Space objects equidistant from each other

A common task is to space objects equidistant from each other. You might have a group of rectangles that make up a hyperlinked menu. Another common situation is a diagram with several boxes containing text.  Here’s an example of a set of icons.

Here’s one way to make sure that all the icons are equidistant:

1. Select all four icons.
2. Click the Format tab. (In PowerPoint 2003, click Draw> Align or Distribute on the Drawing toolbar.)
3. In the Arrange group, click Align, then Distribute Vertical (in this situation) or Distribute Horizontal.

Better, right?

In case you’re wondering, the 4 icons stand for:

• Set goals
• Assign goals
• Train people to meet goals
• Hold people accountable for goals

PowerPoint 2013 adds a new way to create equidistant objects. When you drag a 3rd object approximately equidistant to 2 existing objects, PowerPoint figures it out and displays equidistant guides. I changed the background of the slide at the right to show you more clearly. These guides make creating equidistant objects very easy.

Notice the left alignment guides, too. Those are in PowerPoint 2010 already.

When you can make objects equidistant while you are moving them into place instead of having to separately select them and apply the Distribute feature, you save time. And who doesn’t need more time?