How to Group (and Ungroup) Elements in Canva

If you need to move elements around your Canva artboard , group them. Grouping elements in Canva not only saves time, but also keeps your designs spaced correctly.

Table of Contents

• How to group and ungroup Canva elements from the browser
  • Click and drag to select
  • Click and hold Shift to select
  • Using the Group and Ungroup buttons
  • Right click to group and ungroup
  • Group and ungroup with keyboard shortcuts
• How to group and ungroup elements in the Canva app
  • Select elements in the Canva app
  • How to group elements in the Canva app

How to group and ungroup Canva elements from the browser

Grouping elements in Canva allows you to move multiple elements around your canvas in one quick motion. It also ensures that small layouts in your design stay consistent, such as a logo with typography underneath. Grouping in Canva is non-destructive, so you can easily ungroup your objects at any time.

Before you can group elements together, you must first select them. You can select multiple elements in Canva in a few different ways.

Click and drag to select

If the elements you want to select and group are together, the easiest way to select them is to click and drag the cursor over that area.

Hovering over an element will display a purple box around the element's border. Clicking and dragging across elements will display a translucent purple box indicating which elements are selected, while individual elements retain their purple borders. This helps you visualize which elements are and are not selected.

You don't need to drag across the entire area of ​​each element you want to select, just whatever part of each element falls within your dragged boundary will appear in the area you selected.

Click and hold Shift to select

If the elements you want to select and group have other elements in the way - for example, you want to select all the background elements but not the text elements - you can't just drag the cursor, or you'll select unwanted elements as well.

Instead, click the first element you want to select, then press and hold the Shift key while continuing to click the other elements. Holding Shift while clicking will add more elements to your selection group. Once you've selected them all, release the Shift key .

To deselect individual elements, simply click on the element from the group while holding down the Shift key. You can combine both selection methods to add or remove elements to the selected group. While all of these features are available in the free version of Canva, you may want to consider upgrading to Canva Pro for more features.

Once you know how to select your elements, it's time to group them together. There are multiple ways to group elements using the browser version of Canva.

Using the Group and Ungroup buttons

There are a lot of hidden features in Canva, but groups aren't one of them; the Group button is easy to spot.

When you select two or more objects, a floating toolbar will appear based on your selection. This toolbar features a Group button along with the related Canva AI tools, Duplicate, Lock, Delete, and More. Selecting Group will place your selected elements into a group together.

Ungrouping is just as easy. Select any element in the group and select Ungroup . Ungrouping your Canva will return each element to its own, movable, independent state.

Right click to group and ungroup

Select the elements you want to group, then right-click and select Group from the menu.

Do the opposite to ungroup objects: Right-click on the group and select Ungroup from the options. This will once again bring your previously grouped elements back into independent elements.

Group and ungroup with keyboard shortcuts

The final way to group elements in the browser version of Canva is probably the most intuitive for designers – keyboard shortcuts are really helpful. First, select multiple objects, then press Cmd + G (Mac) or Ctrl + G (Windows) to group your elements in a snap.

To ungroup with a keyboard shortcut, there's just one additional key: Shift . Select your group and press Shift + Cmd + G (Mac) or Shift + Ctrl + G (Windows) to return your elements to their independent state.

Even grouped elements can still be edited individually by double-clicking on the specific element. For example, if you have a text box in your group, double-click the text box to edit the text. The same goes for image elements that you want to edit further or even move; simply double-click each element to make it editable, but it will still be part of the group once you're done.

Note : If you’re using layers in Canva, keep in mind that grouping elements on different layers will group the layers together. For example, if you need your layers in a specific order, grouping elements from the top and bottom of the layers, but not from the middle, will rearrange your layers after grouping. This is something to keep in mind.

How to group and ungroup elements in the Canva app

The Canva app is a great option for designing on the go, but it works differently than the web version of Canva. Let's take a look at how you can select, group, and ungroup elements on the Canva mobile or tablet app.

Select elements in the Canva app

Since the Canva app uses touch technology, selecting elements is a little different than using the cursor or Shift key on the browser version.

To select an individual element on the Canva app, tap it once until a purple box surrounds it.

After selecting the first element, a floating toolbar will appear. Tap “…” to open the More menu , then select Select Multiple . Then tap any additional elements you want to select; each element will have a purple box, and the group of selected elements will be linked in a white dotted box. The Select Multiple menu action also indicates the number of selected elements in red, so you can keep track.

Tip : To deselect, simply tap anywhere else on your Canva canvas.

How to group elements in the Canva app

Once multiple elements are selected, you will be in the More menu , where you will find the Group tool.

Press Group and the white dotted boundary with multiple selected elements in a purple box will turn into a large purple box indicating the grouped element created. This is represented again by the number on Select Multiple , which is now 1 .

To ungroup elements in the Canva app, select the group and the floating toolbar now offers an Ungroup option . If it doesn't appear, select "..." on the floating toolbar and select Ungroup from there.