> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tackstudio.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Preferences

> Defaults, settings and appearance.

Preferences is where you set defaults, tune how alignment is calculated, and customize the panel’s appearance. You can open it from the panel’s flyout menu. Changes take effect after you click **Save**, which also reloads the main panel.

Preferences has three tabs: **Functionality**, **Appearance**, and **Information**.

## Functionality

### Defaults

Sets what the panel starts with each time you open it:

* **Align to**: the default [Align to](/align-pro/align-to) target.
* **Modifiers**: which [modifiers](/align-pro/modifiers) start active.
* **Spacing Amount**: the default value in the distribute spacing field, in pixels.

### Settings

Toggles that change how Align Pro calculates a layer’s bounds:

| Setting                      | Effect                                                                                                                                                                         |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Detect Paragraph Text        | Measures paragraph (box) text layers by their text box, rather than the edges of the visible text.                                                                             |
| Use Average as Center Point  | When aligning to the center of your selection, uses the average of each layer’s own center instead of the center of the selection’s combined bounding box.                     |
| Use Entire Mask              | When [Align to Masks](/align-pro/modifiers) is on, uses the mask’s full shape instead of clipping it to the layer’s own visible bounds.                                        |
| Ignore Masks on Shape Layers | When Align to Masks is on, skips mask bounds specifically for shape layers, using the shape’s own geometry instead.                                                            |
| Use Shape Extents            | Includes stroke width and other rendering extents when measuring a layer’s bounds.                                                                                             |
| Ignore Layers Parents        | Temporarily detaches each selected layer from its parent before aligning, then reattaches it, so a parent’s transform doesn’t skew the result. We recommend this is turned on. |
| Use Selection Order          | When distributing, breaks ties between layers at the exact same position using the order you selected them, rather than their layer stacking order.                            |

<Callout icon="lightbulb" color="#F05F3F">
  **Use Shape Extents** is experimental, so expect occasional weirdness.
</Callout>

## Appearance

### Theme

**System**, **Darkest**, **Dark**, or **Light**. Darkest works on any After Effects version; the others require After Effects 25 or later and are unavailable below it.

### UI Layout

* **Orientation**: **Default**, **Vertical**, or **Horizontal**, to match how you’ve docked the panel. Choosing Vertical or Horizontal automatically turns off Labels and Show Menu, since there isn’t room for them.
* **Elements**: choose what appears in the panel:
  * **Labels**: the text headings above each section (Align Layers, Distribute Layers, and so on).
  * **Show Menu**: displays the [Align to](/align-pro/align-to) control as a dropdown menu instead of a row of icon buttons.
  * **Align**, **Distribute**, **Spacing**, **Modifiers**: show or hide each control section independently, so the panel only contains what you use.

### Color

Sets the accent color used for active/selected buttons. Choose a preset or enter a **Custom** hex value.

## Information

Shows the installed version and your license status.