How do I use the Align and Distribute tools in VCarve Pro & Aspire to precisely position and space objects?

Overview

The Alignment Tools form gives you precise control over positioning: aligning to the material, aligning items to one another, evenly spacing, and spacing inside a boundary vector. It is one of the most used tools for professional sign layouts and production work. Open it from the Drawing tab, with Edit > Align Selected Objects, or by pressing F10.

The Three Alignment Sections

Section 1: Align to Material

Aligns the selected object(s) within the material workspace set up in Job Setup (the white area in the 2D view).

• Center in Material (F9): centers the selection in the middle of the material, both axes.
• Center in Material X only: centers left-to-right, so the vertical position does not change.
• Center in Material Y only: centers top-to-bottom, so the horizontal position does not change.

Shortcut: Press F9 to center the selected object on the material. It is the most used single alignment shortcut.

Section 2: Align to Selection

Aligns the items in your design relative to one another. The last item you select is the anchor. Everything else moves to it, and the anchor does not move.

1. Select the item(s) you want to move.
2. Hold Shift and select the final item, the one the others will align to.
3. Click the alignment option you want.

The options are:

• Align Center: centers the selected items in the middle (both horizontally and vertically) of the last selected item.
• Align Vertical Center and Align Horizontal Center: centers the selected items on that one axis of the last selected item.
• Align Left/Right: aligns the selected items to the left or right edge of the last selected item.
• Align Outside Top/Bottom: aligns the selected items on the outside top or bottom edge of the last selected item.

Selection order matters: select the objects to move first, then Shift-select the anchor last. A group is not aligned to its own outer edges; items always align to the last selected item.

Section 3: Space Selection

These tools space the selected objects evenly, horizontally or vertically, while keeping their other-axis position.

• The top and bottom items (vertical spacing) or the left and right items (horizontal spacing) stay in place, and the others are spaced evenly between them.
• Hold Ctrl and the order in which you selected the objects is used instead: they are spaced evenly between the first and last objects selected.
• Tick Inside last vector and the items are spaced evenly within the bounds of the last object selected.

Evenly Spacing Objects: Step by Step

To evenly space a row of objects (for example 5 sign letters) with the first and last already positioned:

1. Place the first object exactly where you want it.
2. Place the last object exactly where you want it.
3. Select all the objects in the row, including the first and last.
4. Open Alignment Tools.
5. Click the horizontal (or vertical) Space Selection option.
6. The middle objects distribute with equal gaps.

To then center the whole row on the material:

1. Press G to group the spaced objects.
2. Press F9 to center the group on the material.

Aligning Objects Inside a Boundary Vector

To center or space objects inside a specific rectangle, oval or shape:

1. Select all the objects to align.
2. Hold Shift and select the boundary vector last.
3. Tick Inside last vector where it is offered, then click the Space Selection option, or use the Align to Selection buttons to center on the boundary.

Important: to center a group inside a boundary, first group the objects (press G), then Shift-select the boundary, then center. Otherwise each individual object centers on the boundary separately.

Snapping and Smart Cursor (Precision Positioning)

For manual precision without the align tool:

• Smart Snapping: dashed snap lines run through nodes you hover over (and through vector and material properties such as bounding box, center point and material edges), so you can snap to alignment relationships without construction geometry.
• Snap to Grid: snaps to a grid of points set by the Grid Spacing in the Snapping Options form (Edit > Snap Options, or F4).
• Guidelines: drag from the top ruler for a horizontal guide or from the left ruler for a vertical one. A guide snaps to the ruler units while dragging; hold Shift to override that snapping. Tick Snap to Guides in Snapping Options so vectors snap to the visible guides.
• Fixed Nudge: set the Fixed Nudge Distance in Snapping Options, then hold Ctrl + Shift and tap the arrow keys to move the selected objects by exactly that distance each press. Useful for mechanical layouts.

Move Selected Objects (Exact Positioning)

For exact coordinates:

1. Select the object.
2. Press M to open the Move form (or use the Drawing tab).
3. Enter the exact X/Y values you need.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting that Align to Selection uses the last selected object as the anchor. Select the anchor last.
• Trying to center a group inside a boundary without grouping first, so each item centers individually.
• Not using F9, the fastest single-click center-on-material shortcut.
• Spacing objects before placing the first and last in their final positions. The spacing is worked out from the current outer positions.