Illustrator Alignment fail.

[myront]

Can anyone offer a solution here? Should be able to do this without moving the blue shape and without physically selecting and move the black shape. You can't just select the two then either use the Align docker or keystroke?

 

[Steenland]

What app? InDesign?

I have InDesign CS6 on a Mac and here's how it works for me:
In Align panel, under "Align to," select "Align to Selection."
Select all (Cmd-A).
In Align panel, click on Align Left Edges icon (upper left).

 

[myront]

What app? InDesign?

I have InDesign CS6 on a Mac and here's how it works for me:
In Align panel, under "Align to," select "Align to Selection."
Select all (Cmd-A).
In Align panel, click on Align Left Edges icon (upper left).

Sorry, I didn't see a specific "illustrator" forum.

 

[myront]

...In Align panel, click on Align Left Edges icon (upper left).

Doesn't that align left? I'm talking about align top.

 

[unclebun]

I just tried that and it appears not to work. There is an align to selection button, but selecting it doesn't align one on top of the other; it aligns them to the same baseline. Aligning them horizontally works.

 

[TumwaterTom]

In Illustrator 2025, you select both items, then choose the "Align to Key Object" grid icon (hi-lighted in yellow in the attachment) from the Align Palette, then click on which object you want to be the key, it will outline in blue, then choose how you want them to align.

 

[unclebun]

I saw the key object button but it definitely not intuitive which object was the key object nor how to make one of them the key. Another example of Adobe UI counterintuitiveness for the win!

 

[jimbug72]

In Illustrator 2025, you select both items, then choose the "Align to Key Object" grid icon (hi-lighted in yellow in the attachment) from the Align Palette, then click on which object you want to be the key, it will outline in blue, then choose how you want them to align.

This, except you actually only need to select both items, then single click on the item you want to set as the "key" item, then use the align feature you need. You no longer need to actually choose the "Align to Key Object" button.

 

[10sacer]

Can anyone offer a solution here? Should be able to do this without moving the blue shape and without physically selecting and move the black shape. You can't just select the two then either use the Align docker or keystroke?


View attachment 176001

I just did it in Illustrator using align to center then align to top and it worked. Then just bring whatever object to front you want to be topmost

 

[Bobby H]

I'm not a big fan of Adobe Illustrator requiring an extra click to set one object as a "key object" to keep it locked in place for other objects to align to it. The feature is better than nothing. Illustrator didn't always have that key object capability.

IMHO, either the first or last object added to a selection should automatically stay locked in place for alignment tasks. That would make the process go a little faster, like it does in CorelDRAW. Illustrator doesn't have comparable align/distribute keyboard shortcuts like CorelDRAW, so the align process can go only so fast. I only see limited value in Illustrator's default object alignment behavior -the stuff that happens when aligning objects without clicking a key object. Aligning objects left, right, top or bottom at least predictably aligns objects to the far object on one of those four directions. But when the objects are center-aligned, either vertically or horizontally, all the selected objects are moved to a unpredictable new location. I don't like that.

 

[Fechin]

Another Way, Duplicate blue square in layers, grab the bottom transform handle to it and flip it over its top axis as if you were sizing. Align black to bottom edge of blue square duplicate, delete blue square when done.

 

[MikePro]

use the snap alignment feature:
youtube vids avail for demonstrations.