Aligning Multiple Objects to Horizontal Centers in Inkscape

This article provides a quick, step-by-step guide on how to precisely align multiple objects to their horizontal centers in Inkscape. You will learn how to locate the Align and Distribute panel, select the correct reference point for your alignment, and execute the command to clean up your vector designs efficiently.

1. Select the Objects

First, open your project in Inkscape and select all the objects you want to align. You can do this by holding down the Shift key and clicking each object individually, or by clicking and dragging a bounding box around all the target objects using the Select and Transform Objects tool (the black arrow).

2. Open the Align and Distribute Panel

Once your objects are selected, you need to open the alignment tools. You can access the Align and Distribute panel using any of the following methods:

• Navigate to the top menu and select Object > Align and Distribute.
• Click the Align and Distribute icon on the right-hand command bar.
• Use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + A (or Shift + Cmd + A on a Mac).

The panel will appear on the right side of your workspace.

3. Set the “Relative to” Anchor

Before clicking the alignment button, look at the Relative to: dropdown menu at the top of the panel. This setting determines what your objects will align themselves against. Choose the option that best fits your workflow:

• Last selected: Aligns all objects to the center of the very last object you clicked.
• First selected: Aligns all objects to the center of the very first object you clicked.
• Biggest/Smallest object: Uses the largest or smallest item in your selection as the anchor.
• Page: Centers all selected objects relative to the horizontal center of the entire document page.

4. Execute the Horizontal Alignment

Look at the grid of icons under the “Align” section of the panel. Hover your mouse over the icons to see their descriptions. Locate the button labeled Center on horizontal axis (the icon typically features a vertical line passing through the centers of two rectangles). Click this button, and Inkscape will instantly shift the objects so that their horizontal midpoints are perfectly aligned.