Abstract:
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OBJECT KERNINGA graphics software application provides the capability to select a plurality of graphical objects and automatically align them and adjust the spacing between them. The data processing system, under instruction of a program, responds to an instruction by the user to kern a plurality of selected graphical objects. The system aligns the objects and prompts the user to designate a distance adjustment. The system then automatically adjusts the distances between each pair of adjacent objects. Using the techniques of the present invention, a user may enter a large number of graphical objects and align them and precisely set their locations with respect to one another. Hence, a large number of graphical objects may be created and aligned quickly and efficiently without the need for numerous individual measurements.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to an improved data processing system and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for increasing and decreasing the spacing between two or more objects. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Graphical user interfaces, or “GUIs” as they are often designated, have become an increasingly common and popular feature of computers, especially personal computers (PCs). One of the many advantages of such GUIs is that they allow a user to create and edit documents and structures in a graphical manner by selecting and manipulating graphical display elements, such as icons, usually with a pointing device, such as a mouse. The Apple Macintosh user interface, Microsoft Windows operating environment, and UNIX X-Windows are common and very popular examples of GUIs, illustrating the fact that the advantages of GUIs over conventional text-based user interfaces are widely recognized. 
     Graphics software is one area, which benefits from GUIs. Graphics software applications, which allow users to create and edit drawings and illustrations, provide users with an environment in which the editable document resembles the form it will take on the printed page, world wide web (WWW) document, etc. This is referred to as “what you see is what you get” or “WYSIWYG.” Commonly, a user may select to have a grid or ruler displayed to guide in the placement of graphical objects on the display screen. Frequently, the drawing or illustration dictates that objects be placed along a line on the display screen. For the purpose of uniformity, symmetry, or neatness of presentation, the positions of these objects in relation to one another may be important, particularly when an equal distance between objects is desired. Current graphics software applications do not allow the user to easily set the positions of a plurality of objects in relation to one another. 
     In word processing, “kerning” is the adjustment of text that involves slightly decreasing or increasing the amount of space between any two adjacent letters. Kerning is usually performed to improve the overall appearance of text. The amount of kerning depends on the font design and the specific pair of letters. 
     Currently, graphical software applications do not allow a user to easily adjust the amount of space between any two or more graphical objects, because the positions of the objects are independent. Furthermore, graphical objects do not always lie along a horizontal or vertical line. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a technique for kerning graphical objects along a horizontal, vertical, or angled line. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention solves the disadvantages of the prior art by allowing the user to select a plurality of graphical objects on a display screen and select or enter the distance between the objects. The distances are kerned or increased or decreased between the selected objects according to the input of the user. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented. 
     FIG. 3 is an example screen of display of a graphics program in which the present invention may be implemented. 
     FIGS. 4A,  4 B,  4 C, and  4 D are example screens of display showing the implementation of the object kerning technique of the present invention. 
     FIGS. 5A,  5 B, and  5 C are example screens of display showing the implementation of the object kerning technique of the present invention in which the graphical objects are aligned at an angle. 
     FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the general operation of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the operation of the alignment of graphical objects according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8A is a flowchart of the operation of the horizontal alignment and kerning of graphical objects according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8B is a flowchart of the operation of the vertical alignment and kerning of graphical objects according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8C is a flowchart of the operation of the angled alignment and kerning of graphical objects according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the operation of kerning graphical objects according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference now to the figures and in particular with reference to FIG. 1, a pictorial representation of a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A computer  100  is depicted which includes a system unit  110 , a video display terminal  102 , a keyboard  104 , storage devices  108 , which may include floppy drives and other types of permanent and removable storage media, and mouse  106 . Additional input devices may be included with personal computer  100 , such as, for example, a joystick, touchpad, touch screen, trackball, microphone, and the like. Computer  100  can be implemented using any suitable computer, such as an IBM RS/6000 computer or IntelliStation computer, which are products of International Business Machines Corporation, located in Armonk, N.Y. Although the depicted representation shows a computer, other embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in other types of data processing systems, such as a network computer. Computer  100  also preferably includes a graphical user interface that may be implemented by means of systems software residing in computer readable media in operation within computer  100 . 
