Using rulers, grids, and guides
The Edit tab 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 is a grid?
A grid is a series of 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 from a guide or grid line in order to snap to it. 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
•
Choose the
View menu, and select one of the following:
You must first display rulers before you can drag guidelines onto your image.
To set ruler properties
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 a color background that is used in toolbars and palettes
To set default or current grid properties
1
Choose
View Change Grid, Guide, Object & Snap Properties.
The Grid, Guide, Object & Snap Properties dialog box appears.
The
Default settings group box shows the default settings for the grid. The
Current image settings group box shows settings for the grid 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.
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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
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.
To change the color of a guide
1
On a ruler, double-click a guide handle.
The Grid, Guide, Object & Snap Properties dialog box appears.
2
On the Guides tab, click the
Color box, and choose a color from the color palette.
To set the default properties for guides
1
Choose
View Change Grid, Guide, Object & Snap Properties.
The Grid, Guide, Object & Snap Properties dialog box appears.
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 from the guide in order for it to snap.
Note: You must choose the
Snap to Guide command in the
View menu.
To delete guides from an image
1
Choose
View Change Grid, Guide, Object & Snap Properties.
3
Mark the
Delete guides check box.
4
Choose one of the following options:
•
From current image only
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 in the Guide Properties dialog box.
To snap to the nearest guide or grid line
•
From the
View menu, choose one of the following: