[AD] spacing vertically is not working on these objects

[Gear maker]

I am using AD 1.10.0 and in my drawing I created one object.  Then using a ctrl C and ctrl V replicated the first object and positioned it about where I wanted, then copied that object and placed it, etc.  I then selected the 6 objects and using the alignment icon I did a Space vertically.  But they didn't.  What's stopping these from being spaced vertically? 

I tried the spacing and distributing from the menu and got the same results.  I tried copying the 6 objects to a new drawing and got the same results.

I have done this same process before in this same drawing and it worked as it is supposed to.

Test1.afdesign

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Gear maker said:

I then selected the 6 objects and using the alignment icon I did a Space vertically.  But they didn't.  What's stopping these from being spaced vertically? 

Your document is not tall enough to space the objects vertically. Each object is 62 px (roughly) in height, so with 6 objects, spaced vertically and auto-distributed 0px apart, you would need a document that is about 372 px tall. Your document is only about 100 px tall.

[Gear maker]

Hi Walt.  Okay now you are making me question my sanity.  I would swear that many times in the past I have been able to have multiple objects and using the spacing put them in a line evenly spaced between the first and last object.  Any idea how I would have accomplished that in the past?  It sure isn't working now.  Now whichever is the highest stays the highest and whichever is the lowest stays the lowest, etc.  I think I'm cracking up!  Mike

[prophet]

I see your object are spaced vertically, but the relative positions of the 4th and 5th objects are reversed. Quick fix would be to just horizontally flip those 2.

[prophet]

Follow up. In my experience, vertical spacing takes the initial differences in y position and "evens them out" without considering the order the objects are in. So I always position objects in at least the initial spacing order I want them before "evening them out". That usually means just giving a little drag or a few arrow nudges to the ones between the first at last.

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Gear maker said:

I would swear that many times in the past I have been able to have multiple objects and using the spacing put them in a line evenly spaced between the first and last object. 

That sounds like a horizontal alignment/spacing/distribution, not the vertical you were using this time.

[Gear maker]

2 hours ago, prophet said:

Follow up. In my experience, vertical spacing takes the initial differences in y position and "evens them out" without considering the order the objects are in. So I always position objects in at least the initial spacing order I want them before "evening them out". That usually means just giving a little drag or a few arrow nudges to the ones between the first at last.

That is probably why it has worked for me before.  In the initial example there wasn't much difference between the y location of each item.  So I was trying to use the alignment to get them in a straight line.  I finally just drew a line at the angle I wanted and adjusted them until the edge of each was on the line.  Thanks.  Mike

[Gear maker]

4 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

That sounds like a horizontal alignment/spacing/distribution, not the vertical you were using this time.

It was actually the vertical.  I wanted them on a straight (angled but mostly horizontal) line.  I wanted the horizontal distancing (x dimension) to remain the same for each.

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Gear maker said:

It was actually the vertical.  I wanted them on a straight (angled but mostly horizontal) line.  I wanted the horizontal distancing (x dimension) to remain the same for each.

OK; in that case it basically did what you asked, I think. It would have done better with a taller document, and if you hadn't mixed up the Y position of numbers 4 and 5.

I would not have done it that way. I would have used Power Duplicate:

1. Create one object.
2. Cmd+J or Ctrl+J to duplicate (Mac, Windows).
3. Drag the object where you want it horizontally, and adjust vertical position. Can be done by dragging or by the Transform panel.
4. Cmd/Ctrl+J 4 more times.