     With reference now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a data processing system is shown in which the present invention may be implemented. Data processing system  200  is an example of a computer, such as computer  100  in FIG. 1, in which code or instructions implementing the processes of the present invention may be located. Data processing system  200  employs a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) local bus architecture. Although the depicted example employs a PCI bus, other bus architectures such as Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) may be used. Processor  202  and main memory  204  are connected to PCI local bus  206  through PCI bridge  208 . PCI bridge  208  also may include an integrated memory controller and cache memory for processor  202 . Additional connections to PCI local bus  206  may be made through direct component interconnection or through add-in boards. In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter  210 , small computer system interface SCSI host bus adapter  212 , and expansion bus interface  214  are connected to PCI local bus  206  by direct component connection. In contrast, audio adapter  216 , graphics adapter  218 , and audio/video adapter  219  are connected to PCI local bus  206  by add-in boards inserted into expansion slots. Expansion bus interface  214  provides a connection for a keyboard and mouse adapter  220 , modem  222 , and additional memory  224 . SCSI host bus adapter  212  provides a connection for hard disk drive  226 , tape drive  228 , and CD-ROM drive  230 . Typical PCI local bus implementations will support three or four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors. 
     An operating system runs on processor  202  and is used to coordinate and provide control of various components within data processing system  200  in FIG.  2 . The operating system may be a commercially available operating system such as Windows 2000, which is available from Microsoft Corporation. An object oriented programming system such as Java may run in conjunction with the operating system and provides calls to the operating system from Java programs or applications executing on data processing system  200 . “Java” is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Instructions for the operating system, the object-oriented operating system, and applications or programs are located on storage devices, such as hard disk drive  226 , and may be loaded into main memory  204  for execution by processor  202 . 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware in FIG. 2 may vary depending on the implementation. Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash ROM (or equivalent nonvolatile memory) or optical disk drives and the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIG.  2 . Also, the processes of the present invention may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system. 
     For example, data processing system  200 , if optionally configured as a network computer, may not include SCSI host bus adapter  212 , hard disk drive  226 , tape drive  228 , and CD-ROM  230 , as noted by dotted line  232  in FIG. 2 denoting optional inclusion. In that case, the computer, to be properly called a client computer, must include some type of network communication interface, such as LAN adapter  210 , modem  222 , or the like. As another example, data processing system  200  may be a stand-alone system configured to be bootable without relying on some type of network communication interface, whether or not data processing system  200  comprises some type of network communication interface. As a further example, data processing system  200  may be a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, which is configured with ROM and/or flash ROM in order to provide non-volatile memory for storing operating system files and/or user-generated data. 
     The depicted example in FIG.  2  and above-described examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations. For example, data processing system  200  also may be a notebook computer or hand held computer in addition to taking the form of a PDA. Data processing system  200  also may be a kiosk or a Web appliance. 
     The processes of the present invention are performed by processor  202  using computer implemented instructions, which may be located in a memory such as, for example, main memory  204 , memory  224 , or in one or more peripheral devices  226 - 230 . 
     For purposes of illustration, the following examples and figures are shown to be implemented using Macromedia Freehand. Any trademarks and copyrighted information shown therein are believed to be owned by Macromedia, Inc., 600 Townsend St., San Francisco, Calif. 94103. The mechanism of the present invention may be implemented in a graphics program in which graphical objects are displayed. In this example, the present invention may be implemented by modifying the code of an existing graphics application or by means of a patch or macros, as known in the art. 
     An example of a screen of display of a graphics application is shown in FIG.  3 . The screen comprises window  300 , including a title bar  302 . Graphics application program window  300  also includes a menu bar  304  and toolbar  306 . Menus to be selected from menu bar  304  include “File”, “Edit”, “View”, “Modify”, “Text”, “Xtras”, “Window”, and “Help”. However, menu bar  304  may include fewer or more menus, as understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art. Toolbar  306  is a series of buttons, which produce commands when selected. Graphics program window  300  also includes a display area  308 . 
     Also shown in FIG. 3 is a document window  310  and a floating toolbar or pallet  316 . An example of a graphics document is shown in document window  310  including graphical objects [in box]  314 . The operation of the present invention will with respect to the example document; however, it will be understood that the present invention may be implemented for use with any graphical drawing or illustration containing graphical objects. 
     Turning now to FIG. 4A, a screen of display  400  is shown in which a plurality of graphical objects have been selected, as shown by highlighted portion  414 . Pallet  416  displays the number of objects selected  418  and the distance between each pair of objects in the selection  420 . In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the number of selected objects is “5” and the distance between the selected objects, also referred to as the inter-object distance, is “2”. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the distance between objects may be adjusted by entering a value directly into distance field  420 . Alternatively, the distance value may be increased o decreased by selecting buttons  422 . Other techniques for allowing the user to adjust the distance value will be readily apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
     With reference to FIG. 4B, a screen of display  400  is shown in which the distance value in distance field  420  has been changed from “2” to “6”. The changed distance is referred to as the adjusted distance. The positions of the selected objects  414  have been adjusted in response to the entered distance value, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     With reference to FIG. 4C, a screen of display  400  is shown in which a plurality of graphical objects have been selected, as shown by highlighted portion  414 . In the example shown in FIG. 4C, the number of selected objects is “3” and the distance between selected objects is “6”. With reference to FIG. 4D, a screen of display  400  is shown in which the distance value in the distance field  420  has been changed from “6” to “2”. The positions of the selected objects  414  have been; adjusted in response to the entered distance value, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     An example of a screen of display  500  of a graphics application is shown in FIG.  5 A. An example of a graphics document is shown in document window  510  including graphical objects  514 , which are aligned at an angle. The operation of the present invention with respect to objects aligned at an angle will now be described with respect to the example document. 
     Turning now to FIG. 5B, a screen of display  500  is shown in which a plurality of graphical objects have been selected, as shown by highlighted portion  514 . Pallet  516  displays the number of objects selected  518  and the distance between each pair of objects in the selection  520 . In the example shown in FIG. 5B, the number of selected objects is “3” and the distance between the selected objects is “2”. 
     With reference to FIG. 5C, a screen of display  500  is shown in which the distance value is distance field  520  has been changed from “2” to “4”. The positions of the selected objects  514  have been adjusted in response to the entered distance value, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention described above. 
     With reference now to FIG. 6, a flowchart of the general operation of a graphics software application is depicted according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The present invention may be implemented in the graphics program shown in FIG. 3, wherein the graphics program provides the functionality of a conventional graphics program. However, the graphics program of the present invention allows the user to adjust the distances between graphical objects without the need to individually measure each distance and move each object. 
     The operation of the program begins (step  600 ) and a determination is made whether an object is selected (step  602 ). Typically, objects are highlighted for selection by manipulation of a pointer using a pointing device, such as a mouse, trackball, or touchpad. Other methods of selecting objects, such as by means of cursor control keys and menu commands also will be readily apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. If an object is selected, a determination is made whether the object is the first or only object selected (step  604 ). If the object is the first object selected, the object is designated as an “anchor” (step  606 ). 
     The position of the anchor object is fixed during object kerning and all other selected objects are repositioned relative to the anchor object. It will be understood that the selection of an anchor object may also be accomplished by designating the left-most, upper-most, or center object as the anchor object. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the process may align the objects without designating an object as the anchor. For example, the process of the present invention may center the objects or justify the objects relative to the margins. 
     Next, a variable “N” is set to the value “1” (step  608 ) and the process returns to step  602  to determine whether an object is selected. N represents a count of the number of objects in the selection. 
     With reference again to step  604 , if the selected object is not the first selected object, the object is added to the selection (step  610 ) and the value of N is increased by one (step  612 ). Then, the process returns to step  602  to determine whether an object is selected. 
     If an object is not selected in step  602 , a determination is made whether an action has been requested from the user (step  614 ). In the depicted example, an action may be any command issued by the user, such as “minimize” or “print.” If an action is not requested, the process returns to step  602  to repeat determination as to whether an object has been selected. 
     If an action is requested in step  614 , a determination is then made whether objects have been selected (step  616 ). If objects have been selected, a determination is made whether an instruction has been received to kern the distances of selected objects (step  618 ). Commands and instructions are issued to the program by the user through the graphical user interface, i.e. the buttons and menus, keystrokes, and/or a command-line interface, as are known in the art. Other means for allowing a user to issue commands will be readily apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the right-click capabilities within the Windows operating system may be used to present additional menu choices, such as “Kern Objects” when objects have been selected by highlighting. 
