Answer:

When objects are placed on a panel in OpenRoads SignCAD they are placed into arrangements, usually either into a row or a column arrangement, or into a tabular arrangement. Columns can be nested in rows and vice versa, to create nested arrangements. These arrangements can be studied by picking the Arrange tool, the far right tool on the toolbar. 

The sign above shows Dallas and Ft Worth in two rows and the arrow to the right of them. The bottom half of the sign is two columns where the left column contains the rows of Dallas and Ft Worth and the right column is the arrow. The top half contains I30 WEST in a row that is top aligned. The arrangements and alignments within the sign are indicated when the arrange tool is selected, and the dashed blue lines show how rows and objects are top, middle or bottom aligned, and columns and objects are left, center or right aligned.

The spacing triangles show the object spacing around each object and what is controlling. The left spacing of WEST is controlling the distance between WEST and the route marker; the top spacing of Dallas is controlling the spacing to the I30 in the top row; the right spacing of Ft Worth is controlling the distance of its column to the arrow; and the equal left spacing of Ft Worth and the right spacing of the arrow is centering the whole arrangement on the sign at 20.7” Any spacing triangle that is not touching a bounding box around another object does not control spacing: Dallas does not control the width of the Dallas Ft Worth column; WEST does not control the distance to Dallas but does control the space to the top of the sign. The spacing that controls the distance between any two objects, rows or columns is the larger of the two.

Dashed lines along the top of WEST I30 indicate that the top row is top aligned, i.e., WEST is top aligned with I30. All other dashed and dotted lines run through the middle and center of each object, meaning that they are all center (h) or middle aligned (v).

The distance sign example above is a tabular arrangement with two columns and three rows. The first column is left aligned and the second column is right aligned. "Las Vegas" is the longest line of legend in the first column and it is controlling the column width. In the second column, "187" is controlling the column width. The entire arrangement “floats” in the panel, and is center aligned as indicated by the vertical dashed line running through the center of the panel. It also shows equal left and right spacing because the left spacing of the left objects are equal to the right spacing of the right objects.

In the D3-2 sign example shown below, "NEXT SIGNAL" is centered in the column arrangement with "Carpenter Rd" instead of being centered horizontally on the panel.

Here are the steps to center the "NEXT SIGNAL" row arrangement on the panel:

1. Pick the Arrange tool and select the row arrangement box containing “NEXT SIGNAL” and drag it out of the panel as shown below:

    

2. Select and drag the row arrangement box with “NEXT SIGNAL” and release the mouse button when you see the blinking rectangle below "W Carpenter Rd".

3. Pick the Select tool to turn off the arrangement lines and save your file (File>Save).