More Aligning Question

Are those the actual measurements? In that case use the dimension tool. https://helpx.adobe.com/de/illustrator/using/tool-techniques/dimension-tool.html

Hi smart_society8a44,

You can build exactly that row — three boxes of widths 3, 5 and 7 sitting edge to edge — with the Align panel. No helper lines are needed; the panel does the alignment for you. This works the same in Illustrator 2020 on Windows.

Step 1 — Make the three boxes the exact widths

1. Select the Rectangle tool and draw three rectangles, roughly the sizes you want.

2. Select the first rectangle, then open Window > Transform and type its exact Width (W) — 3, in whatever unit your document uses (for example cm or inches). Do the same for the other two: 5 and 7.

3. Give all three the same Height (H) in the Transform panel, so they form one even row.

Step 2 — Line them up in a row with no gaps

1. Select all three rectangles (drag a marquee around them, or Shift-click each one).

2. Open Window > Align to show the Align panel.

3. Click Vertical Align Center so all three sit on the same centre line.

4. In the Align panel, click the panel menu (top right) and choose Show Options if you do not see the Distribute Spacing field. Type 0 in the Distribute Spacing field and click Horizontal Distribute Space. The three boxes will now sit touching each other, in left-to-right order — so check that the 3-unit box is on the left, 5 in the middle and 7 on the right before you click.

5. Select all three and press Ctrl+G to group them, so they stay together.

Step 3 — Centre the row on your artboard (optional)

With the group selected, in the Align panel change "Align To" to Artboard and click Horizontal Align Center.

Two notes:

- The dimension lines with the 3 / 5 / 7 and the arrows in your picture are only measurements showing the widths. You do not need them to do the alignment. If you want to reproduce them, draw them with the Line tool and add arrowheads in the Stroke panel.

- If you prefer to drag things into place by hand, turn on View > Smart Guides — the edges will snap together as you drag. But the Align panel steps above are the precise way to do it.

Adobe's help pages for these steps:

- Align or distribute selected objects: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/manage-objects/arrange-objects/align-and-distribute-objects.html

- Distribute objects by specific distances: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/manage-objects/arrange-objects/distribute-objects-by-specific-distances.html

Eugene Tyson also gave a good overview of the same Align-panel approach in your earlier thread (How do I Align Like This in PC Version of Adobe Illustrator 2020?), so this reply expands on that with the exact widths and the 0-spacing step for your 3-5-7 row.

Let me know how it goes, or post a screenshot if the boxes do not come out in the right order.