Stretch Actions Overview

Stretch actions allow you to quickly resize shapes to align with other shapes or extend in specific directions—perfect for creating full-width banners, aligned layouts, and responsive designs.

What Are Stretch Actions?

Stretch actions modify shape dimensions to:

• Align edges with other shapes
• Extend shapes in specific directions
• Fill space between elements
• Create full-width/height elements

Two Types of Stretching

Stretch to Shape

Resize shapes to align with edges of other shapes.

• Stretch Left
• Stretch Right
• Stretch Top
• Stretch Bottom

Shapes resize to match the position of extreme shapes in your selection.

Learn more →

Extend

Grow shapes in specific directions without changing opposite edge.

• Extend Left
• Extend Right
• Extend Top
• Extend Bottom

Shapes grow from one edge while the opposite edge stays fixed.

Learn more →

Why Use Stretch Actions?

Speed

Manual way:

1. Note position of target shape
2. Select shape to resize
3. Open Size & Position panel
4. Calculate new dimension
5. Enter values
Time: 1-2 minutes

Stretch way:

1. Select shapes
2. Click Stretch action
Time: 2 seconds

Precision

Stretch actions ensure pixel-perfect alignment:

• No manual calculations
• No approximations
• Exact edge alignment

Flexibility

Create responsive layouts:

• Full-width headers
• Aligned sidebars
• Responsive backgrounds
• Flexible containers

Common Use Cases

Creating Full-Width Banners

1. Create rectangle
2. Select rectangle
3. Stretch Left + Stretch Right

Result: Banner spans full slide width

Aligning Container Edges

1. Create containers at different sizes
2. Select all containers
3. Stretch Right

Result: All right edges align

Filling Vertical Space

1. Create sidebar
2. Stretch Top + Stretch Bottom

Result: Sidebar fills full slide height

Responsive Backgrounds

1. Create background shape
2. Stretch in all directions

Result: Background covers entire slide

Stretch vs. Align

Important distinction:

Example:

Stretch Right:
┌─────┐              ┌──────────┐
│     │    →        │          │
└─────┘              └──────────┘
(resizes to align right edge)

Align Right:
┌─────┐                    ┌─────┐
│     │    →              │     │
└─────┘                    └─────┘
(moves to align right edge, keeps size)

How Stretch Works

Reference Points

Stretch actions use the extreme shapes in your selection:

Stretch Right:

• Finds rightmost shape
• Resizes selected shapes to reach that right edge

Stretch Left:

• Finds leftmost shape
• Resizes selected shapes to reach that left edge

Stretch Top:

• Finds topmost shape
• Resizes selected shapes to reach that top edge

Stretch Bottom:

• Finds bottommost shape
• Resizes selected shapes to reach that bottom edge

Multiple Shapes

When stretching multiple shapes:

• All shapes stretch to the same reference point
• Shapes maintain their opposite edge position
• Result: All shapes align on the stretched edge

Common Workflows

Full-Slide Backgrounds

1. Create shape
2. Position at top-left corner
3. Stretch Right (reaches right edge)
4. Stretch Bottom (reaches bottom edge)

Result: Shape fills entire slide

Creating Headers

1. Create header rectangle
2. Dock Top (optional)
3. Stretch Left and Stretch Right

Result: Full-width header

Aligning Columns

1. Create 3 column shapes
2. Position at different heights
3. Select all
4. Stretch Bottom

Result: All columns same height

Responsive Sidebars

1. Create sidebar
2. Dock Left
3. Stretch Top and Stretch Bottom

Result: Sidebar spans full height

Advanced Techniques

Combining Stretches

Apply multiple stretch actions:

1. Stretch Right (align right edges)
2. Stretch Left (align left edges)
Result: All shapes same width and aligned

Stretch + Dock

Create edge-to-edge elements:

1. Dock Left (position at left edge)
2. Stretch Right (extend to right edge)
Result: Full-width element

Stretch + Extend

Combine for complex resizing:

1. Stretch to align one edge
2. Extend to grow from other edge
Result: Precise size control

Tips & Best Practices

1. Use Stretch for Containers

Perfect for background shapes:

- Cards
- Panels
- Containers
- Backgrounds

2. Combine with Docking

Dock + Stretch = Full coverage:

Dock Top + Stretch Left + Stretch Right = Full-width header
Dock Left + Stretch Top + Stretch Bottom = Full-height sidebar

3. Select Reference Shape

Make sure to include the shape you want to stretch to:

1. Select shape to resize
2. Add reference shape to selection (Ctrl+Click)
3. Apply stretch action

4. Check Results

After stretching:

• Verify alignment looks correct
• Check that no shapes distorted unexpectedly
• Undo (Ctrl+Z) if needed

5. Use with Alignment

Powerful combination:

1. Align shapes (position)
2. Stretch shapes (size to match)
3. Result: Perfect aligned and sized layout

Stretch vs. Manual Resizing

What Can Be Stretched?

Supported Shapes

• ✅ Rectangles
• ✅ Circles/Ovals
• ✅ Text boxes
• ✅ Images
• ✅ Custom shapes
• ✅ Grouped shapes

Considerations

• Text boxes: May need text reflow after stretching
• Images: May distort if aspect ratio changes significantly
• Circles: Become ovals when stretched in one direction
• Groups: Entire group stretches as one unit

Quick Reference

What's Next?