Arrange, group and align

This guide shows how to change which of several overlapping objects sits in front, group objects so that they move together, and lock or hide the objects you are not working on. It then shows how to select objects that share an attribute and line objects up with the Align panel.

Change the stacking order

Overlapping objects are drawn in stacking order. An object higher in the order covers the objects below it. In the following image, the square labeled Front is highest in the stacking order and covers the other two.

Three overlapping rounded squares labeled Back, Middle and Front, with Front covering the other two. The Middle square is selected and the Object → Arrange submenu is open with Bring Forward highlighted

Select one or more objects with the Selection tool (V).
Choose Object → Arrange, or right-click the selection and choose Arrange.
Choose one of the commands below.

Command	What it does
Bring to Front	Moves the selection above every other object in its layer or group
Bring Forward	Moves the selection up one place
Send Backward	Moves the selection down one place
Send to Back	Moves the selection below every other object in its layer or group
Send to Current Layer	Moves the selection to the top of the current layer

The first four commands move objects within the layer or group that holds them. To move objects into another layer, make that layer the current layer and choose Send to Current Layer.

Group and ungroup objects

A group moves, scales and rotates as one object.

Select two or more objects.
Choose Object → Group (Ctrl+G, or Cmd+G on macOS).

To take a group apart, select it and choose Object → Ungroup (Ctrl+Shift+G, or Cmd+Shift+G on macOS).

To select an object inside a group without ungrouping it, use the Group Selection tool. The first click selects the object under the pointer. Each further click on it adds the next group that holds it. The tool shares a slot with the Direct Selection tool in the Tools panel and has no shortcut. For its other uses, see Select with the Group Selection tool.

Edit a group in isolation mode

In isolation mode you edit the contents of one group, and you cannot select the rest of the artwork.

With the Selection tool, double-click the group. You can also right-click a single selected group and choose Isolate Selected Group.
Select, move and edit the objects inside the group.
Press Esc, or right-click and choose Exit Isolation Mode.

The night-market-stall document in isolation mode. The bar at the top of the canvas reads Layer 1 › Lantern Stall, the second stall and the night sky are dimmed, and the middle lantern inside the left stall, above its fruit crate and counter, is selected, with its position and size in the Properties panel

While a group is isolated, the artwork outside it is dimmed. A bar across the top of the canvas lists the layer and each group that holds the isolated group, then the isolated group’s own name, with › between them.

To isolate a group that holds the current one, click that group’s name in the bar.
To leave isolation mode, click the layer’s name in the bar.
To go up one level, click the ‹ button at the left end of the bar. When the isolated group sits directly in a layer, the button leaves isolation mode.

When the Control bar is showing (Window → Control), its Exit Isolation Mode button also leaves isolation mode.

Lock and hide objects

A locked object stays visible but cannot be selected. A hidden object is not drawn.

Select the objects.
Choose Object → Lock → Selection (Ctrl+2, or Cmd+2 on macOS) or Object → Hide → Selection (Ctrl+3, or Cmd+3 on macOS).

The Lock submenu also has All Artwork Above and Other Layers. The Hide submenu has those two and Unselected Artwork.

To bring everything back, choose Object → Unlock All (Ctrl+Alt+2, or Cmd+Option+2 on macOS) or Object → Show All (Ctrl+Alt+3, or Cmd+Option+3 on macOS). Afterward, the objects that were locked or hidden are selected.

Command	What it does	Windows and Linux	macOS
Object → Lock → Selection	Locks the selected objects	Ctrl+2	Cmd+2
Object → Lock → All Artwork Above	Locks the objects in the same layer that sit above the selection and overlap it	None	None
Object → Lock → Other Layers	Locks every layer that holds no selected object	None	None
Object → Unlock All	Unlocks every locked object and selects it	Ctrl+Alt+2	Cmd+Option+2
Object → Hide → Selection	Hides the selected objects	Ctrl+3	Cmd+3
Object → Hide → All Artwork Above	Hides the objects in the same layer that sit above the selection and overlap it	None	None
Object → Hide → Other Layers	Hides every layer that holds no selected object	None	None
Object → Hide → Unselected Artwork	Hides every object that is not selected, in one step	Ctrl+Alt+Shift+3	Cmd+Option+Shift+3
Object → Show All	Shows every hidden object and selects it	Ctrl+Alt+3	Cmd+Option+3

All Artwork Above deselects any selected object that it locks or hides. When a group holds a selected object, Hide → Unselected Artwork hides the other objects in that group one by one.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+2 (Cmd+Option+Shift+2 on macOS) locks every object that is not selected, in one step. The Lock submenu has no item for it. Hidden objects and objects on locked layers stay unlocked.

To unlock or show only the objects inside the groups that hold the selection, hold Shift+Alt while you click Object → Unlock All or Object → Show All in the menu bar inside the window. This works on Windows and Linux. On macOS the menus are in the system menu bar, so it works only when VectorCraft is started with --in-window-menus; then hold Shift+Option.

In isolation mode, Unlock All, Show All and the Lock and Hide commands act only inside the isolated group. Lock → Other Layers and Hide → Other Layers do not change anything in isolation mode.

To lock or hide a whole layer, or one object, without selecting it, click the lock or eye column of its row in the Layers panel. See Work in the Layers panel.

Select → Same selects every object that matches the selected object in one attribute.

Select an object with the attribute you want to match, for example a fill color.
Choose Select → Same and pick the attribute.

Group	Choices in Select → Same
Objects	Appearance, Appearance Attribute, Blending Mode, Fill & Stroke, Fill Color, Opacity, Stroke Color, Stroke Weight, Graphic Style, Shape, Symbol Instance, Link Block Series
Type	Font Family, Font Family & Style, Font Family, Style & Size, Font Size, Text Fill Color, Text Stroke Color, Text Fill & Stroke Color

The Select menu also steps through and changes the selection:

Command	Windows and Linux	macOS
Select → All	Ctrl+A	Cmd+A
Select → Deselect	Ctrl+Shift+A	Cmd+Shift+A
Select → Reselect	Ctrl+6	Cmd+6
Select → Next Object Above	Ctrl+Alt+]	Cmd+Option+]
Select → Next Object Below	Ctrl+Alt+[	Cmd+Option+[

Align and distribute objects

The Align panel lines objects up along an edge or center line and spaces them evenly. Open it with Window → Align (Shift+F7).

In the following image, Vertical Align Center lines the circles up, and Horizontal Distribute Center spaces their centers evenly.

The lantern-festival document with four selected lantern circles in amber, coral, magenta and cyan, lined up on their centers along a thin white string and spaced evenly across a starry night sky above teal hills. The Align panel is docked at the right, with Align to Selection chosen

Four selected lantern circles on a night sky next to the Align panel, which shows its Align Objects, Distribute Objects and Distribute Spacing buttons and the Align To choice, with the pointer on Vertical Align Center

The panel has four sections:

Section	Buttons
Align Objects	Horizontal Align Left, Horizontal Align Center, Horizontal Align Right, Horizontal & Vertical Align Center, Vertical Align Top, Vertical Align Center, Vertical Align Bottom
Distribute Objects	Vertical Distribute Top, Vertical Distribute Center, Vertical Distribute Bottom, Horizontal Distribute Left, Horizontal Distribute Center, Horizontal Distribute Right
Distribute Spacing	Vertical Distribute Space, Horizontal Distribute Space, and a spacing field
Align To	Align to Selection, Align to Key Object, Align to Artboard

The same Align Objects buttons are in two other places:

The Align section of the Properties panel has the seven Align Objects buttons. Its More Align options button opens the Align panel.
When the Control bar is showing (Window → Control), it has the seven Align Objects buttons. With two or more objects selected, it also has the six Distribute Objects buttons. The Control bar shows these buttons only while it has room for them.

These buttons use the Align To choice set in the Align panel, and they line objects up with the key object while there is one.

Line objects up

Select the objects with the Selection tool.
In the Align To section, choose what the objects line up with.
Click a button in the Align Objects section.

Align To choice	Objects line up with
Align to Selection	The bounds of all the selected objects
Align to Key Object	The key object, which stays where it is
Align to Artboard	The edges or center of the artboard

When only one object is selected, the Align Objects buttons align it to the artboard. The same alignments are in Object → Align.

Space objects evenly

Select the objects. With Align to Selection, select three or more. With Align to Artboard, two are enough.
Click a button in the Distribute Objects section.

Distribute Objects spaces the objects’ left edges, centers or right edges (or top edges, centers or bottom edges) evenly. With Align to Selection, the first and last objects stay where they are. With Align to Artboard, the first object moves to the artboard’s left (or top) edge and the last object moves to its right (or bottom) edge.

Horizontal Distribute Space and Vertical Distribute Space make the gaps between the selected objects equal. With Align to Selection, the outer edges of the first and last objects stay where they are. With Align to Artboard, those outer edges move to the edges of the artboard.

Use a key object

A key object stays in place, and the other selected objects are aligned to it or spaced from it.

Select two or more objects with the Selection tool.
Click one of the selected objects again. It becomes the key object and is drawn with a thicker outline.
Click an Align Objects button. The other objects line up with the key object.

