Adobe Illustrator: Align by key object to artboard

Question

I'm trying to align my main object to the center of the artboard while retaining the spacing of the objects. Whats the best way to do this?

Basically I want the yellow box to be centered and the greenish star to keep its relationship to the box off to the right. I know I can center the parent object but I want the center point to bisect the yellow box and not the parent object.

Answer 1

1. Make a copy of the yellow box
2. Use the align to artboard to center the box
3. Group the original obejects together to maintain spacing
4. Move the group so the two boxes are aligned
5. Delete copy of box

Maybe not the quick fix you were looking for but it's how I'd do it.

Answer 2

• Measure the distance from the rectangle to the star.
• or create a temporary object which aligns with the star and rectangle to indicate the distance.
• Align the rectangle. -Move the star the proper distance from the newly aligned rectangle.

If it were me, I'd draw a line up from the right side of the triangle and right from the top of the triangle and group that with the star. Align the rectangle, then realign the the paths I drew. Ungroup and delete the paths.