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# Using the Grid to Align Objects

You can use the visible grid lines to help you align objects, or you can use the Snap to Grid feature to align objects to the nearest grid coordinates with or without the grid itself displayed.

## Displaying the grid

When you position objects on a page, you may want to be able to see the grid lines. Grid lines appear only on the screen. They do not appear on the printed form. If you want to see your grid increments without displaying the grid, you can set your ruler to display grid increments instead of your unit of measure.

To display or hide the grid

1. Open the View menu.

2. Select Show/Hide.

3. Select or deselect Grid on the Show/Hide submenu.

or

Press + to display or hide the grid.

To display the ruler in grid increments

1. Open the View menu and select Rulers.

2. Select In Grid Increments to display the ruler in grid unit increments.

or

1. Right-click anywhere on the ruler to display the context menu.

2. Select Show in Grid Increments to display the ruler in grid unit increments.

## Using the Snap to Grid option

When you set the Snap to Grid option, your objects will snap to the nearest grid coordinates when you draw, move, or resize them with your mouse. When it is off, your mouse pointer moves freely and you can position your objects anywhere. Whichever setting you choose, you can turn it off temporarily with the key if you need the other mode for an operation.

The Snap to Grid feature is helpful when you are repositioning objects and you want them to line up exactly. It can be used with or without displaying the grid lines, so you can easily align your objects without having to actually display the grid.

To enable the Snap to Grid option

1. Open the View menu.

2. Select Snap to Grid.

To disable the Snap to Grid option

1. Open the View menu.

2. Deselect Snap to Grid.

To temporarily disable Snap to Grid

1. Press and hold it down.

2. Draw or move your objects. The mouse pointer should move freely and you should be able to position the objects anywhere.

3. When you are done, release and Snap to Grid will be reenabled.

To temporarily enable Snap to Grid

1. Press and hold it down.

2. Draw or move your objects. You will be able to position them only at grid coordinates.

3. When you are done, release and Snap to Grid will again be disabled.

## Using the grid to align text

There are two ways to align text boxes, data fields and system text boxes on your form. You can align them to the text base line or your can align them to the top of the object:

- When Align Text to Base Line is enabled, the first line of text in text boxes, data fields, and system text boxes is aligned to the grid, based on the text base line. The text base line is the bottom of the text without the descenders (“tails” from letters such as y, g, p, etc.).

- When Align Text to Base Line is disabled, the top edge of the text box, data field, or system text box is used for alignment.

Since this feature affects both text boxes and data fields, it is a good way to ensure that the text in field labels and corresponding data fields line up with each other.

The Snap to Grid option must be enabled for the Align Text to Base Line feature to work. If the Snap to Grid option is not enabled, the Align Text to Base Line option will be grayed out.

To enable Align Text to Base Line

1. Open the View menu.

2. Enable the Snap to Grid option.

3. Open the View menu again and select Align Text to Base Line: