How to Align Objects in PowerPoint (Guides, Smart Guides and Distribute)

Slightly misaligned boxes are the thing that makes a slide look amateur, and the thing most people spend longest nudging by eye. Stop nudging. PowerPoint can line things up and space them evenly in two clicks.

Drag an object and red dotted lines appear when it lines up with something else — edges, centres, even equal spacing between three things. Let go when the line shows. For most jobs this is all you need. If they've gone missing, right-click the slide → Grid and Guides → Smart Guides.

1. Select the objects: click the first, Shift + click the others, or drag a box around them.
2. Go to Shape Format → Align.
3. Choose Align Left, Align Center, Align Right, Align Top, Align Middle or Align Bottom.

By default, objects align to each other (Align Selected Objects). The one furthest in that direction stays put and the rest move to it.

Select three or more objects and choose Align → Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically. The outer two stay where they are and the rest spread out evenly between them. This is the fix for "the gaps look different".

Select the object, then Align → Align to Slide (it becomes ticked). Now Align Center puts it in the horizontal centre of the slide and Align Middle in the vertical centre. Switch back to Align Selected Objects afterwards or you'll wonder why things are flying to the slide edges.

Press Alt + F9 to show a horizontal and vertical guide through the centre of the slide. Drag them where you want; hold Ctrl while dragging to make a copy. Objects snap to them. They don't print or show in the slideshow, and they're the same on every slide, so they're ideal for keeping titles and logos in the same spot throughout.

Select several objects and type the same Height and Width in the boxes on the Shape Format tab. Combine with Align and Distribute and you've got a perfect grid.

Align moved everything to the edge of the slide. Align to Slide is ticked. Switch to Align Selected Objects.

Distribute is greyed out. You need at least three objects selected (or two with Align to Slide on).

Things snap when I don't want them to. Hold Alt while dragging to move freely.

Select, Align, Distribute. Keep Align to Slide for centring a single thing and Align Selected Objects for everything else. Put guides on the slide for titles and logos and every slide lines up with every other.