Distributing/Spacing

[kit wilkins]

Hi,

I am creating a website navigation bar. I am trying to evenly distribute each piece of navigation text so that there is the same amount of space between each. However, after selecting each piece of text and then clicking the "Distribute horizontal centers" button in the alignment toolbar at the top of the screen, it does not evenly space them...in fact it looks terrible.

Why is it not evenly spacing them out and how do I make it work?

Thanks

[Phosąfour dots]

Spend 5 minutes and do it by eye. If you have any kind of sensibility about size and proportion it'll look better anyway.

[kit wilkins]

Really? There is no way of evenly distributing them? How come Illustrator does it but Photoshop doesn't?

[J_Ma...@adobeforums.com]

Do it in Illy, and bring it into Photoshop. The reason PS doesn't do it is because it's not a layout program. Distributing space is a layout function.

[kit wilkins]

Thank you guys. Although, I'm still not getting why it does not space them evenly. If it can space other objects just fine (like squares for example), why is it having a hard time with pieces of text?

[Conrad...@adobeforums.com]

Do all the text boxes use centered paragraph alignment? Or have any indents or tabs applied that would push the type away from the center of its text box?

You say it works with squares but not type. That's because squares are all the same width. If you have any objects that are not the same width (whether rectangles or text), it is impossible to distribute them horizontally without a Distribute Spacing feature. I'll bet if you drew four rectangles of different widths, you'd see the same problem.

I agree that Photoshop should have Distribute Spacing, it's too useful. I don't buy the "it's not a layout program" excuse...Photoshop has chosen to include all the other types of distribution plus features like Smart Guides, which are very layout-oriented.

[Michael...@adobeforums.com]

Just today I was trying to figure how to do this. I hope the Photoshop magicians will add this feature in a future release.

One somewhat clunky way to do this, for those who don't trust their eyes, is to draw a rectangle on its own layer (equal in width to the spacing you want between objects) and fill it. Then add a rule snapped to the right edge of the first object. Drag the left edge of the box against the rule. Snap a new rule on the right edge of the box. Drag the left edge of your next object to that rule. Rinse and repeat. This is of course much easier with snap-to objects and guides turned on.

[v6v...@adobeforums.com]

To add to Conrad and Michael's suggestions, sometimes I create a rectangular "template" box depending on the number of objects I need to align, especially if I don't want to be swamped by too many guides. (On a side note, I'd love to have the ability to use different colored guides and to be able to turn on/off each set of guides!)

[kit wilkins]

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I just cannot believe that Photoshop cant do this by using the distribute tool!!! What in the world is it for if it cant evenly distribute objects properly???

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Ahem… it's Photoshop, not Illustrator or InDesign.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Nor is Photoshop either GoLive or DreamWeaver …

8/