The default diagram background grid is made up of light colored lines placed 16 pixels apart and darker lines spaced 64 pixels apart. Almost all Elements in the Modeler will highlight with a 64×64px box. That makes it pretty darned easy to space Elements consistently the same horizontal and vertical distances apart. Even better, when you space Elements in a vertical or horizontal row, the Modeler automatically keeps straight Edges aligned to the centers of the Elements. So pick a default spacing for your map and stick with it! Consistent spacing does wonders for the visual appeal of your map. Many people find that a spacing of 1.5 Element width as shown in the second row of the illustration below strikes a good balance and leaves the right amount of space between Elements with long names.
Figure 1: Illustration of Consistent Grid Spacing
