Diagram shapes and layout

Last modified: June 2, 2025

dbForge Studio lets you arrange the diagram layout either automatically or manually. You can move shapes by dragging them with the mouse or using the keyboard, resize them, and align them to the diagram grid.

Lay out the diagram

To resize a diagram automatically, on the Diagram toolbar, select Layout Diagram.

To change the shape order, right-click the required shapes and select Shape > Bring to Front or Send to Back.

Alternatively, on the Layout toolbar, select Bring to Front or Send to Back.

Align shapes

You can align each shape to a grid.

To align a shape to a grid, select it and on the Layout toolbar, select Align to Grid.

You can align several shapes in a column or in a row.

To align shapes in a row, on the Layout toolbar, select:

• Align Top to align the shapes by their top of the primary selection.

• Align Middle to align the shapes by their center of the primary selection.

• Align Bottom to align the shapes by their bottom of the primary selection.

Their horizontal position remains unchanged.

To align shapes in a column, on the Layout toolbar, select:

• Align Right to align the shapes by their right side of the primary selection.

• Align Left to align the shapes by their left side of the primary selection.

• Align Center to align the shapes by center of the primary selection.

Their vertical position remains unchanged.

You can also use the corresponding options on the Layout menu > Align.

Change shape sizes

To change the shape size, select it and drag the size handles to the shape sides and corners.

To apply the shape size to a grid, on the Layout toolbar, select it and select Size to Grid.

Alternatively, go to the Layout menu and select Make Same Size > Size to Grid.

Shapes have minimal and maximal height and width. Minimal width and height and maximal height are constant. Maximum height depends on the table shape column count.

To apply the same size to multiple shapes, select them, and on the Layout toolbar, select Make Same Width or Make Same Height.

Alternatively, use the corresponding options from the Layout menu > Make Same Size.

Note

The size of the selected shapes will be aligned with the size of the primary selection.

To improve the shape size in terms of the content representation, right-click the shape and select Shape > Best Fit.

Note

A primary selection is one of the selected shapes. Its size handles are blue, while the size handles of other selected shapes are black. If a selected shape cannot have the same size as the primary selection, its size will be changed to become as close to the primary selection size as possible.

Control spacing between shapes

The diagram provides you with flexible control over spacing between shapes on the diagram. You can proportionally increase and decrease the horizontal and vertical spacing between the shapes, make them equal, or remove them.

Increase spacing between shapes

To increase the spacing between shapes, select the shapes you want to move and on the Layout toolbar, select Increase Horizontal Spacing or Increase Vertical Spacing.

Alternatively, go to the Layout menu and select Horizontal Spacing or Vertical Spacing > Increase.

Decrease spacing between shapes

To decrease the spacing between shapes, select the shapes you want to move and on the Layout toolbar, select Decrease Horizontal Spacing or Decrease Vertical Spacing.

Alternatively, go to the Layout menu and select Horizontal Spacing or Vertical Spacing > Decrease.

Make spacing equal

To make the spacing between shapes equal, select the shapes you want to move and on the Layout toolbar, select Make Horizontal Spacing Equal or Vertical Spacing Equal.

Alternatively, go to the Layout menu and select Horizontal Spacing or Vertical Spacing > Make Equal.

Remove spacing between shapes

To remove the spacing between shapes, select the shapes you want to move and on the Layout toolbar, select Remove Horizontal Spacing or Remove Vertical Spacing.

Note

Spacing is considered as the distance between shape borders. When you remove vertical spacing, the shapes are repositioned so that each is placed directly below the previous one, with no gap in between. The top of the second shape aligns with the bottom of the first, the top of the third aligns with the bottom of the second, and so on.