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Change the alignment of an object

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Alignment determines how an object resizes. For example, a left aligned object that is contained in a Grid layout panel will stretch to the right when the Grid is resized.

To change the alignment of an object

  1. On the artboard or under Objects and Timeline, select the object for which you want to change alignment.

  2. Under Layout in the Properties panel, do one of the following:

    • Change the HorizontalAlignment property to one of the following:

      • LeftCc295167.1e3c2891-633d-4162-a3bd-d5ac53046b56(en-us,Expression.40).png   Anchors to the left but stretches to the right when resized.

      • CenterCc295167.02978741-8e12-476d-afa7-165b613ea515(en-us,Expression.40).png   Always anchored to the horizontal center regardless of resizing.

      • RightCc295167.c0d22c24-ad68-4355-b8f2-d6a373deaf8e(en-us,Expression.40).png   Anchors to the right but stretches to the left when resized.

      • StretchCc295167.90aa9534-0480-4a7f-b992-1af23c71ea9c(en-us,Expression.40).png   Stretches in both horizontal directions when resized.

    • Change the VerticalAlignment property to one of the following:

      • BottomCc295167.7c84b219-479d-45e7-b2fc-2df1b5e35129(en-us,Expression.40).png   Anchors to the bottom but stretches to the top when resized.

      • CenterCc295167.5d244079-53d6-4188-ac2b-3a31054a2cd7(en-us,Expression.40).png   Always anchored to the vertical center regardless of resizing.

      • TopCc295167.737a11a8-b9d6-4270-8432-f17bb11a1337(en-us,Expression.40).png. Anchors to the top but stretches to the bottom when resized.

      • StretchCc295167.fbd6b7db-d726-4f40-b8c7-b287423e6615(en-us,Expression.40).png   Stretches in both vertical directions when resized.

    Note

    If Width and Height for that object are set to Auto under Layout in the Properties panel, then the object may appear to collapse when you change HorizontalAlignment or VerticalAlignment properties in the Properties panel. If this happens, you can set the Height and Width properties if you don't want your object to resize with the application window, or you leave the Height and Width properties set to Auto, and set the Margin properties if you do want your object to resize with the application window.

    Tip

    You can also change alignment by moving an object on the artboard. Notice how the HorizontalAlignment and VerticalAlignment properties change as you move the object to different regions of the grid panel. In Grid layout mode Cc295167.c76bbf09-1922-4f45-8d92-9c8ae64ca4a4(en-us,Expression.40).png, alignment for an object relative to its parent grid is indicated on the artboard as a solid line when alignment is set and margins are enforced, or as a dashed line when alignment is not set and margins aren't observed.

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