This sample file is an Adobe Stock asset you can use to practice what you learn in this tutorial. If you want to use the sample file beyond this tutorial, you can purchase a license on Adobe Stock. Check out the ReadMe file in the folder for the terms that apply to your use of this sample file.
Introduction
With InDesign CC you should rarely need to eyeball the position or size of an object in your document.
InDesign CC has numerous tools and features to help you precisely align, position, and resize objects without resorting to guessing or squinting.
With InDesign CC open, open this file from the practice files for this tutorial to follow along.
Navigating pages and preparing objects for alignment
Initially, InDesign CC displays Page 1 in the Document window.
To turn to Page 2, click the Next Page arrow in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Like the Pages panel, you can use these arrows as a way to navigate between pages in your document.
I think it would look better if the tops of each of these photos were aligned vertically.
We can use the Align widgets in the Properties panel to do this.
Aligning objects using the properties panel
But first we need to select each of the photos.
Select the Selection tool and then click on one of the photos.
Be careful not to click the circular content grabber in the center of the image.
Then hold down the Shift key and click on each additional rectangle until all five are selected.
If the Properties panel isn't visible, choose Window, Properties. by default, the alignment commands in the Properties panel align selected objects to each other.
To ensure that this is going to happen, click here and choose Align to Selection.
Then click the Align top edges button to align the tops of all the rectangles.
Notice that all of the images aligned to the top edge of the topmost object.
To display Page 1 on the screen, click the Previous Page arrow in the bottom left corner of the screen.
I want the right side of these three text frames to be aligned.
Using smart guides for alignment and spacing
This time we'll use InDesign CC's Smart Guides feature to help us with this.
To enable Smart Guides, choose View, Grids & Guides and look at the Smart Guides option.
If this option doesn't have a checkmark next to it, choose Smart Guides to enable it.
If it's already checked, then just click away from the menu.
The Exotic frame is positioned exactly where I want it.
And I want to line up the other two frames directly below this one, so that their right edges aligned.
Drag the Family frame below the Exotic frame until you see a vertical green line appear when the right edges are in perfect alignment.
Release the mouse.
Repeat the process for the Adventure frame.
But this time watch not only for a vertical line that indicates the right edges are in alignment, but also watch for vertical arrows that indicate that the gap between the top two frames is the same as the gap between the second and third frame.
When both of these visual cues appear, release the mouse button.
Finally, I want to make all three frames the same width as the top frame
Resizing objects to match dimensions
Click the Family frame to select it and then drag the middle handle on the left side of the frame to the right until you see horizontal arrows appear indicating the frame is the same size as the Exotic frame.
Repeat the process for the Adventure frame.
The Alignment widgets in the Properties panel and InDesign CC's Smart Guides feature make quick work of positioning objects.
Try using one of these methods the next time you need to precisely align or resize objects on your page.
What you learned: How to use the Alignment feature and Smart Guides to align and distribute objects
Align the edges of multiple images
Select two or more image or text frames on a page.
In the Properties panel, under Align, click one of the icons to horizontally align the left, center, or right edges of the objects, or vertically align the top, center, or bottom edges.
Align with Smart Guides
Choose View > Grids & Guides, and make sure that Smart Guides is checked.
With Smart Guides enabled, various on-screen lines and arrows appear that help you precisely snap objects into alignment, resize objects equally, or precisely achieve equal spacing between objects.
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