Inkscape/C2/Align-and-distribute-objects/English

Title of script: Align and distribute objects

Author: Arthi.A

Keywords: Align and distribute various objects, Arrange objects in rows and columns, Set spacing between objects, Create a tile pattern.

Visual cue	Narration
Opening Slide	Welcome to the Spoken Tutorial on “Align and distribute objects” using Inkscape.
Learning Objectives (Slide)	In this tutorial, we will learn to Align and distribute various objects Arrange objects in rows and columns Set spacing between objects and Create a tile pattern
System requirements (Slide)	To record this tutorial, I am using Ubuntu Linux 12.04 OS Inkscape version 0.48.4
Go to Dash home and type “Inkscape” >>Click on Inkscape logo	Go to Dash home and type Inkscape. Now click on the logo. Let me open an already saved inkscape document.
Draw 5 different shapes	Here we can see 5 different shapes placed randomly on the canvas. On your Inkscape canvas, please draw 5 shapes and place them as shown here. Now let us start aligning the objects.
Go to Object menu >> Align and distribute >>	Go to Object menu and click on Align and distribute. The Align and distribute dialog box opens on the right side of the interface.
	Two types of positioning are available here.
Point to Align option	Align is where the centers or edges of objects are aligned to one another.
Point to Distribution option	Distribute is where objects are distributed in horizontal or vertical direction, based on their centers or edges.
	We can align objects in various manners using these options and their sub-options.
Point to Relative to option	Here is another important feature: Relative to. Using this, we can align the objects with reference to something.
Click on the drop down list >> Point to each option	Click on the drop down list to see the options here. So, we have Last selected, First selected, Biggest object, Smallest object, Page, Drawing and Selection.
Point to Relative to option	By default the objects will be aligned relative to Page. This means that the selected objects will respond to the Align and Distribute operations, according to your Page dimensions.
Press Ctrl + A	Press Ctrl + A to select all the objects on the canvas.
Point to first 5 icons under Align	The first 5 icons will align objects in the vertical direction.
Click on the first icon	Let me click on the first icon. As the tool tip says, right edges of the objects are aligned to the left edge of the anchor.
Point to Relative to option	Please recall, here the anchor point is the page, as the Relative to option is Page.
Point to the overlapped objects	Notice that 2 objects are overlapped now. Overlap may occur based on the closeness of the objects, in the previous arrangement.
Point to Remove overlaps icon >> Click on it	We can correct this by clicking the Remove overlaps option, which is below the Distribute option. Now the overlap is removed.
Point to horizontal and vertical space	To adjust the gaps between the objects, both in horizontal and vertical direction, use the H and V options.
Click on second icon under Align, then third, then fourth Use CTRL+Z in between the change	Now click on the options under the Align and observe how the objects align themselves. Use the undo option CTRL + Z to understand the alignment better. The tool tips are quite useful to help understand the alignment.
Point to last icon under Align	The last icon works only on texts. So we will learn about that in another tutorial. <<PAUSE>>
Point to Distribute	Next we will adjust the gaps among the objects using the Distribute option.
Point to last 4 icons under Distribute >> Align objects in centre	Since the objects are in vertical direction, we have to use the last four icons under the Distribute option. Let me align them to the centre first.
Click on second icon under Distribute, then third, then fourth Use CTRL+Z in between the change	Now click on the options under Distribute and observe how the objects align themselves. Once again, use the undo option CTRL + Z, to understand the alignment better. Refer to the tool tips to help understand the alignment better.
Point to Treat selection as group.	Under Relative to, observe there is an option Treat selection as group. This option will align the objects as a whole group.
Click on the icons	Click on the check box. Now click on the icons one by one and observe the objects are aligned as a group, and not individually.
Uncheck the box and click on some icons.	Let us uncheck the box. Now the objects will be aligned individually. <<PAUSE>>
Change the Relative to option as First selected.	Next, let us align and distribute objects according to Last selected. Change the Relative to option as Last selected.
Place the objects randomly inside the canvas.	So, bring all the objects inside the canvas and place them randomly. Select the objects one by one. Select the circle last.
Click on the icons	=== As before, click on the icons one by one. === Since the last selected object is circle, Observe the objects are aligned according to the circle. <<PAUSE>> Likewise, you can try out all the options listed in Relative to and observe the alignment of the objects.
Point to Connector network layout >> Close this dialog box	We will learn about the advanced options in Align and Distribute dialog box in later tutorials. So, let us close this dialog box now. <<PAUSE>>
	Next we will learn to arrange the objects in rows and columns.
Go to Object menu >> Click on Rows and Columns.	Go to Object menu. Click on Rows and Columns. The Rows and Columns dialog box opens up.
	Using this option, we can arrange objects in rows and columns, giving necessary spaces.
Arrange the objects randomly	Arrange the objects randomly on the canvas.
Change the row parameter to 2.	Now let us arrange these objects in 2 rows and 3 columns. So change the row parameter to 2. Observe when the row parameter is changed the column parameter changes automatically.
Click on Arrange.	Click on Arrange button at the bottom right. The Align options help to align the objects in the right, centre and left. Check it one by one and observe the changes.
Point to Set spacing	We can set the space between the objects, for both rows and columns, using the Set spacing option.
Change Set spacing parameter to 5	Now, change the space parameter as 5 for both row and column. Click on Arrange button. Observe the space between the objects. <<PAUSE>>
	Now I will show how to create a pattern using Align and Distribute
Select squares >> Rotate them	I have a new Inkscape file with 4 squares of different sizes and colors. Select all and rotate the squares so that they look like diamond shapes.
	Open Align and Distribute dialog box. Click on Centre on vertical axis. Click on Centre on horizontal axis.
Point to the pattern	A tile pattern is now formed on the canvas. Using these options creatively, we can form many unique patterns. <<PAUSE>>
Summary (Slide)	Let us summarize. In this tutorial, we learnt to Align and distribute various objects Arrange objects in rows and columns Set spacing between objects and Create a tile pattern
Assignment (Slide)	Here are 2 assignments for you Create 5 circles having the following dimensions 1st circle – red color – 350 * 350 pixels. 2nd circle – grey color – 300 * 300 pixels. 3rd circle – red color – 250 * 250 pixels. 4th circle – grey color – 200 * 200 pixels. 5th circle – red color – 150 * 150 pixels.
Assignment (Slide)	* Arrange them randomly and select all Using Align and Distribute, change Relative to option to Biggest selected. Click on Align left edges. Click on Centre on horizontal axis.
Assignment (Slide)	* Create 6 squares of blue color and size 100 * 100 pixels. Select all squares and open Rows and columns. Arrange them in 3 rows and 3 columns. Set both vertical and horizontal space parameter to 20.
Completed assignment	Your completed assignment should look like this.
About Slide	The video at the link shown, summarizes the Spoken Tutorial project. If you do not have good bandwidth, you can download and watch it.
About Slide	The Spoken Tutorial Project Team conducts workshops using spoken tutorials and gives certificates on passing online tests. For more details, please write to us.
About Slide	Spoken Tutorial Project is supported by the National Mission on Education through ICT, MHRD, Government of India. More information on this Mission is available at the link shown.
Acknowledgment	We have come to the end of this tutorial. This is Arthi and Saurabh from IIT Bombay, signing off. Thanks for joining.

Contributors and Content Editors

Arthi, Nancyvarkey