When no object is the key object, clicking Align to Key Object makes the topmost selected object the key object.

To set an exact gap between objects:

Select the objects and click the one that should stay in place, so that it becomes the key object.
Type the gap in the Distribute Spacing field. The field accepts a value only while there is a key object.
Click Horizontal Distribute Space or Vertical Distribute Space. The key object stays where it is, and the other objects are placed that distance apart, starting from it.

Measure with strokes

By default the Align panel measures each object’s path, without its stroke. Choose Use Preview Bounds in the panel menu to measure the drawn object, stroke included. The same setting is in Edit → Preferences… → General on Windows and Linux, and in VectorCraft → Settings → General… on macOS. The panel menu also has Hide Options, which hides the Distribute Spacing and Align To sections, and Show Options, which shows them again. For every item in the panel menu, see Set align options.

Set align options

The Align panel menu holds the panel’s settings. To open it, click the menu button at the right end of the panel’s tab row.

The Align panel menu open over a festival poster, with the Lantern Night headline and a row of five lanterns selected. The menu lists Hide Options, Use Preview Bounds, a grayed-out Cancel Key Object, Align to Glyph Bounds and Float Panel, and the Align to Glyph Bounds submenu shows Point Text and Area Text

Menu item	What it does	Default
Hide Options	Hides the Distribute Spacing and Align To sections. The item then reads Show Options, which shows them again	Sections shown
Use Preview Bounds	Measures each object as it is drawn, stroke included, instead of by its path. A check mark shows while it is on. The same setting is in the General preferences	Off
Cancel Key Object	Cancels the key object, as described in Use a key object. It is available only while there is a key object
Align to Glyph Bounds → Point Text	Measures point type by the outlines of its characters instead of its em box. A check mark shows while it is on	Off
Align to Glyph Bounds → Area Text	Measures area type by the outlines of its characters instead of its frame. A check mark shows while it is on	Off
Float Panel	Moves the Align panel out of the dock into a window of its own. While the panel floats, the item reads Dock Panel and puts the panel back in the dock

For the difference between point type and area type, see Kinds of type.

To line a headline up with artwork by the letters you see, for example the tops of the capitals with the tops of a row of shapes:

In the Align panel menu, choose Align to Glyph Bounds → Point Text, or Area Text for type in a frame.
Select the type and the artwork.
Click a button in the Align Objects or Distribute Objects section.

The Align to Glyph Bounds settings apply to both Align and Distribute. Each one stays on until you choose it again.

Object → Align has the seven commands of the Align panel’s Align Objects section.

Select the objects.
Choose Object → Align.
Choose one of the commands below.

Command	What it does
Horizontal Align Left	Lines up the left edges
Horizontal Align Center	Lines up the centers on a vertical line
Horizontal Align Right	Lines up the right edges
Horizontal & Vertical Align Center	Puts the centers on one point
Vertical Align Top	Lines up the top edges
Vertical Align Center	Lines up the centers on a horizontal line
Vertical Align Bottom	Lines up the bottom edges

The commands use the Align To choice set in the Align panel. While there is a key object, the other objects line up with it. When only one object is selected, it lines up with the artboard. When anchor points are selected with the Direct Selection tool, the points line up instead of the objects.

The Object menu has no Distribute commands. Use the Distribute Objects and Distribute Spacing buttons in the Align panel.

Shortcuts

Command	Windows and Linux	macOS
Bring to Front	Ctrl+Shift+]	Cmd+Shift+]
Bring Forward	Ctrl+]	Cmd+]
Send Backward	Ctrl+[	Cmd+[
Send to Back	Ctrl+Shift+[	Cmd+Shift+[
Group	Ctrl+G	Cmd+G
Ungroup	Ctrl+Shift+G	Cmd+Shift+G
Lock → Selection	Ctrl+2	Cmd+2
Lock unselected artwork	Ctrl+Alt+Shift+2	Cmd+Option+Shift+2
Unlock All	Ctrl+Alt+2	Cmd+Option+2
Hide → Selection	Ctrl+3	Cmd+3
Hide → Unselected Artwork	Ctrl+Alt+Shift+3	Cmd+Option+Shift+3
Show All	Ctrl+Alt+3	Cmd+Option+3
Window → Align	Shift+F7	Shift+F7

Lock → All Artwork Above, Lock → Other Layers, Hide → All Artwork Above, Hide → Other Layers, Send to Current Layer and the Align panel’s buttons have no default shortcut.

To change these shortcuts, choose Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts…. The Align panel’s buttons are listed there under Align. For every default shortcut, see Keyboard shortcuts.