Distribute Shapes in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows

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 you create many PowerPoint slides, it is very important to keep all your shapes well-positioned and spaced apart. In this tutorial, we'll look at how you can distribute shapes evenly. 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 2013 for Windows:

Distribute Shapes Horizontally

1. Select all shapes placed adjacent to each other, as shown in Figure 2, below. Note that these shapes are already aligned properly.
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 fourth and the fifth shape is considerably more than the average distance between other shapes.
2. Now, access the Home tab of the Ribbon. Within the Drawing group, click the Arrange button to bring up a drop-down gallery, as shown in Figure 3, below. Within the Arrange drop-down gallery, click the Align option to bring up the Align sub-gallery. Within this sub-gallery, select the Distribute Horizontally option, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 3.
3. 
   Figure 3: Distribute Horizontally option selected

Access the Align Sub-gallery

The Align sub-gallery can also be accessed from the Arrange group within Drawing Tools 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.
2. Access the Home tab of the Ribbon. Next, within the Drawing group, click the Arrange button to bring up a drop-down gallery, as shown in Figure 6, below. Within the Arrange drop-down gallery, click the Align option to bring up the Align sub-gallery. Within this sub-gallery, select the Distribute Vertically option, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 6.
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 presentations often.