Arranging nodes on boards

Once you’ve got a few nodes down, boards give you tools to tidy them up — line them up, space them evenly, stack them, group them, and lock the ones you don’t want to nudge by accident.

Selecting more than one node

Most arranging tools work on a multi-selection:

• Shift-drag a box across empty canvas to select everything inside it.
• Shift-click individual nodes to add or remove them from the selection.
• No keyboard? Right-click empty canvas → Multiselect, then drag a box — no Shift needed. It goes back to normal panning after that one selection.

With two or more nodes selected, an alignment toolbar appears so you can act on them together.

Align

Line selected nodes up along a shared edge or centre. From the alignment toolbar:

• Align left / right — snap their left or right edges together.
• Align top / bottom — snap their top or bottom edges together.
• Align horizontal centres — centre them on a shared vertical line.
• Align vertical centres — centre them on a shared horizontal line.

Distribute

Even out the spacing between nodes so the gaps are equal. You need three or more selected (with two, there’s nothing to even out):

• Distribute horizontally — equalise the left-to-right gaps.
• Distribute vertically — equalise the top-to-bottom gaps.

Group and ungroup

Bind a set of nodes into a group so they move as one unit — no box around them, nothing to collapse.

1. Select two or more nodes.
2. Press Cmd/Ctrl + G (or right-click → Group). They’re now grouped.
3. Click any member to select the whole group, and drag any one to move them all together.
4. To break it apart, select the group and press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + G (or right-click → Ungroup).

Tip

A group has no visible border and doesn’t collapse — it just keeps the nodes moving together. If you want a titled box you can collapse, or a presentation region, use a container or a frame instead (drag one from the Library and drop nodes inside).

Per-node controls in the Inspector

Select a single node and open the Inspector (right rail) for precise controls:

• Position — type exact X / Y coordinates.
• Size — type an exact width and height.
• Layer — Bring forward / Send backward to control which nodes sit on top when they overlap.
• Lock — freeze a node so it can’t be dragged or edited by accident. Click the lock again to unlock. Locked nodes still show in the Inspector.

Right-click menu

Right-click a node to open a menu with the common actions in one place — Duplicate, Copy, Cut, Paste here, Lock/Unlock, Layer (bring forward / send backward), Group / Ungroup, Align and Distribute submenus, and Delete. Actions that need more than one node (Group, Align, Distribute) are greyed out until you’ve selected enough. If you right-click a node that’s part of a multi-selection, the menu acts on the whole selection; otherwise it acts on just that node.

Right-click empty canvas for a shorter menu with Paste here and Select all.

Copy, cut, and paste

Copy nodes and drop them somewhere else — on the same board or another one.

• Copy — Cmd/Ctrl + C (or right-click → Copy).
• Cut — Cmd/Ctrl + X — copies and removes them.
• Paste — Cmd/Ctrl + V drops the copies near the originals; right-click → Paste here drops them right where you clicked.

Any edges between the copied nodes come along, and a copied group stays a group. (If you’ve got text selected inside a node, Cmd/Ctrl+C copies that text instead — copy the node from the right-click menu in that case.)

Duplicate, delete, and nudge

• Duplicate — Cmd/Ctrl + D copies the selected node(s) just off to the side. One undo removes every copy.
• Delete — Delete or Backspace removes the selected node(s).
• Nudge — arrow keys move the selection a little; Shift + arrow moves it further.

Every one of these is undoable.

Related

• Auto-layout — let the board arrange nodes for you
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Frames