Corel PaintShop Pro Help | Aligning, distributing, and arranging vector objects

Aligning, distributing, and arranging vector objects

To distribute vector objects on the canvas

To snap a vector object to another vector object

You can align, distribute, and arrange vector objects on the canvas. For example, you can align their edges, distribute them evenly, center them on the image canvas, or arrange their order (from top to bottom) on a layer. Each object you draw on a layer is stacked on top of the next.

When you move a vector object, you can snap it to another vector object.

To move a vector object

Edit tab

1 On the Tools toolbar, choose the Pick tool

2 Select the object.

If you want to move multiple objects, hold down Shift and select the objects.

A bounding box surrounds the selected objects.

3 Drag the object or objects to a new position.

You can also
Move an object one pixel at a time	Press an arrow key.
Move an object 10 pixels at a time	Hold down Ctrl, and press an arrow key.
Move an object 50 pixels at a time	Hold down Shift, and press an arrow key.
Move an object 100 pixels at a time	Hold down Shift + Ctrl, and press an arrow key.

To align vector objects

Edit tab

1 On the Tools toolbar, choose the Pick tool

2 Select the first vector object.

3 Hold down Shift, and select the other objects you want to align.

4 In the Tool Options palette, click one of the following buttons in the Object Alignment group box:

• Align Top

• Align Bottom

• Align Left

• Align Right

• Align Vertical Center

• Align Horizontal Center

To move an object, select it on the Layers palette, and drag it up or down in the list.

To evenly distribute objects

Edit tab

1 On the Tools toolbar, choose the Pick tool

2 Hold down Shift, and marquee select the objects.

Note: You must have three or more objects selected to distribute them in relation to each other.

3 In Tool Options palette, click one of the following buttons in the Object Distribution group box:

• Distribute Vertical Top

• Distribute Vertical Center

• Distribute Vertical Bottom

• Distribute Horizontal Right

• Distribute Horizontal Center

• Distribute Horizontal Left

To align vector objects to the canvas

Edit tab

1 On the Tools toolbar, choose the Pick tool

2 Select an object.

If you want to align multiple objects, hold down Shift and marquee select the objects.

3 In the Tool Options palette, click one of the following buttons in the Position On Canvas group box:

• Center in Canvas

• Align Horizontally Center in Canvas

• Align Vertically Center in Canvas

To distribute vector objects on the canvas

Edit tab

1 On the Tools toolbar, choose the Pick tool

2 Select an object.

If you want to distribute multiple objects, marquee select the objects.

3 In the Tool Options palette, click one of the following buttons in the Position On Canvas group box:

• Space Evenly Horizontal

• Space Evenly Vertical

To arrange vector objects

Edit tab

1 On the Tools toolbar, choose the Pick tool

2 Select an object.

3 Right-click the object, choose Arrange, and select one of the following options:

• Bring to Top — moves an object to the top

• Send to Bottom — moves an object to the bottom

• Move Up — moves an object up one position

• Move Down — moves an object down one position

You can also arrange vector objects by dragging them up or down in the Layer palette.

To snap a vector object to another vector object

Edit tab

1 On the Tools toolbar, choose the Pick tool

2 Select a vector object.

3 Drag the selected object to the object to which you want it to snap.

4 Release the mouse button.

Object snapping is enabled by default. If object snapping is disabled, choose View

Snap To Object.

Object snapping is governed by the snap influence, which controls the distance, in pixels, that a vector object must be from another vector object in order to snap to it. You can change the snap influence by choosing View Change Grid, Guide, Object & Snap Properties, clicking the Object tab, and setting a value in a Snap influence control. The Default Settings group box shows the default setting for object snapping. The Current Image Settings group box shows the setting for object snapping in the current image.

If other snapping options (Snap To Grid or Snap To Guides) are also enabled, a vector object will snap to the closest enabled snapping target. If the snapping targets are the same distance from the object, the object will snap to the grid or guide.