Flash 8 Cookbook

3.14. Aligning, Distributing, Resizing, and Spacing Elements

Problem

You want to align or space elements relative to each other and/or the stage.

Solution

Use the Align panel for alignment, distribution, and resizing presets. Use the Snap Align feature to align elements to one another. Use the keyboard arrow keys to nudge elements for greater precision.

Discussion

Flash’s Align panel includes quite a variety of unique alignment commands. As you would expect, these commands enable you to align multiple elements along a given edge or the centers. In addition, the Align panel has several options that enable you to distribute elements proportionately in space. You can even automatically resize elements.

To access the Align panel, choose Window → Align. Though the Align panel is not included in the default panel layout, you should consider adding it to the panel stack or at least memorize its keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-K (Windows) or Command-K (Macintosh).

To use the Align panel, select one or more elements with the Arrow tool. Then, decide whether you want to align the elements to each other or to the stage. If you want to align elements to the stage, toggle the To Stage button on. Doing so effectively causes Flash to treat the stage as one of the selected elements when aligning or resizing, and it automatically uses the stage edges as the outer bounds when distributing or spacing elements.

The six buttons in the Align category (the top row of buttons in the panel) function as you would expect. ...