Using rulers, grids, and guides

The Edit workspace displays the rulers by default. You can choose a ruler display in pixels, inches, or centimeters, change the color of the rulers, or altogether hide them.

What are grids?

Grids are horizontal and vertical lines overlaying your image. Grid lines can help you position image elements. You can display or hide grids and set grid preferences for spacing and appearance. When you display grids, they appear in all open image windows.

What are guides?

Guides are horizontal or vertical lines you position to overlay your image. With the rulers displayed, you drag guides onto your image to help with precision work, such as cropping, moving image elements, selections, as well as text and brushstroke placement. While grids place a series of horizontal and vertical lines at certain intervals, you place guides at the locations you want.

Setting snapping

You can use snapping to align your brushstrokes and image elements precisely to the nearest grid line or guide. The snap influence controls the distance, in pixels, that an element must be, in order for it to snap to a guide or grid. An item’s center point snaps to a guide or grid if the center point is the closest part of the item to a grid or guide.

To display the ruler, grid, or guides

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Edit workspace

•
 
Choose the View menu, and select one of the following:
•
Rulers
•
Grid
•
Guides
Note
You must first display rulers before you can drag guidelines onto your image.

To set ruler properties

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Edit workspace

Manage workspace

1
 
Choose File Preferences General Program Preferences.
The Preferences dialog box appears.
2
 
Choose Units from the list.
3
 
In the Rulers group box, choose an option from the Display Units drop-list.
4
 
Choose the ruler color by selecting one of the following options:
•
Black on white — displays black hash marks and numbers on a white background
•
Toolbar colors — displays black hash marks and numbers on the same background color for other toolbars and palettes
5
 
Click OK.

To set default or current grid properties

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Edit workspace

1
 
Choose View Change Grid, Guide & Snap Properties.
The Grid, Guide & Snap Properties dialog box appears.
2
 
Click the Grid tab.
The Default Settings group box shows the default settings for the guides. The Current Image Settings group box shows settings for the guides in the current image.
3
 
Type or set a value in the Horizontal grids control to set the distance between horizontal grid lines (starting from the top of the image).
4
 
Type or set a value in the Vertical grids control to set the distance between vertical grid lines (starting from the left side of the image).
5
 
Choose a unit of measurement option from the Units drop-list.
6
 
Click OK.

You can also
 
Choose a grid color
Click the Color box, and choose a color from the color palette.
Set the snap influence level
Type or set a value in the Snap influence control.

To place a horizontal or vertical guide

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Edit workspace

1
 
If the rulers are not displayed, choose View Rulers.
2
 
Choose View Guides.
3
 
Do one of the following:
•
To place a horizontal guide, click the top ruler, and drag a guide into position.
•
To place a vertical guide, click the left ruler, and drag a guide into position.
As you drag, the Status bar displays the guide’s position (in pixels).
4
 
For further placement position, on a ruler, double-click a guide handle.
The Guide Properties dialog box appears.
5
 
Type or set a value in the Guide position control.
6
 
Click OK.

To change the color of a guide

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Edit workspace

1
 
On a ruler, double-click a guide handle.
The Grid, Guide & Snap Properties dialog box appears.
2
 
On the Guides tab, click the Color box, and choose a color from the color palette.
3
 
Click OK.

To set the default properties for guides

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Edit workspace

1
 
Choose View Change Grid, Guide, and Snap Properties.
The Grid, Guide & Snap Properties dialog box appears.
2
 
Click the Guides tab.
The Default Settings group box shows the default settings for guides. The Current Image Settings group box shows settings for the guides in the current image.
3
 
In the Default Settings group box, click the Color box, and choose a color from the color palette.
If you want to choose a recently-used color, right-click the Color box, and choose a color from the Recent Colors dialog box.
4
 
Type or set a value in the Snap influence control to specify the distance (in pixels) that an item must be away from the grid or guide in order for it to snap.
You must choose the Snap to Grid command in the View menu.
5
 
Click OK.

To delete guides from an image

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Edit workspace

1
 
Choose View Change Grid, Guide, and Snap Properties.
2
 
Click the Guides tab.
3
 
Mark the Delete guides check box.
4
 
Choose one of the following options:
•
From current image only
•
From all open images
5
 
Click OK.
Note
You can also drag a guide’s handle until the guide is off the image area, or right-click a guide handle and click Delete from the Guide Properties dialog box.

To snap to the nearest guide or gridline

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Edit workspace

•
 
From the View menu, choose one of the following:
•
Snap to Guides
•
Snap to Grid

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