     If an instruction to kern distances has been received, the process aligns the selected objects (step  620 ), adjusts the distances between the selected objects (step  622 ), and returns to step  602  to determine whether an object is selected. The detailed operation of aligning the selected objects in step  620  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail below with respect to FIG.  7 . The detailed operation of adjusting the distances between the selected objects in step  622  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail below with respect to FIG.  9 . 
     With reference again to step  618 , if an instruction to kern the distances of selected objects has not been received, a determination is made whether the requested action is to be performed on the selected objects (step  624 ). Actions to be performed on selected objects include, but are not limited to, “Move”, “Cut”, “Copy”, and “Delete” as known in the art. If the requested action is to be performed on selected objects, the process performs the action, as with a conventional graphics program (step  626 ), and returns to step  602  to determine whether an object is selected. If the requested action is not to be performed on selected objects in step  624 , the process proceeds perform any other action, as with a conventional graphics program (step  628 ). Other actions to be performed may include “minimize” or “print,” as mentioned above; however, such actions are not the focus of the current invention and will not be described in further detail. 
     With reference again to step  616 , if objects have not been selected, a determination is made as to whether the requested action is an exit command (step  630 ). If the action is an exit command, operation ends (step  632 ) and the program closes. If the action is not an exit command in step  630 , the process proceeds to step  628  and performs any other requested action. Then, the process returns to step  602  to determine whether an object is selected. 
     With reference now to FIG. 7, a flowchart of the operation of the alignment of graphical objects in step  620  in FIG. 6 is depicted according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     The process begins at step  700  and calculates Cartesian coordinates (x i , y i ) for the center of each object (step  702 ). Then, the process fits a linear regression line to the centers of the objects (step  704 ) and calculates “m” to be the slope of that line (step  706 ). Next, a determination is made whether the absolute value of the slope m is less than a first predetermined threshold (step  708 ). In the depicted example, the threshold is set to 0.1; however, the threshold may be any value, which is small enough to reasonable indicate that the line is a horizontal line. If the slope is below the first predetermined threshold, a horizontal kern is processed (step  710 ) and the process ends (step  722 ). The detailed operation of the horizontal kern according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail below with respect to FIG.  8 A. 
     If the absolute value of the slope is greater than or equal to the first predetermined threshold in step  708 , a determination is made as to whether the absolute value of the slope is greater than a second predetermined threshold (step  712 ). In the depicted example, the threshold is set to 1000; however, the threshold may be any value, which is large enough to reasonable indicate that the line is a vertical line. If the slope is greater than the second predetermined threshold, a vertical kern is processed (step  714 ) and the process ends (step  722 ). The detailed operation of the vertical kern according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail below with respect to FIG.  8 B. 
     If the absolute value of the slope is not greater than the second predetermined threshold in step  712 , the process prompts the user to select an alignment and receives the selection of the user (step  716 ). A determination is then made as to whether the user selects a horizontal alignment, a vertical alignment, or an angled alignment (step  718 ). If the user selects a horizontal alignment, the process proceeds to step  710  to process a horizontal kern and the process ends (step  722 ). If the user selects a vertical alignment, the process proceeds to step  714  to process a vertical kern and the process ends (step  722 ). If the user selects an angled alignment, the process proceeds to step  720  to process an angled kern and the process ends (step  722 ). The detailed operation of the angled kern according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail below with respect to FIG.  8 C. 
     Turning now to FIG. 8A, a flowchart of the operation of the horizontal alignment and kerning of graphical objects in step  710  in FIG. 7 is depicted according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The process begins at step  800  and a line is set to be y=y a , where y a =y i  of the anchor object (step  801 ). Then the process renumbers the objects from left to right (step  802 ). 
     Next, the process initializes variable “i” equal to one and variable d total  equal to zero (step  803 ) and proceeds to step  804 , where a determination is made whether i=N+1. If i is not equal to N+1, the process draws the smallest possible rectangular box around object O i  with two sides having a vertical slope (step  805 ). The left side is designated as the “front” side and the right side is designated as the “back” side (step  806 ). This designation is for notational purposes to remain consistent with the vertical and angled alignment and kerning processes described below. Then, the process calculates the distance d i  between the back side of object O i  and the front side of object O i+1  (step  807 ). Thereafter, the process calculates d total =d total +d i  (step  808 ) and sets i=i+1 (step  809 ) and returns to step  804  to determine whether i=N+1. 
