PowerPoint 2010

Arranging objects

Video: Arranging Objects in PowerPoint 2010

Watch the video (3:56).

After adding objects to a slide, it may be necessary to arrange them so the objects appear the way you want. You can align, group, rotate, and order objects to create the desired arrangement.

Aligning objects

You can click and drag objects to align them manually, but guesswork will never give you the best result. Additionally, aligning objects in this way can take a great deal of time. Luckily, PowerPoint provides you with several commands that allow you to easily arrange and position objects.

To align two or more objects:

1. Click and drag your mouse to form a selection box around the objects you want to align. All of the objects will now have sizing handles to show that they are selected.
   Selecting multiple objects
2. From the Format tab, click the Align command, and select Align Selected Objects.
   Choosing Align Selected Objects
3. Click the Align command again, and select one of the six alignment options.
   Choosing an alignment option
4. The objects will align to each other based on the option you have selected.
   The aligned objects

To align objects to the slide:

Sometimes you may wish to align one or more objects to a specific location within the slide, such as the top or bottom. You can do this by simply selecting the Align to Slide option before you align the objects.

1. Click and drag your mouse to form a selection box around the objects you want to align. All of the objects will now have sizing handles to show that they are selected.
2. From the Format tab, click the Align command, and select Align to Slide.
   Selecting Align to Slide
3. Click the Align command again, and select one of the six alignment options.
   Aligning objects to the bottom of the slide
4. The objects will align to the slide based on the option you have selected.
   The aligned objects

To distribute objects evenly:

If you have arranged objects in a row or column, you may want them to be an equal distance from one another for a neater appearance. You can do this by distributing the objects horizontally or vertically.

1. Click and drag your mouse to form a selection box around the objects you want to align. All of the objects will now have sizing handles to show that they are selected.
   Selecting multiple objects
2. From the Format tab, click the Align command.
3. From the menu, select Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically.
   Choosing a distribute option
4. The objects will be distributed evenly.
   Objects distributed evenly