Jacquelin Vanderwood
February 2005
As you can see, I've created 4 images in Photoshop. They are currently stacked one upon the other. When I import them into Illustrator I want them to be aligned vertically with even spaces between. How do I do that?
The best way to begin is by saving the Photoshop file in the .PSD format so that layers stay intact.
In Illustrator we would open the file using Open under File and change the Files of Type to Photoshop as shown below. This will guarantee the layering.
You'll be asked to Convert Photoshop layers to objects or Flatten Photoshop layers to a single image. Choose the first option.
Go to Window and select Tile so you can see both files.
Lock three layers. Click on the little button to make the layer active and use Control+C to copy. Click on the original file with the background and press Control+V. Do this for each layer. They will paste on top of one another.
Minimize the file with the four original pictures and Maximize the file with the background where you just pasted the pictures. You may have to reorganize the level of each layer if they got pasted in the wrong sequence. Open Align and choose Show Options. Click on Use Preview Bounds and Align to Artboard. Choose
Under Distribute Spacing click on the Vertical Distribute Space button.
You may find your images too large for the piece so once they've been distributed make sure all are selected then press Shift key while pressing on the corner at the bottom and resizing to fit the background. Use the arrow key to move the pieces up or down. The distribution is correct and the pictures will be aligned to the artboard. However, you may find them off center from the actual background you created so you may have to readjust the alignment of the background by tapping the arrow key while it is selected.
If you add text to the piece. and want to guarantee that it is centered accurately, make sure the two layers are selected and then press the Horizontal Align Center button to correct this.
Everything should now be aligned correctly.
Copyright (c) 2005, Jacquelin Vanderwood, All Rights Reserved
