Align and position objects

You can align multiple objects relative to one another, or specify an object’s location using its x and y coordinates.

Align an object using coordinates

  1. Select an object.

  2. In the Arrange pane of the Format inspector, enter x and y values in the Position fields.

    The x value is measured from the page’s left edge to the object’s upper-left corner.

    The y value is measured from the page’s top edge to the object’s upper-left corner.

You can open the Arrange pane in a separate window that you can move anywhere. Choose View > Show Arrange Tools (from the View menu at the top of your computer screen).

Align objects vertically and horizontally

You can align objects so they line up along a vertical or horizontal axis.

  1. Select an object, or Shift-click to select multiple objects.

  2. In the Arrange pane of the Format inspector, choose an option from the Align pop-up menu.

    If two or more objects are selected, the objects align to the object most in the direction you selected. For instance, if you align three objects to the left, the object that is farthest to the left doesn’t move, and the other objects align to it.

You can open the Arrange pane in a separate window that you can move anywhere. Choose View > Show Arrange Tools (from the View menu at the top of your computer screen).

Equally space objects

You can position objects so there is equal spacing between them on a horizontal or vertical axis.

  1. Select three or more objects.

  2. In the Arrange pane of the Format inspector, choose an option from the Distribute pop-up menu:

    • Evenly: Objects are spaced equally along both the horizontal and vertical axes.

    • Horizontally: Objects are spaced equally along a horizontal axis.

    • Vertically: Objects are spaced equally along a vertical axis.

You can open the Arrange pane in a separate window that you can move anywhere. Choose View > Show Arrange Tools (from the View menu at the top of your computer screen).

Move an object one point at a time

You can nudge an object to move it by single-point increments.

  • Select an object, then press an arrow key in any direction.

    To move an object 10 points at a time, hold Shift while you press an arrow key.