ABC's of PowerPoint

06. Evenly Space Objects: Distribute Tool (PowerPoint 2000)
PPT 2007  |  PPT 2003

Have you ever wanted to evenly space 3 or more objects either vertically or horizontally? PowerPoint has a built in function to do just that. First select the objects you want to distribute by clicking on them while holding the shift key.

Drawing Toolbar

Next locate your "Drawing" toolbar (If you are unsure if yours is present go to "Tools-Customize-Toolbars-Drawing" or for a more detailed explanation please read Tip 01. Customize The Tool Bars you will see the word "Draw". After you click on "Draw" select "Align or Distribute", and then distribute according to your needs.

How it works...
PowerPoint distribution only allows for distribution of an objects center point, therefore the space between horizontal text may not be equal if the box is larger than the text requires. To get around this you will need to make each text bounding box the same size as your text.

Select your text fields. On your main menu bar, select Format-Text Box (If you do not see the words "text box" it is because your text fields have not been selected). Deselect "Resize AutoShape to fit text". Hit Preview. Now reselect "Resize AutoShape to fit text"and hit ok. Finally redistribute.

PowerPoint allows you to add the "Distribute" Tools to your toolbars. To customize your Toolbars please read Tip 01. Customize the Toolbars.

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