select the Snap objects to grid check box.
- To automatically align objects with gridlines that go through the vertical and horizontal edges of other shapes, select the Snap objects to other objects check box.
Select any other options you want.

Show Arrange drawing objects equal distances from each other

Select the floating drawing objects (drawing object: Any graphic you draw or insert, which can be changed and enhanced. Drawing objects include AutoShapes, curves, lines, and WordArt.) you want to arrange.
Unless you arrange the objects in relation to the page or drawing canvas, you must select three or more objects.
Do one of the following:
To distribute floating objects equal distances from each other
1. On the Drawing toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), click Draw.
2. Point to Align or Distribute, and make sure that Relative to Canvas or Relative to Page is not selected.
3. Click Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically.
To arrange floating objects equal distances from each other in relation to the drawing canvas
1. On the Drawing toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), click Draw.
2. Point to Align or Distribute, and then click Relative to Canvas.
3. Click Draw again, point to Align or Distribute, and then click Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically.
To arrange two or more floating objects or drawing canvases relative to the page
To use this procedure, the objects can not be on a drawing canvas, and you must be working in print layout view (print layout view: A view of a document or other object as it will appear when you print it. For example, items such as headers, footnotes, columns, and text boxes appear in their actual positions.).
1. On the Drawing toolbar, click Draw.
2. Point to Align or Distribute, and then click Relative to Page.
3. Click Draw again, point to Align or Distribute, and then click Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically.