SUBJECT: Using the Align and Distribute Tools
PROGRAM: PSE8 (can be adapted for other versions of PSE). A Photoshop tutorial for this topic is available here.
PREREQUISITES: Basic understanding of layers, be able to open a document in PSE/Photoshop, be able to use the move tool to place items on a canvas
Photoshop and PSE have a one click process for aligning items along a straight line. Begin by selecting the move tool from the tools palette.
Hold down the control key and click on each item you want to align in the Layers Palette (see below).
The align and distribute tools will be available in the Options Toolbar. Click on the small down arrow to the right of ‘Align’ to see the align menu items.
You can choose to align them horizontally by bottom edge, top edge or center and/or vertically by right edge, left edge or center. In the image below I’ve aligned mine horizontally by center.
You can center items one on top of the other by clicking the center horizontal option followed by the center vertical option. This comes in particularly handy if you are trying to center a photograph on a mat or frame.
In my case, I want my flowers evenly spaced. To do this, click on the small down arrow to the right of ‘Distribute’ and select the ‘horizontal centers’ option.
