Aligning and Stacking Graphics

After inserting graphics or drawing shapes in approximately the locations you want them on a slide, you can align them and change their stacking order by using the buttons in the Arrange group on the Format contextual tab.

Clicking the Align button in the Arrange group gives you access to commands for aligning individual or multiple graphics in several ways. For example, you can:

Align graphics vertically by the left or right edges or centerline, or horizontally by the top or bottom edges or centerline.
Distribute graphics evenly within their current space, either horizontally or vertically.
Align graphics relative to the slide that contains them or to other selected objects.
Align graphics relative to a position on the slide.
Align graphics against adjustable horizontal and vertical guidelines.

Tip

If you added pictures to a slide by clicking the Picture button in the Illustrations group on the Insert tab, you can group them and then align and position them as a group. However, if you have added them by clicking the Insert Picture From File button in a content placeholder, you cannot group them.

When graphics overlap each other, they are stacked. The stacking order is determined by the order in which you inserted the graphic. You can change the stacking order by selecting a graphic and then clicking the Bring To Front or Send To Back button, to move the graphic to the top or bottom of the stack. To move the selected graphic forward in the stack one graphic at a time, click Bring Forward in the Bring To Front list; to move it backward, click Send Backward in the Send To Back list.

Tip

If you can't select a graphic because it is covered by others in the stack, click the Selection Pane button to display the Selection And Visibility task pane, and then select the graphic you want from the Shapes On This Slide list.

In this exercise, you will align graphics in various ways, change their stacking order, and position them with the help of a grid and guidelines.

USE the 06_Aligning presentation. This practice file is located in the Chapter06 subfolder under SBS_PowerPoint2007.

OPEN the 06_Aligning presentation.

1.	Display Slide 5, and then select all the pictures.
2.	On the Format contextual tab, in the Arrange group, click the Align button, and then in the list, click Distribute Vertically. The middle picture moves down so that it is the same distance below the left picture as it is above the right picture.
3.	In the Arrange group, in the Align list, click Align Center. The pictures are now stacked on top of each other.
4.	Click away from the stack, and then click the top picture.
5.	In the Arrange group, click the Bring to Front arrow, and then in the list, click Bring Forward. The top picture moves forward in the stack, obscuring the middle picture.
6.	In the Arrange group, click the Selection Pane button. The Selection And Visibility task pane opens.
7.	In the task pane, under Shapes on this Slide, click Content Placeholder 11. (The top and middle pictures are designated as content placeholders because that was the method used to insert them.) On the slide, the selection rectangle indicates that the middle picture is selected.
8.	Close the Selection and Visibility task pane.
9.	In the Arrange group, click the Bring to Front button.
10.	In the Arrange group, in the Align list, click View Gridlines. A faint dotted grid appears on the slide.
11.	Drag the selected crow picture to the right and down, so that its right and bottom borders align with the first gridlines from the right and bottom edges of the slide.
12.	Drag the frog picture so that its right and bottom borders align with the second gridlines from the right and bottom edges of the slide.
13.	Drag the cat picture so that its right and bottom borders align with the third gridline from the right and bottom edges of the slide.
14.	In the Arrange group, in the Align list, click Grid Settings. The Grid And Guides dialog box opens.
15.	In the dialog box, under Grid settings, clear the Display grid on screen check box.
16.	Under Guide settings, select the Display drawing guidelines on screen check box, and then click OK. The grid disappears, and vertical and horizontal guidelines span the slide.
17.	Point to the vertical guideline away from any text or objects, and drag it to the left, releasing it when the accompanying ScreenTip reads 3.50. Then drag the horizontal guideline down until its ScreenTip reads 0.50 The ScreenTips show in inches how far each guideline is from the center of the slide. As you drag, numbers are skipped because the Snap Objects To Grid check box is selected in the Grid And Guides dialog box. Selecting this option snaps guidelines and graphics to an invisible grid. You can set the spacing of the grid in the dialog box.
18.	Point to the selected cat picture, and drag it to the left until its left and bottom borders align with the guidelines.
19.	Select all the pictures. Then on the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click the Align button, and in the list, click Distribute Horizontally.
20.	Repeat Step 19 to distribute the pictures vertically.
21.	In the Arrange group, in the Align list, click Grid settings, and in the Grid and Guides dialog box, clear the Display drawing guides on screen check box. Then click OK, and click an edge of the slide to see the results.

CLOSE the 06_Aligning presentation without saving your changes, and if you are not continuing directly on to the next chapter, quit PowerPoint.