Docking
The Docking tool moves selected objects left, right, up, or down, until they meet the edge of the Workspace or another object. Docking can bring objects together or move them in unison, making sure they maintain their relative position to one another.
Docking is helpful for laying out graphics to efficiently utilize space and material.
Accessing the Docking Tools¶
The Docking options are available in the Dock submenu of the Arrange Menu, or in the Docking Toolbar.
If you do not see the Docking Toolbar, go to Window → Docking to enable it. By default, it will appear on the far right of the top toolbar when enabled.
Tip
The layout of LightBurn is highly customizable. For more information on enabling and disabling windows and toolbars, or rearranging the default layout, see Customizing the LightBurn Window.
Docking Options¶
Each of the Docking buttons moves selected objects in a specified direction, until they hit something — either the outer edge of another object, or an inner edge of your Workspace.
Objects contained within another object will not Dock to the inside edge of the object they are contained in, instead, they will continue past the inner edge until they hit the outer edge of another object, or an edge of your Workspace.
You can Dock objects:
- Left
- Right
- Up
- Down
In the Docking Toolbar there are three additional options to control Docking behavior.
-
Move as group tells LightBurn to treat all selected objects as a single group when Docking them — that means they will all stop when one object in the group hits the edge of another object or the Workspace, and all selected objects will maintain their relative position to one another when they're Docked.
Note
Grouped objects will always move together when Docked, regardless of whether Move as group is enabled.
-
Lock inner objects maintains the relative position of objects contained within other objects, when both are Docked at the same time.
-
Padding sets an amount of space to maintain between objects or the edge of the Workspace when docking.
The units used for Padding (in / mm) are the same as the units you have selected in the Numeric Edits Toolbar or your Settings.
Creating even Padding in both directions
Padding is only applied in the direction the objects are Docking, and if an object is already closer to another object or the edge of the Workspace than the Padding distance is set to, the object won't be moved. To apply consistent Padding in both directions, Dock objects away, then back again.
Related Topics¶
For more help using LightBurn, please visit our forum to talk with LightBurn staff and users, or email support.