# Tidy up items into a neat grid

> Select three or more items on the canvas (or right-click a Freeform board) and choose Tidy up to line them up in an evenly spaced grid; then drag the spacing handles or dots to adjust.

Category: Boards and presenting
Web page: https://www.pactto.com/help/tidy-up
All guides: https://www.pactto.com/help.md

## What it does

**Tidy up** takes a scattered set of items and arranges them in an evenly spaced grid in one step. Items keep their size; only their positions change. Items that were close together stay together.

Who can do it: the room owner and people with **Can edit** access.

## Tidy up items on the canvas

1. Select three or more items on the canvas (drag a selection box, or Shift+click).
2. Click **Tidy up** in the toolbar that appears above the selection, or right-click and choose **Tidy up**.
3. The items move into a grid that starts at the top left corner of the selection.

## Tidy up a whole board

1. Right-click the board (or select it and right-click).
2. Choose **Tidy up**. All items in the board are arranged in a grid, and the board grows if it needs more room.

This is only offered for boards in the **Freeform** layout with at least three items. Boards in Vertical, Horizontal, Grid or Group by Status already arrange their items. Selecting items inside a board does not offer Tidy up; change the board's layout instead (see [Arrange items inside a board](https://www.pactto.com/help/board-layout.md)).

## Adjust the result

- **Spacing**: after tidying, spacing handles appear on the group. Drag a handle to change the horizontal or vertical gap. A tooltip shows the gap in pixels while you drag.
- **Order**: dots appear at the center of each item. Drag a dot to move that item to another cell; the others shift to make room. Shift+click several dots to move them together.
- **Undo**: press Cmd+Z (Ctrl+Z on Windows) to put every item back where it was.

## Good to know

- Locked items are left out. If fewer than three unlocked items remain, Tidy up is not available.
- A group counts as one item. Connected arrows are not moved directly; they follow the items they connect.
- The selection must be in one place: Tidy up is not offered when it mixes canvas items and board items, or items from two boards.
- If the result goes beyond your screen, the view moves to show all of it.

## Related guides

- [Create a board and add items to it](https://www.pactto.com/help/boards.md): A board is a named container on the room canvas that groups items; draw one with the Board tool (B) or select items and choose Convert to Board, then drag or drop items into it.
- [Arrange items inside a board](https://www.pactto.com/help/board-layout.md): Select a board and open its layout menu to choose Freeform, Vertical, Horizontal or Grid; managed layouts line items up, resize the board to fit, and let you drag to reorder and adjust spacing.
- [Select several items at once](https://www.pactto.com/help/select-multiple-items.md): Drag a box over the canvas, Shift-click items, or Shift-click a range inside a board, then use the buttons that appear above the selection to convert, tidy, move, download or set status for all of them.