Areas can have two types of layouts: Freeform and Grid. Here’s the difference:
Freeform areas don’t expand or contract automatically and don’t use a grid. You’re free to move objects around inside a freeform area. You can resize a freeform area by clicking and dragging the corners.
Grid areas "snap" your content to an invisible grid. They’ll also automatically expand or contract when objects are added or removed from the area.
You can choose the type of layout you want when adding an area. But you can also change an area’s layout after it’s on your canvas—even if you’ve already added objects to it.
To change an area’s layout:
Click a blank space in the area to select it.
Click Free form layout or Grid layout to toggle the area’s layout type.
Note: When switching from a freeform layout to a grid layout, your objects will automatically rearrange into a grid. When switching from a grid layout to a freeform layout, objects will remain as they were in the grid until you rearrange them.
For more on areas, check out these other articles: