Align, distribute and group
Select several elements on a slide to line them up, space them evenly, centre them on the slide, stack them in order, or group them to move as one.
When a slide has several elements, PlexiiSlides helps you set them out neatly: line them up along an edge or centre, space three or more evenly, centre them on the slide, decide which sits on top, and group them so they move together.
Before you start
- Arranging works on every plan.
- Open a deck in PlexiiSlides, or click inside a Slides widget on a desk. See PlexiiSlides overview.
Select several elements
- Click and add: click the first element, then hold Shift, ⌘ or Ctrl and click each of the others. Click one again the same way to take it out of the selection.
- Drag a box: drag across an empty part of the slide. Every element the box touches is selected.
Click an empty part of the slide, or press Esc, to clear the selection.
With two or more elements selected, a bar appears above the slide. It shows how many are selected, followed by the buttons below.
Line elements up
Click a button on the bar:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Align left edges | Moves every element so its left edge lines up with the leftmost one. |
| Align horizontal centres | Lines up their centres on one vertical line, halfway across the selection. |
| Align right edges | Lines up their right edges with the rightmost one. |
| Align top edges | Lines up their top edges with the highest one. |
| Align vertical centres | Lines up their middles on one horizontal line, halfway down the selection. |
| Align bottom edges | Lines up their bottom edges with the lowest one. |
The Format > Align menu does the same with Left, Center, Right, Top, Middle and Bottom. Aligning needs at least two elements.
Space elements evenly
With three or more elements selected, the bar also has Distribute horizontally and Distribute vertically. The two outermost elements stay where they are, and the others move so the gaps between all of them are equal.
Centre on the slide
Select one or more elements, open the command palette with ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, and choose Centre on slide horizontally or Centre on slide vertically. A selection of several elements moves as a block, keeping their spacing.
Group elements
Grouping ties elements together so they select and move as one, such as a shape and the text box on top of it.
- Select the elements.
- Click Group on the bar, choose Format > Group, or press ⌘ G on a Mac or Ctrl G on Windows.
From then on, clicking any element in the group selects the whole group, and dragging moves it together.
To split a group, select it and click Ungroup on the bar, choose Format > Ungroup, or press ⇧ ⌘ G on a Mac or Ctrl Shift G on Windows.
Decide what sits on top
Where elements overlap, the one higher in the stack shows on top.
- Bring forward and Send back, under Arrange in the inspector, move a single element one step.
- In the command palette, with one or more elements selected, Bring to front, Bring forward, Send backward and Send to back move the selection.
Duplicate and delete several at once
- Duplicate: choose Edit > Duplicate selection, or press ⌘ D on a Mac or Ctrl D on Windows. The copies are selected, ready to move.
- Delete: choose Edit > Delete selection, or press Delete or Backspace.
- Move: drag any selected element, or press the arrow keys. Hold Shift to move further.
Common questions
The align buttons do not appear. The bar appears only with two or more elements selected. Hold Shift and click to add elements to the selection.
Clicking one element selects several. It is part of a group. Ungroup it to work on it alone.
Can I align a single element to the slide? Use Centre on slide horizontally or Centre on slide vertically in the command palette, or drag it until the pink centre guide appears.
I aligned the wrong way. Click Undo in the toolbar, or press ⌘ Z on a Mac or Ctrl Z on Windows.
Related tasks
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