Smart Guides

Smart guides give visual feedback while you position an item, helping you line it up with the rest of your diagram.

Turning Smart Guides On and Off

Click Smart Guides in the window toolbar (tooltip: "Smart Guides (show alignment during drag)").

What Smart Guides Show

While you drag or resize an item, guide lines appear when:

• Its edges line up with the edges of other items
• Its centre lines up with the centres of other items
• The gaps on each side of it are equal — shown as short pink lines with end ticks marking the matching gaps

The item snaps to the aligned position, so you can release as soon as the guide appears.

Using Smart Guides

Aligning While Moving

1. Select a single item
2. Drag it near other items
3. Release when the guide you want appears

Smart guides are shown when you drag one item at a time.

Aligning While Resizing

Drag a resize handle — guides appear when the edge you're dragging lines up with other items.

Smart Guides vs Grid

Use both together: the grid for initial placement, smart guides for lining up with existing content. See Grid & Snapping.

Tips

• Move slowly near other items to see guides appear
• Duplicate and align — Cmd+D, then drag the copy into line
• Many aligned copies? Use Repeat… or the toolbar Align and Distribute menus
• Turn guides off for freeform sketching