Grouping, Aligning and Arranging Objects on the Page

This topic pertains to both text labels and drawn objects.

1 Selecting and grouping multiple objects on the page
2 Snapping objects to a grid
3 Aligning objects with the Object Edit toolbar
4 Vertical or horizontal alignment of existing lines
5 Moving objects to the front or the back

Selecting and grouping multiple objects on the page

To select multiple objects, SHIFT + click on the target objects or drag a box around the objects using the Pointer tool

To group multiple objects, click the Group button on the Object Edit toolbar while the objects are selected.

The selected objects can now be operated on as a group.

To ungroup the objects, select the grouped object and click the Ungroup button on the Object Edit toolbar.

Snapping objects to a grid

Origin provides an object grid to help align objects on the page.

To view the object grid:

Select View: Show: Object Grid. A grid appears on the page and a check mark is placed next to the menu command to indicate that the grid is turned on.
To get objects to snap to the grid, select Format: Snap Object to Grid. Objects that are added to the page will now snap to the nearest grid node. Existing objects will snap to the grid when moved or resized.

Notes:

The size of the object grid is controlled by the Tools: Options: Page tab setting Grid Spacing in Pixels > Object .
There is also a grid for manually aligning graph layers.

Aligning objects with the Object Edit toolbar

The Object Edit toolbar contains buttons that provide for easy arrangement of selected objects.

Select the object(s) with your mouse and click one of the buttons on the Object Edit toolbar.

When you select multiple objects and click one of the alignment/uniform size buttons, Origin aligns/resizes the objects with respect to the first object selected.

Note: Since Origin 8.1 SR0, graph layers can be aligned with the Object Edit toolbar.

Vertical or horizontal alignment of existing lines

To align lines or arrows vertically or horizontally, do one of the following operations:

Double-click on the object to open the Object Properties dialog box. Select the Line tab and select the Horizontal or Vertical check boxes.

Click once on the existing line or arrow to select it. Press the SHIFT key and at the same time, drag the control handle of the end that you want to move.

Image:Grouping Aligning and Arranging Objects on the Page-02.png

The line or arrow will snap horizontally or vertically (to which ever alignment requires the least angular movement).

Select the desired objects (press SHIFT to select multiple objects) and click either the Vertical Alignment button or the Horizontal Alignment button on the Arrow toolbar (View: Toolbars).

See the topic, Creating Vertical or Horizontal Lines at Specific X or Y Values in the Origin Help file.

Moving objects to the front or the back

If your graph includes text labels or other annotations that overlap, you can move selected objects to the front or the back of the display. To move objects to the foreground or background:

Select the object(s) that you want to move to the front or back.
Click the Front button or the Back button on the Object Edit toolbar (View: Toolbars).