SmartAlign - Switching to Advanced Mode

SmartAlign has an advanced mode that provides additional features for laying out shapes. I tend to use the basic mode for process modes and switch to advanced mode for more complex diagrams like context diagrams, frameworks diagrams, and models with large amounts of content.

Switching to Advanced Mode

Press SmartAlign without any shapes selected. SmartAlign displays the control menu.

This is the SmartAlign control menu
 

It contains a number of useful items of information and provides a number of functions, including allowing you to switch to advanced mode.




The DoubleTap align Mode is Basic Auto Connect - This means that when you DoubleTap a group of shapes, SmartAlign will automatically add any connectors to join them.  The alternative is Advanced Mode - which you can change below.

The menu also shows how many guides are on the page and whether they are visible or not.

The functions of the menu are straight-forward. You can toggle between basic and advance mode and show/hide guides.

You can also delete all guides. I tend to do this once the diagram is complete and ready for use or wider review. The guides can get distracting so I prefer to remove them once they have served their purpose.