     With reference again to step  804 , if i=N+1 the process calculates d ave =d total /n (step  810 ) and displays the value of d avc  to the user (step  811 ). Then, the value of i is set to equal a−1, where O a  is the anchor object (step  812 ) and a determination is made as to whether i=0 (step  813 ). If i does not equal zero, the process moves object O i  so that the center point (x i , y i ) lies on the line and the back side of O i  is d ave  from the front side of [O i =1] O i+1  (step  814 ). Next, the process sets i=i−1 (step  815 ) and returns to step  813  to determine whether i=0. 
     If i=0 in step  813 , the process calculates i=a+1, where O a  is the anchor object (step  816 ) and a determination is made as to whether i=N+1 (step  817 ). If i is not equal to N+1, then the process moves object O i  so that the center point (x i , y i ) lies on the line and the front side of O i  is d ave  from the back side of O i−1  (step  818 ). Afterwards, the process sets i=i+1 (step  819 ) and returns to step  817  to determine whether i=N+1. If i=N+1 in step  817 , the process ends (step  820 ). 
     Turning now to FIG. 8B, a flowchart of the operation of the vertical alignment and kerning of graphical objects is step  714  in FIG. 7 is depicted according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The process begins at step  830  and a line is set to be x=x a , where x a =x i  of the anchor object (step  831 ). Then the process renumbers the object from [left to right] top to bottom (step  832 ). 
     Next, the process initializes variable “i” equal to one and variable d total  equal to zero (step  833 ) and proceeds to step  834 , where a determination is made whether i=N+1. If i is not equal to N+1, the process draws the smallest possible rectangular box around object O i  with two sides having a horizontal slope (step  835 ). The top side is designated as the “front” side and the bottom side is designated as the “back” side (step  836 ). This designation is merely for notational purposes to remain consistent with the horizontal and angled alignment and kerning processes described below. Then, the process calculates the distance d i  between the back side of object O i  and the front side of object O i+1  (step  837 ). The process then calculates d total =d total +d i  (step  838 ) and sets i=i+1 (step  839 ) and returns to step  834  to determine whether i=N+1. 
     With reference again to step  834 , if i=N+1 the process calculates d ave =d total /n (step  840 ) and displays the value of d ave  to the user (step  841 ). Then, the value of i is set to equal a−1, where O a  is the anchor object (step  842 ) and a determination is made as to whether i=0 (step  843 ). If i does not equal zero, the process moves object O i  so that the center point (x i , y i ) lies on the line and the back side of O i  is d ave  from the front side of [O i =1] O i+1  (step  844 ). Thereafter, the process sets i=i−1 (step  845 ) and returns to step  843  to determine whether i=0. 
     If i=0 in step  843 , the process calculates i=a+1, where O a  is the anchor object (step  846 ) and a determination is made as to whether i=N+1 (step  847 ). If i is not equal to N+1, then the process moves object O i  so that the center point (x i , y i ) lies on the line and the front side of O i  is d ave  from the back side of O i−1  (step  848 ). Then, the process sets i=i+1 (step  849 ) and returns to step  847  to determine whether i=N+1. If i=N+1 in step  847 , the process ends (step  850 ). 
     Turning now to FIG. 8C, a flowchart of the operation of the angled alignment and kerning of graphical objects in step  720  in FIG. 7 is depicted according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The process begins at step  860  and a line is set at step  861  to be y=mx+b, where b=y a −mx a  and (x a , y a ) is the center of anchor object O a . Then, the process renumbers the objects from left to right (step  862 ). 
     Next, the process initializes variable “I” equal to one and variable d total  equal to zero (step  863 ) and proceeds to step  864 , where a determination is made whether i=N+1. If I is not equal to N+1, the process draws the smallest possible rectangular box around object O i  with two sides having a slope perpendicular to the line (step  865 ). The left side is designated as the “front” side and the right side is designated as the “back” side (step  866 ). This designation is merely for notational purposed to remain consistent with the vertical and angled alignment and kerning processes described below. Alternatively, the objects may be numbered from top to bottom and the top side may be designated as the “front” side, while the bottom side may be designated as the “back” side. Then, the process calculates the distance d i  between the back side of object O i  and the front side of object O i+ 1 (step [ 868 ]  867 ). The process then calculates d total =d total +d i  (step  868 ) and sets i+i1 (step  869 ) and returns to step  864  to determine whether i=N+1. 
