Align objects in an Adobe Indesign CS5

[Bhupathi]

When i want to align 2 objects in an Illustrator, we may all the time mark the reference object by second click which makes it locked. In some other softwares, marking an objects for alignment is important. But I have seen that it does not works in an Indesign as If I am aligning an objects to the top then top most object is a reference. And when I am aligning to the left an object then most to left is the base for alignment.

[Macarenas]

I think nobody have found any solution for this problem but you have another option to do this alignment by right placing the objects before alignment. In an older versions, You were forced to lock any one of the objects before alignment where in CS 5 you will not be able to select locked objects. But this method seems to be very much annoying.

[ZeDaX]

You can use the Align panel to align or space selected objects horizontally or vertically to the selection, margins, page, or spread.

1. Select the objects to align or distribute.
2. Choose Window > Object & Layout > Align to display the Align panel.
3. From the menu at the bottom of the panel, specify whether you want to align or distribute objects based on the selection, margins, page, or spread.
4. To align objects, click the button for the type of alignment you want.

[Sam.D]

In order to distribute objects you have to click on the button of whatever type of distribution you want to do. For example Align To Selection is turned on and if you click on the Distribute Left Edges button then InDesign considers that there is an equal amount of space from left edge to left edge of each selected object.

[Glenny]

I think you should search for the Indesign tutorial on the google search where you would be getting the whole tutorial about all the functions of an Adobe Indesign. There is an online tutorial given for the same from where you can get the idea for doing action which you want to do on your Indesign CS 5. You may get some simple ideas as well on other websites.

[Eric B]

You use the Align panel (Window > Object & Layout > Align) to align or distribute objects horizontally or vertically along the selection, margins, page, or spread. Consider the following when working with the Align panel:

1. The Align panel doesn’t affect objects to which you’ve applied the Lock Position command, and doesn’t change the alignment of text paragraphs within their frames.
2. Text alignment is not affected by the Align Objects options. (See Align or justify text.)
3. You can use the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box (Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts) to create custom align and distribute shortcuts.

[Orson]

By default, if I choose quite a few objects and select the Align Left Edges button in the Align palette (Window > Object & Layout > Align), the control will Align the left edges to the left edge of the left-most object. Or if I choose few objects and hit it off to Align Bottom Edges button, the bottom edges of all the objects will Align to the bottom edge of the bottom-most object. Prior to using the Align control, Do not forget to Lock the object to which you would wish to Align (Object > Lock). Choose all object that you would wish to Align and press your Align button. Now all object will get aligned to the locked object. Now you are just left with an unlocking an object.

[JonathanD]

To set the space between objects, either center to center or edge to matching edge, select Use Spacing under Distribute Objects, and then type the amount of space you want to apply. Click a button to distribute the selected objects along their horizontal or vertical axes. (If Distribute Spacing is not visible, choose Show Options in the Align Panel menu.) Then, click the Distribute Spacing button to distribute the objects along their horizontal or vertical axes.