Aligning and Distributing Layers

When you're on a deadline and you've got many layers to line up, you don't have to drag them all into place. You can take advantage of the Align and Distribute commands. Photoshop then arranges the layers for you, instantly and precisely. Aligning layers lines them up along the same edge or along their centers (Figure 8.8). Distributing layers inserts an equal amount of space between them (Figure 8.9).

Figure 8.8. Text and button layers for a Web page design, before (left) and after (right) being aligned by their horizontal and vertical centers.

Figure 8.9. Three button layers (left) first aligned by their vertical centers (middle) and then distributed by their horizontal centers (right) to space them evenly.

To align or distribute layers:

1.

Select the layers you want to align or distribute. If you're distributing layers, you must first select at least three layers (Figure 8.10). Figure 8.10. Both aligning and distributing rely on your ability to select the layers you want to align or distribute. Just use the same multiple-selection techniques that work elsewhere: In the Layers palette, Shift-click to select a continuous range of layers; or Command/Ctrl-click to select a discontinuous range of layers. If you have the Auto-Select Layers option enabled in the options bar for the move tool, you can simply Shift-click layers in the document window itself.

2.

With the move tool selected, click an align or distribute button on the options bar (Figure 8.11). All of the alignment and distribution options are also available as commands in the Layer > Align or Layer > Distribute submenu. Figure 8.11.

For more control over how layers align and distribute, use the rectangular marquee tool to drag a selection rectangle. If a selection marquee exists when you align layers, Photoshop aligns the layers within the edges of the selection marquee.