Aligning a front derailleur isn’t too difficult once you get the hang of it.

1. Alignment of the cage. Some mechanics like to have the tail of the derailleur stick out a bit to help with the up shift. I align it pretty dead on and then play with the tail in or out depending on how the derailleur is snapping. “Snapping” - what did she say? Sometimes a derailleur pulls harder up or down depending on the spring, how good your shifter is and if there is any drag in the cable. For example SRAM derailleurs are known to pull down pretty darn hard so I don’t really mess with pushing of the tail in with SRAM.

2. High/low alignment with outer ring. When you push out your derailleur it will swing over your big ring. You normally want this about 3-5mm above this ring. Sometimes this has to be more due to the middle ring being larger. New derailleurs come with red stickers that help you eye ball it easier.

I normally align the derailleur before adjusting limit screws or installing a cable.