SBC+ Tips & Techniques: View Ribbon - Snap to Grid

Snap to Grid is a feature found on the View ribbon which can be turned on to help you position your elements. The grid is invisible at all times and cannot be seen. 

You can set spacing between grid lines by choosing from a range of preset measurements (1/16", 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 3/8", or 1/2"). The grid includes an option called "Snap to Grid", which aligns objects to the nearest intersection of the grid or to another object as you draw or move objects.  You may also adjust the rotation (1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, or 90 degrees) When Snap to Grid is set, each time you move or rotate an object it will move only the amount you specified.

This feature is useful for creating specific layouts.  It's not hard to use - just try it out and play with it.  You can easily set the grid and turn it off as needed while you work on a project.  Be sure to choose "Snap to Grid" and then click "OK" after you have set the grid increments that you want!

The final feature found on the View ribbon is the Screen Layout, which allows you to view the Photos panel as a separate panel at the bottom of your screen rather than on the right hand side of the screen (the default view).  Simply click the second screen layout icon in the Settings section of the View ribbon.  To return to the default view, click the first icon.

Comments

[Smellyann]

Interesting and helpful, thanks!

[Kelly]

What is the difference between using the snap to grid option as opposed to the alignment tools on the layout section?

[Susan Sanders]

I would be interested to hear the answer to Kelly's q also. Thanks!

[Jan McCallum]

Snap to Grid allows you to set the amount an element will move with a click of the arrow keys or a turn of the rotate button.  In SBC 2.0, you could set an amount as small as 1/16 of an inch, but in SBC 3.0, the smallest amount is 1/4, which is not as helpful (to me, anyway).  But, also in SBC 3.0 you can make grids automatically, so its kind of a trade off.  I use it more for rotation now than I do for alignment.  I still use the align ribbon all the time, too!  It really just depends what you are working on and what you get used to doing.  One of the beauties of SBC is that there are so many ways to do the same kinds of things!