So I just googled this and read some pretty bad articles on how you can’t vertically align your text in illustrator. I say bad because of the attitude of the person writing the article. Not because of what they were accomplishing. Anyway, I just wanted to write a little snippet on how to accomplish vertical text align in illustrator.
Update: I just want to put in a little update here. I noticed in a few forums people wanting to use vertical align and a little frustrated at why they can’t. The reason is that Illustrator isn’t a layout application (and neither is photoshop) though people use it for that purpose. InDesign is the layout application and yes InDesign has vertical alignment of text boxes. Workflow is vital when designing with adobe. My workflow is like this, in case anyone cares 
, photoshop is strictly for raster image manipulation. Things like digital painting, changing photographs, ect. are done in photoshop. I use Illustrator for vector illustrations and simple single page layouts such as posters or website comps. InDesign is used for multi page layouts. I use the “place” functionality a lot when the areas overlap each other. End of my rant.
First, you need to decide what you are aligning your text with. You can’t, be very definition, align something to nothing, or even itself.
So here I have three text boxes next to three image holders.
Now I want the text to be centered vertically with the image holder. (Note that my bounding box is close to the edge of my text). So I select the two Items I want to align and use the “align” pallet.
And now just click the right selection. You also might want to play around with the “align to” area in the bottom right part of the palette. Also to note is that when you have at least two objects selected the icons in the align palette show up at the top in the toolbar.
And that is how you vertically align text. The trick is the change of mindset, don’t align the text to the text area, but the text area to something else.
That is an interesting idea. I wonder if there will be a modularized application I really like that idea. Putting art boards into illustrator, 3d into photoshop, why not just have a single app that way features are the same, though that may be the problem, rendering a font as vector vs raster.
But I guess that is a question, as a user do I care, during creation, whether it is raster or vector as long as I have the same control and flexibility for both?
I learned on fireworks MX, which has both.
Also, there is an interesting psychological reason that people tend to be jerks in places like this. To sum it up, where there is anonymity and where you are not looking at a face, ie speaking to an object, there is no reservation or filtering. Think about it this way, if you we’re ranting to an empty coke bottle about “jimmy” what would you say compared to saying it to “jimmy”
Also think about it like this. On the freeway how easy is it to say ” you jerk, you just cut me off. Your a jerk” what if that was an ambulance? Suddenly the object becomes more human, what if it was your Dad, becomes even more human.
Pretty good stuff and good to know. I do like that function and use it a lot. Kyle is wrong (in case you cared). My only negative comment…
“The reason is that Illustrator isn’t a layout application”
Yet they keep adding more of those kind of functions to both Illustrator and Photoshop, just like they keep adding more image manipulation functions to InDesign. Which means that while those programs mainly serve one sort of purpose best, we can’t say they are ‘x’ and not ‘y’. They are whatever Adobe makes them. I think if they’re going to add type function, they should add type function…not simply PART of type function. It would be the easiest thing in the world for Adobe’s developers to add vertical align w/in a text box to Illustrator, and seems like laziness to me that they don’t.
I think you unwittingly hit a nerve with a lot of designers.
I wonder if Adobe will one day have one program with different modules (like Lightroom) where you can switch between raster, vector, and layout (or some completely different workflow) working on the same file without having to go to another program.
I’m using this method for very long and I also do wish that Adobe could include Vertical align buttons just like inDesign.
I hate people. “you look like an idiot”. I would suggest Kyle learn how to better win people over an influence them. Clearly, this article can be helpful to someone — namely LQB. The internet shouldn’t be a license to be a jerk.
Thanks for the A anyway
(maybe we can all blast adobe with requests to put it in illustrator)
Yeah, I’ll give you an A for being optimistic – but this is not vertical text alignment.
This is just making do with what Adobe gave us.
Not helpful.
Well, I beg to differ. I don’t look like an idiot. I know it isn’t the ideal solution. Many people have begged Adobe to just put the indesign text engine into Illustrator which would be awesome. The best feature there would be cascading paragraph and character styles.
Anyway. I was tired of hearing that it couldn’t be done in illustrator, so I did it, obvious or not to you others have found this very helpful.
Before attacking, think a little more and you will seem a lot more intelligent.
The reason people want to align text in the bounding box is so that it is consistent in a layout. If you add copy it will push the text up. You have to adjust the text box to be larger to ad text and then realign. Obviously if people know how to align text in a box just can not find the tool, they also know how to align a text box to an object. You sir just wasted your time on a pointless article. You are not thinking outside the box. You are simply pointing out the obvious. Delete this post, you look like an idiot.
Thanks mate. This is what I am looking for. Very helpful.