Distribute Shapes in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

Placement of slide objects on your slide can make a big difference. And proper spacing in-between slide objects plays an important role in making your slides look aesthetic. This distribution of shapes brings symmetry to your slide content. Look at Figure 1, below, and you'll see that shapes towards the left are not distributed equally whereas shapes towards the right are comparatively better spaced out. Most of the time, distribution is used along with alignment. We already covered alignment in our Align Shapes in PowerPoint tutorial.

Figure 1: The benefits of distribution

If a fair amount of your time is spent in creating and editing PowerPoint slides, you know how important it is to keep all your slides looking consistent with shapes that are evenly positioned and equally spaced. The Distribute option is a great way to position shapes equidistant from each other, either on a horizontal or vertical plane.

Follow these steps to distribute shapes evenly in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac:

Distribute Shapes Horizontally

1. Select all shapes placed adjacent to each other, as shown in Figure 2, below.
2. 
   Figure 2: Shapes selected for horizontal distribution
3. As you can see in Figure 2, above, these shapes are not equally spaced in-between each other. For instance, you’ll notice that the distance between the third and the fourth shapes is considerably more than the average distance between other shapes.
2. Access the Home tab of the Ribbon, and locate the Format group. Now, click the Arrange button to bring up the gallery shown in Figure 3, below. Click the Align or Distribute option to bring up the Align or Distribute sub-gallery, as shown in Figure 3. Select the Distribute Horizontally option.
3. 
   Figure 3: Distribute Horizontally option selected

Access the Align Sub-gallery

The Align or Distribute sub-gallery can also be accessed by clicking Align button of Arrange group, within the Format tab of the Ribbon.
3. This action will distribute selected shapes equally on a horizontal plane, as shown in Figure 4, below. Compare Figures 4 and 2.
4. 
   Figure 4: Shapes distributed horizontally showing equal distance between each other

Distribute Shapes Vertically

1. Select all shapes placed one above the other, as shown in Figure 5, below.
2. 
   Figure 5: Shapes selected for vertical distribution
3. As you can see in Figure 5, above, the shapes are not spaced equidistantly. The distance between the first and second shapes is considerably more than the distance between the second and third shapes.
2. Access the Home tab of the Ribbon. Next, within the Format group, click the Arrange button to bring up the gallery shown in Figure 6, below. Click the Align or Distribute option to bring up the Align or Distribute sub-gallery, as shown in Figure 6. Select the Distribute Vertically option.
3. 
   Figure 6: Distribute Vertically option selected
3. This action will distribute selected shapes equally on a vertical plane, as shown in Figure 7, below. Compare Figures 7 and 5.
4. 
   Figure 7: Shapes distributed vertically showing equal distance between each other
4. Save your presentation often.