Snapping objects to guidelines
To snap an object to a guideline, drag the report object onto the guideline until the object's edge sits atop the guideline. Snapping enables you not only to align report objects accurately, but also to re-position and re-size multiple objects together. Once several objects are snapped to a guideline, you can move all the objects by moving the guideline.
You can snap either the top or the bottom of an object to a horizontal guideline.
You can snap an object's left side, right side, or vertical midline (the invisible line that bisects an object vertically) to a vertical guideline.
To snap objects to a guideline
- Insert a guideline by clicking one of the rulers.
- Drag the report object onto the guideline, so that one of the object's edges is on the guideline.
Note: The guideline will usually darken or change color to show when the object is touching it correctly.
The snap property of guidelines works differently for text-based objects than for other objects, such as OLE objects. When a single-line text-based object snaps to a guideline, it is the baseline of the text, not the object frame, that snaps to the guideline. When a multi-line text-based object snaps to a guideline, either the baseline of the text or the object frame can be snapped to the guideline.
You can tell if a text-based object is snapped to a horizontal guideline by looking for the special indicators positioned on either side of the object directly at the baseline (as circled in the image below). If the object is snapped to a vertical guideline, the special indicators appear along the side of the object.
To place several text objects of different font sizes on one line with their baselines lined up, snap each object's baseline to the same horizontal guideline.
If you select the Snap To Grid option, and you do not select the Free-Form placement option, the following conditions occur:
- all objects snap to the guidelines for vertical placement
- the left boundary snaps to both vertical guidelines and grid points.
For more information, see Designing with guidelines.