Arranging Objects

Arranging is another action that you can perform with all object types. For example, you can specify an object's position in relation to the slide or to other objects, change the stacking order, rotate the object, group it with other objects, and much more.

Rotating and Flipping Objects

Most objects display a green circle at the top when you select them; this is called the rotation handle. You can drag it to rotate the object, as shown in Figure 10.16. This action is called free rotation because there is no precise numeric measurement that is related to the amount of rotation, although, by holding down the Shift key while rotating, you can rotate the object by 15-degree increments.

Figure 10.16: Rotate an object by dragging its rotation handle.

You can also rotate an object by exactly 90 degrees. To do so, click the Rotate button on the Format tab and select Rotate Right 90° or Rotate Left 90°, as shown in Figure 10.17.

Figure 10.17: Rotate an object 90 degrees, or flip an object from the Rotate menu.

On this same menu, you can also flip an object either vertically or horizontally. Flipping is different from rotating in that it creates a mirror image of the object, not just a rotated version.

To set a precise amount of rotation for an object, use the Rotation text box in the Size and Position dialog box, shown in Figure 10.15. Use the increment buttons to increase or decrease the rotation amount, or enter a precise number of degrees.

Snapping Objects to a Grid

There is an invisible grid on every slide to which all objects snap. If you move an object and position it so that it doesn't quite align with the gridlines, when you release the object, it moves slightly to snap into alignment with the nearest gridlines. This feature is on by default.

To turn off snapping for an individual instance, hold down the Alt key as you drag the object. The object moves smoothly, unencumbered by the grid. To turn off snapping permanently, follow these steps:

1. On the Design tab, click Align and choose Grid Settings. The Grid and Guides dialog box opens.

   The Align button is also available on most contextual tabs, such as the Picture Tools Format tab.

2. Deselect the Snap Objects to Grid option, as shown in Figure 10.18.

   
   Figure 10.18: Toggle the grid on and off in the Grid and Guides dialog box.

3. Click OK.

You can also turn a feature on or off that is called Snap Objects to Other Objects (see Figure 10.18). This feature is off by default. It helps you to precisely align shapes-for example, to draw complex pictures where one line must exactly meet another-by snapping shapes into position in relation to one another. You will not want to use this feature all of the time because it makes it harder to position objects precisely in those instances where you do not need one shape to align with another.

To display or hide the grid on the screen, select or deselect the Display Grid On Screen option. To change the grid spacing, enter the desired amount in the Spacing text box.

Nudging Objects

If you are one of those people who have a hard time positioning objects precisely when you drag them, you'll appreciate the Nudge command. It moves an object slightly in the direction that you want without altering it in the other plane. For example, suppose you have positioned a text box in exactly the spot you want vertically but a little bit too far to the right. If you drag it manually, you might accidentally change the vertical position. Instead, you can press an arrow key to move it. Hold down Ctrl to override snapping to the grid.

Nudging moves the object one space on the grid when you have enabled the Snap Objects to Grid option. (See the section, "Snapping Objects to a Grid" earlier in this chapter). When the Snap Objects to Grid option is turned off, you can nudge the object 1 pixel at a time.

EXPERT TIP 

Certain objects, such as SmartArt, will sometimes refuse to be moved (including by nudging) after you have applied a 3-D Quick Style with a perspective view. To move such an object, click Edit in 2-D on the Format tab. You can then move the object. Afterward, you can click Edit in 2-D again to toggle it back to its regular 3-D appearance.

EXPERT TIP 

Nudge buttons are not available on the ribbon in PowerPoint 2007. However, if you would like, you can add them to the Quick Access toolbar. See Appendix B for more details.

Aligning or Distributing Objects

You can align or distribute objects either in relation to the slide or in relation to other objects. Here are some examples:

• You can align an object to the top, bottom, left, right, or center of a slide.

• You can align two objects in relation to one another so that they are at the same vertical or horizontal position.

• You can distribute three or more objects so that the spacing between them is even.

You can perform all of these functions from the Align drop-down menu on the Format tab when you select one or more objects.

Note 

The Align and Distribute features are not always available. To make them available, you must select Align to Slide from the Align drop-down menu, or you must select two or more objects (for aligning) or three or more objects (for distributing).

Aligning an Object in Relation to the Slide

To align a single object in relation to the slide, follow these steps:

1. Select the object.

2. On the Format tab, click Align, and make sure that Align to Slide is selected.

3. Click Align again and choose one of the horizontal alignment commands: Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right, as shown in Figure 10.19.

   
   Figure 10.19: Choose an alignment for the object in relation to the slide.

4. Click Align again and choose one of the vertical alignment commands: Align Top, Align Middle, or Align Bottom.

Aligning Two or More Objects with One Another

You can align two objects in relation to one another by assigning the same setting to both objects. For example, in the left illustration in Figure 10.20, the objects are in their starting positions. The right illustration shows what happens when you use the Align Top command to move the lower object to the same vertical position as the higher one. If you use Align Bottom, the higher object moves to match the lower one. If you use Align Center, both objects move to split the difference between their two positions.

Figure 10.20: The original positioning (left) and the positioning after you apply the Align Top command (right).

To align two or more objects with one another, follow these steps:

1. Select the objects.

2. On the Format tab, click Align, and make sure that Align Selected Objects is selected.

3. Click the Align button again to reopen the menu, and choose the desired alignment, either vertical or horizontal.

Note 

If you use the Align Top command and the objects move to the very top of the slide, you probably have selected the Align to Slide option. Undo (Ctrl+Z) the action and try again.

Distributing Objects

Distribution works only in relation to the slide or with three or more objects selected. When you distribute objects, you spread them evenly over a given space. For example, suppose you align three boxes vertically, and now you want to even out the space between each box, as shown in Figure 10.21. You can apply the Distribute Horizontally command to create the uniform spacing. To distribute objects, follow these steps:

1. Select the objects. To do so, hold down the Shift key while you click each one, or drag an outline that encircles all of the objects.

2. On the Format tab, click Align, and then click either Distribute Vertically or Distribute Horizontally.

Figure 10.21: The original positioning (left) and the positioning after applying the Distribute Horizontally command (right).

If you have only two objects selected, you cannot distribute them unless you have already selected Align to Slide.

Layering Objects

You can stack objects on top of each other to create special effects. For example, you might create a logo by stacking a text box on top of an oval or a rectangle, as shown in Figure 10.22.

Figure 10.22: You can create all kinds of logos, artwork, and other special effects by layering objects.

CROSS-REF 

To create a text box, see Chapter 4.

EXPERT TIP 

You can also type text directly into a drawn shape without using layering; simply right-click the shape and choose Edit Text; you can also just begin typing while the shape is selected.

By default, objects stack in the order in which you create them. For example, in Figure 10.22, the text box appears over the shape because the shape was created first, and so it is on the bottom of the stack. You can move the shape, but it will continue to be on the layer under the text box.

If you need to reorder the objects in a stack, follow these steps:

1. Click an object in the stack.

2. Use one of the buttons in the Arrange group on the Format tab:

   • Click Bring to Front to bring that object to the top of the stack.

   • Open the Bring to Front drop-down menu and choose Bring Forward to bring the object forward one position in the stack.

   • Click Send to Back to send that object to the bottom of the stack.

   • Open the Send to Back drop-down menu and choose Send Backward to send the object backward one position in the stack.

3. Repeat the steps to change the position of other objects in the stack as needed.

Another way to reorder object stacking is to use the Selection and Visibility pane:

1. On the Home tab, choose Select Selection Pane to display the Selection and Visibility pane.

2. Click an object's name on the list.

3. Click the Up or Down arrow buttons to move the object up or down in the stacking order.

Working with Object Groups

You have already learned how to select multiple objects and work with them as a single unit. For example, you might select several shapes together that collectively form a picture that you have drawn. If you intend to treat these objects as a single unit, you can save yourself some time by grouping them. When you group two or more objects, these objects become a single object for the purposes of moving and resizing. You can always ungroup them later if you need to work with the objects separately. To group two or more objects together, follow these steps:

1. Select all of the objects that you want to group.

2. On the Format tab, open the Group drop-down menu and click Group. (Alternatively you can press Ctrl+G.) The objects now form a group.

To ungroup a collection of objects, select the object group, open the Group drop-down menu, and choose Ungroup, or press Ctrl+Shift+G. After ungrouping, you can make changes to the objects separately. Then, if you want to regroup the same objects again, open the Group drop-down menu and choose Regroup.

EXPERT TIP 

In PowerPoint 2007, you can make some changes to objects even when they are part of a group, so it is not as necessary to ungroup before editing or formatting an object. Try editing it first as part of the group, and if that doesn't work, resort to ungrouping.