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Inspiring
December 18, 2018
Open for Voting

P: Change option bar Align & Distribute layout

  • December 18, 2018
  • 15 replies
  • 3332 views

In the newest update, the "Distribute" tools are hidden behind the three dots and a drop down menu. I use these tools often and loved how, in the previous version, they were all available in the options bar. Now, if I select multiple layers and want to distribute them and then group or merge them, which is something I do a lot in my line of work, I have to click on the dots, click on distribute, and then click away from the drop down menu to be able to use my keyboard shortcuts to merge or group. In addition, if I'm on Auto-Select and I accidentally click in my artwork and not in the artboard to get out of the drop down, I've lost my selection and have to go back in and re-select to group or merge. What was once a one click, one keyboard shortcut action has now become at best a three click, one keyboard shortcut action. This adds up if you do it a lot, and my workflow is being impacted. It would be wonderful to be able to modify the Align and Distribute tools that show up in the options bar when layers are selected. There certainly seems to be enough space to include all of them, but if for whatever reason that's not possible, a keyboard shortcut to toggle between them would be very helpful. Thank you!

15 replies

alexanderl16240166
Inspiring
September 3, 2025

Agreed, hiding things to save space and then having a mostly empty bar is beyond dumb. Whoever decided it made sense should look what it looks like on an external monitor!

Participant
January 22, 2025

Still not fixed, still crap design fromn Adobe. I swear their designer don't actually use the software. Such a crock of sh**

Participant
May 28, 2023

Having 32" monitor give planty of empty space so hiding options behind ... is a bad design.

Inspiring
June 9, 2021

In Photoshop, if you have only one object, text, or group selected, the default alignment behavior should automatically change to "Align to Canvas". Currently, if you only select one object, the alignment controls are greyed out and you must navigate through the menus to change the setting to "Canvas" instead of "Selection".

When multiple objects are selected the default alignment behavior should change to "Align to Selection." 

Other Adobe programs, such as Illustrator, already implement the alignment behavior like I've described. If it could be brought to Photoshop that would be awesome and would save a lot of time! 

Also, put the alignment controls in a menu- not just at the very top! If the controls were in a menu the "Align To" controls could always be shown instead of hidden behind a [...] menu.

Thank You

Inspiring
June 25, 2020
Yes, the time is nigh that we organize and do an Occupy Adobe protest - we must band together my fellow pixel pushers and form "PHOTOSHOP USERS LIVES MATTER" and squat at Adobe HQ for days chanting: "JDI, JDI, JDI".  Lol
Earth Oliver
Legend
June 25, 2020
Ah, that stinks. At least it's not as bad as some of the Adjustment Layers which will lose their channel or color selection if you simply switch documents. Those are more than a decade of frustration for me and thousands upon thousands of wasted mouse clicks.
Inspiring
June 25, 2020
Hi Eartho;
It's sticky but only for the session. Once you close Photoshop, it reverts to "Selection" on restart.
I have similar items where the user choice is not persistent (even just taking focus off the panel).
  • The Click and Drag on the Hue/Saturation panel
  • The Tone Balance option on the Color Balance Panel always opens to "Midtones"
I probably have a few more I can't think of at the moment. I guess these are outliers, since most panels reopen to the last user settings even after application restart.
Inspiring
June 24, 2020
I don't see the transform or align and distribute options in the properties panel when I have at least 3 layers selected. Even if it does exist it's still pretty sad that Adobe has taken away a dedicated Distribute panel and the 3 dot drop down still exists. This post was started 2 years ago. SMH.
Earth Oliver
Legend
May 25, 2020
Jane, but it's sticky, right? Once you reveal, it stays open?
jane-e
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 25, 2020
Hi Eartho,
Distribute is hidden behind the ellipse in the Properties panel, just as it is in the options bar, so the extra click that showed up in recent versions and doubles our time is still required.
~ Jane