     With reference again to step  864 , if i=N+1 the process calculates d ave =d total /n (step  870 ) and displays the value of d ave  to the user (step  871 ). Then, the value of i is set to equal a−1, where O a  is the anchor object (step  872 ) and a determination is made as to whether i=0 (step  873 ). If i does not equal zero, the process moves object O i  so that the center point (x i , y i ) lies on the line and the back side of O i  is d ave  from the front side of [O i =1] O i+1  (step  874 ). Next, the process sets i=i−1 (step  875 ) and returns to step  873  to determine whether i=0. 
     If i=0 in step  873 , the process calculates i=a+1, where O a  is the anchor object (step  876 ) and a determination is made as to whether i=N+1 (step  877 ). If i is not equal to N+1, then the process moves object O i  so that the center point (x i , y i ) lies on the line and the front side of O i  is d ave  from the back side of O i−1  (step  878 ). Thereafter, the process sets i=i+1 (step  879 ) and returns to step  877  to determine whether i=N+1. If i=N+1 in step  877 , the process ends (step  880 ). 
     With reference now to FIG. 9, a flowchart of the operation of kerning graphical objects in step  622  in FIG. 6 is depicted according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The process begins at step  900  and a distance “d” between the objects is determined (step  902 ). A determination is made as to whether a distance is entered by the user (step  904 ). If a distance is entered, the process receives the entered distance a value d new  (step  906 ) and sets d=d new  (step  908 ). According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a distance may be directly entered into distance field  420 . The process then proceeds to step  922  and adjusts the spacing of the objects, as described below. 
     If a distance is not entered by the user in step  904 , then a determination is made as to whether an increase. instruction has been received by the user (step  910 ). If an increase instruction has been received, the process sets d=d+1 (step  912 ) and proceeds to step  922  and adjusts the spacing of the objects, as described below. If an increase instruction has not been received in step  910 , a determination is made as to whether a decrease instruction has been received by the user (step  914 ). If a decrease instruction has been received, the process sets d=d−1 (step  916 ) and proceeds to step  922  and adjusts the spacing of the objects, as described below. 
     With reference again to step  914 , if a decrease instruction has not been received, a determination is made as to whether an “exit” instruction has been received (step  918 ). An “exit” instruction may be an instruction by the user to close the program, the document, or the object kerning pallet  416 . As will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art, an “exit” instruction may also be any action performed by the user which indicates that the user is finished kerning the objects. For example, any action which results in the plurality of objects being deselected may be an “exit” instruction. If an “exit” instruction is received in step  918 , the process ends (step  920 ). If an “exit” instruction is not received, the process returns to step  904  to determine whether a distance is entered. 
     With reference again to step  922 , the process sets i=a−1, where O a  is the anchor object and a determination is made as to whether i=0 (step  924 ). If i is not equal to zero, then the process moves object O i  so that (x i , y i ) lies on the line and the “back” side of O i  is d from the “front” side of O i+1  (step  926 ). Then, the process sets i=i−1 (step  928 ) and returns to step  924  to determine whether i=0. If i=0 in step  924 , the process sets i=a+1, where O a  is the anchor object (step  930 ) and a determination is made as to whether i=N+1 (step  932 ). If i is not equal to N+1, then the process moves object O i  so that (x i , y i ) lies on the line and the “front” side of O i  is d from the “back” side of O i−1  (step  934 ). Then, the process sets [i=i=1] i=i+1 (step  936 ) and returns to step  932  to determine whether i=N+1. If i=N+1 in step  932 , the process returns to step  904  to determine whether a distance is entered by the user. 
     Thus, the present invention solves the disadvantages of the prior art by allowing the user to automatically align and kern the distances of a plurality of graphical objects along a horizontal, vertical, or angled line. Alternatively, the user may align the graphical objects along some other shape. For example, the graphical objects may lie along a curve or the perimeter of a circle. A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the objects may be fit to a shape, such as a parabola or semicircle, and that the distances may be kerned along the shape. 
     It is important to note that while the present invention has been described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions for execution by a processor and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media such a floppy disc, a hard disk drive, a RAM, and CD-ROMs and transmission-type media such as digital and analog communications links. 
     The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.