The command toolbar at the top of the dialog editor contains a number of layout commands that make it easy to position and size multiple controls.
The alignment commands ( ) let you align one or more controls with
another control (known as the “master control”). Each command uses the
designated edge of the master control’s rectangle to align the same edge of the
other controls.
To use these commands, select all the controls you want to align except the master (either by clicking on an empty space in the dialog and dragging a selection rectangle around them, or by Shift- or Control-clicking them). Then Shift- or Control-click on the master control so that it’s the last one you select. You can distinguish the master control from the other selected controls by the color of its grips.
Once you have the controls you want aligned and the correct master control selected, click the desired alignment command.
The sizing commands ( )
let you make one or more controls the same size as another control (known as the
“master control”). You can copy either the width, height or both width and
height from the master to all other selected controls.
To use these commands, select all the controls you want to resize except the master (see the Alignment section above for more detail on this process). Once you have the controls selected and the correct master chosen, click the desired resize command.
There are two sets of positioning commands. The first ( ) is used to center one or more controls,
relative to the dialog. You can center controls horizontally or vertically (if
you want both you need to use both commands!). Note that when you have more than
one control selected, they are repositioned as a group – that is, they maintain
their relative positions to each other, and the group as a whole is
centered.
The second set of positioning commands ( ) is used to space three or more controls
evenly. These functions work on the group of selected controls as a whole. For
example, using the Space Evenly Down command, the selected controls will
be spaced evenly between the top of the top control and the bottom of the bottom
control.
The Grid ( ) option displays a regular grid on the dialog, making it much
easier to align controls as you place them. When the grid is turned on, controls
will snap to the grid when you move or resize them using the mouse or keyboard.
To override the snap-to-grid, hold the Alt key down when moving or
resizing controls.
The grid size can be modified using the Grid Settings command in the Edit menu.