Select, arrange, and align objects

Once you have a few objects on a drawing, Vector gives you the tools to place them exactly. This article covers selecting objects, moving and resizing them, setting exact values, changing the stacking order, and lining objects up with each other.

Select objects

Make sure the Select tool is active, then:

• Click an object to select it. Handles appear at its edges and corners.
• Shift-click another object to add it to the selection, or to remove one that's already selected.
• Drag on an empty part of the canvas to draw a marquee. Every object it covers is selected. Shift-drag adds the marquee's objects to the current selection instead of replacing it.
• Press ⌘A (Mac) or Ctrl+A (Windows) to select every object on the drawing.
• Press Esc to clear the selection.

Move, resize, and rotate

With one or more objects selected:

• Move: drag the selection to a new spot.
• Resize: drag a corner or edge handle.
• Rotate: drag the rotation handle above the selection.
• Nudge: press an arrow key to move the selection one pixel. Hold Shift and press an arrow key to move it five pixels.

Set an exact position and size

The properties panel on the right has a Transform section with a field for each measurement. Type a value into any of them to set it precisely:

• X and Y: the position of the object.
• W and H: its width and height.
• Angle: how far it's rotated, in degrees.

Tick Keep aspect ratio to lock width and height together, so changing one changes the other in proportion.

Snap to other objects

As you drag or resize an object near another one, Vector shows thin guide lines when their edges or centres line up, and pulls the object onto that line. This helps you match positions by eye without typing exact values. The guides disappear as soon as you move away.

Duplicate, copy, cut, and delete

• Duplicate: press ⌘D (Mac) or Ctrl+D (Windows), or right-click the selection and choose Duplicate. You get a copy on the same drawing.
• Copy with ⌘C, cut with ⌘X, and paste with ⌘V (use Ctrl on Windows). You can also copy, cut, and paste from the right-click menu, and paste into another Vector drawing.
• Delete: press Delete or Backspace, or right-click and choose Delete.

Change the stacking order

Objects stack in the order you add them, with newer objects in front. To reorder the selection, use the Arrange section of the properties panel, or the right-click menu. Four actions are available:

• Bring to front (⌘⇧]): move it above everything.
• Bring forward (⌘]): move it up one step.
• Send backward (⌘[): move it down one step.
• Send to back (⌘⇧[): move it below everything.

Use Ctrl in place of ⌘ on Windows.

Align and distribute

Select two or more objects and an Align section appears in the properties panel. Hover over a button to see what it does:

• Align left, Align horizontal center, or Align right to line objects up along a vertical edge or their centres.
• Align top, Align vertical center, or Align bottom to line them up along a horizontal edge or their centres.
• Match width or Match height to give every selected object the same size in that direction.

Select three or more objects to unlock Distribute horizontally and Distribute vertically, which spread the objects out with equal gaps between them.

The right-click menu

Right-click any object to open its menu. The actions are grouped in this order:

1. Bring to front, Bring forward, Send backward, Send to back.
2. Copy, Cut, Paste.
3. Duplicate, Delete.
4. Add comment.

For the full list of keyboard shortcuts, see Zoom, pan, and keyboard shortcuts.