Aligning Objects

You can align and distribute objects relative to each other or to the slide. Select the objects you want to align, click the Draw button on the Drawing toolbar, and choose Align or Distribute from the menu. A submenu appears. If you want to align or distribute relative to the slide, select Relative to Slide. If you want to align or distribute relative to the objects, make sure that Relative to Slide is not selected. Then choose from these options:

Option	Relative to Objects	Relative to Slide
Align Left	Moves the selected objects horizontally until their leftmost points are as far left as the leftmost point of the leftmost object.	Moves the selected objects horizontally until their leftmost points touch the left edge of the slide.
Align Center	Moves the selected objects horizontally until their vertical centers are along the vertical centerline of the rectangular area created when you selected the objects.	Moves the selected objects horizontally until their vertical centers are on the vertical center of the slide.
Align Right	Moves the selected objects horizontally until their rightmost points are as far right as the rightmost point of the rightmost object.	Moves the selected objects horizontally until their rightmost points touch the right edge of the slide.
Align Top	Moves the selected objects vertically until their topmost points are as far up as the topmost point of the topmost object.	Moves the selected objects vertically until their topmost points touch the top of the slide.
Align Middle	Moves the selected objects vertically until their horizontal centers are along the horizontal centerline of the rectangular area created when you selected the objects.	Moves the selected objects vertically until their horizontal centers are on the the horizontal center of the slide.
Align Bottom	Moves the selected objects vertically until their bottommost points are as far down as the bottommost point of the bottommost object.	Moves the selected objects vertically until their bottommost points touch the bottom of the slide.
Distribute Horizontally	Moves the objects horizontally so that the objects are spaced evenly between the leftmost point on the leftmost object and the rightmost point on the rightmost object.	Moves the objects horizontally so that the objects are spaced evenly between the left and right edges of the slide.
Distribute Vertically	Moves the objects vertically so that the objects are spaced evenly between the topmost point on the topmost object and the bottommost point on the bottommost object.	Moves the objects vertically so that the objects are spaced evenly between the top and right edges of the slide.

Nudging Objects

It can be hard to precisely position an object using the mouse. When you experience that frustration, give up the mouse for a minute and try nudging the object. To do this, select the object, click the Draw button on the Drawing toolbar, choose Nudge, and then select a direction: Up, Down, Left, or Right. The object moves a few pixels in the direction you choose. You might need to nudge an object several times to put it exactly where you want it.

The advantage to nudging is that you can control very small movements, which is difficult to do if you move an object with the mouse.

TIP

Alternatively, you can also select an object and use the arrow keys to nudge the object in the direction of the arrow.

Snapping to a Grid or Shape

When you align or move objects, they snap to an invisible grid that guides their positioning. This helps you more precisely align and position objects, creating a more polished and professional look. If you want to use other objects as a positioning guide, you can snap to shapes . To choose these options, click the Draw button on the Drawing toolbar and choose Grid and Guides to open the Grid and Guides dialog box (see Figure 14.30).

Figure 14.30. Snap objects to a grid or another object.

In this dialog box, you can choose to snap objects to either a grid or other objects. You can also indicate the spacing of your grid in inches (from 1/24th of an inch to two inches).

Select the Display Grid on Screen check box to activate the grid. You'll see horizontal and vertical dotted lines on your screen in the spacing width you specified, which helps you position your objects. Although the grid appears on the screen, it doesn't appear in print or during a slideshow.

Another option is to use adjustable drawing guides by selecting the Display Drawing Guides on Screen check box. This places one adjustable vertical line and one adjustable horizontal line on your screen, which you can drag to position where you want them. These, too, are invisible in print or during a slideshow.

To set these options as your default, click the Set as Default button. Click OK to close the Grid and Guides dialog box.