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Rulers, grids, and guides

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Illustrator

Illustrator

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  1. Illustrator User Guide
  2. Get to know Illustrator
    1. Introduction to Illustrator
      1. What's new in Illustrator
      2. Common questions
      3. Illustrator system requirements
      4. Illustrator for Apple silicon
    2. Workspace
      1. Workspace basics
      2. Create documents
      3. Learn faster with the Illustrator Discover panel
      4. Accelerate workflows using the Contextual Task Bar
      5. Toolbar
      6. Default keyboard shortcuts
      7. Customize keyboard shortcuts
      8. Introduction to artboards
      9. Manage artboards
      10. Customize the workspace
      11. Properties panel
      12. Set preferences
      13. Touch Workspace
      14. Microsoft Surface Dial support in Illustrator
      15. Undo edits and manage design history
      16. Rotate view
      17. Rulers, grids, and guides
      18. Accessibility in Illustrator
      19. Safe Mode
      20. View artwork
      21. Use the Touch Bar with Illustrator
      22. Files and templates
    3. Tools in Illustrator
      1. Tools at a glance
      2. Select tools
        1. Selection
        2. Direct Selection
        3. Group Selection
        4. Magic Wand
        5. Lasso
        6. Artboard
      3. Navigate tools
        1. Hand
        2. Rotate View
        3. Zoom
      4. Paint tools
        1. Gradient
        2. Mesh
        3. Shape Builder
      5. Text tools
        1. Type
        2. Type on a Path
        3. Vertical Type
      6. Draw tools
        1. Pen
        2. Add Anchor Point
        3. Delete Anchor Point
        4. Anchor Point
        5. Curvature
        6. Line Segment
        7. Rectangle
        8. Rounded Rectangle
        9. Ellipse
        10. Polygon
        11. Star
        12. Paintbrush
        13. Blob Brush
        14. Pencil
        15. Shaper
        16. Slice
      7. Modify tools
        1. Rotate
        2. Reflect
        3. Scale
        4. Shear
        5. Width
        6. Free Transform
        7. Eyedropper
        8. Blend
        9. Eraser
        10. Scissors
        11. Dimension
    4. Generative AI (not available in mainland China)
      1. Generate scenes, subjects, and icons using text prompts
      2. Generate vector patterns using text prompts
      3. Generate vector shape fills using text prompts
      4. Recolor your artwork using text prompts
    5. Quick actions
      1. Retro text
      2. Neon glow text
      3. Old school text
      4. Recolor
      5. Convert sketch to vector
  3. Illustrator on the web (beta)
    1. Illustrator on the web (beta) overview
    2. Illustrator on the web (beta) FAQ
    3. Troubleshooting issues FAQ
    4. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the web (beta)
    5. Create and combine shapes on the web
    6. Add and edit text on the web
    7. Apply colors and gradients on the web
    8. Draw and edit paths on the web
    9. Work with cloud documents on the web
    10. Invite collaborators to edit on the web
  4. Illustrator on the iPad
    1. Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
      1. Illustrator on the iPad overview
      2. Illustrator on the iPad FAQs
      3. System requirements | Illustrator on the iPad
      4. What you can or cannot do on Illustrator on the iPad
    2. Workspace
      1. Illustrator on the iPad workspace
      2. Touch shortcuts and gestures
      3. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the iPad
      4. Manage your app settings
    3. Documents
      1. Work with documents in Illustrator on the iPad
      2. Import Photoshop and Fresco documents
    4. Select and arrange objects
      1. Create repeat objects
      2. Blend objects
    5. Drawing
      1. Draw and edit paths
      2. Draw and edit shapes
    6. Type
      1. Work with type and fonts
      2. Create text designs along a path
      3. Add your own fonts
    7. Work with images
      1. Vectorize raster images
    8. Color
      1. Apply colors and gradients
  5. Cloud documents
    1. Basics
      1. Work with Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Share and collaborate on Illustrator cloud documents
      3. Share documents for review
      4. Upgrade cloud storage for Adobe Illustrator
      5. Illustrator cloud documents | Common questions
    2. Troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshoot create or save issues for Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Troubleshoot Illustrator cloud documents issues
  6. Add and edit content
    1. Drawing
      1. Drawing basics
      2. Edit paths
      3. Draw pixel-perfect art
      4. Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
      5. Draw simple lines and shapes
      6. Draw rectangular and polar grids
      7. Draw and edit flares
      8. Trace images
      9. Simplify a path
      10. Symbolism tools and symbol sets
      11. Adjust path segments
      12. Design a flower in 5 easy steps
      13. Create and edit a perspective grid
      14. Draw and modify objects on a perspective grid
      15. Use objects as symbols for repeat use
      16. Draw pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
    2. Measurement
      1. Measure and plot dimensions
    3. 3D objects and materials
      1. About 3D effects in Illustrator
      2. Create 3D graphics
      3. Map artwork over 3D objects
      4. Create 3D Text
      5. Create 3D objects
    4. Color
      1. About color
      2. Select colors
      3. Use and create swatches
      4. Adjust colors
      5. Use the Adobe Color Themes panel
      6. Color groups (harmonies)
      7. Color Themes panel
      8. Recolor your artwork
    5. Painting
      1. About painting
      2. Paint with fills and strokes
      3. Live Paint groups
      4. Gradients
      5. Brushes
      6. Transparency and blending modes
      7. Apply stroke on an object
      8. Create and edit patterns
      9. Meshes
      10. Patterns
    6. Select and arrange objects
      1. Select objects
      2. Layers
      3. Group and expand objects
      4. Move, align, and distribute objects
      5. Align, arrange, and move objects on a path
      6. Snap objects to glyph
      7. Snap objects to Japanese glyph
      8. Stack objects    
      9. Lock, hide, and delete objects
      10. Copy and duplicate objects
      11. Rotate and reflect objects
      12. Intertwine objects
      13. Create realistic art mockups
    7. Reshape objects
      1. Crop images
      2. Transform objects
      3. Combine objects
      4. Cut, divide, and trim objects
      5. Puppet Warp
      6. Scale, shear, and distort objects
      7. Blend objects
      8. Reshape using envelopes
      9. Reshape objects with effects
      10. Build new shapes with Shaper and Shape Builder tools
      11. Work with Live Corners
      12. Enhanced reshape workflows with touch support
      13. Edit clipping masks
      14. Live shapes
      15. Create shapes using the Shape Builder tool
      16. Global editing
    8. Type
      1. Add text and work with type objects
      2. Reflow Viewer
      3. Create bulleted and numbered lists
      4. Manage text area
      5. Fonts and typography
      6. Convert text within images into editable text
      7. Add basic formatting to text
      8. Add advanced formatting to text
      9. Import and export text
      10. Format paragraphs
      11. Special characters
      12. Create type on a path
      13. Character and paragraph styles
      14. Tabs
      15. Find missing fonts (Typekit workflow)
      16. Arabic and Hebrew type
      17. Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
      18. Creative typography designs
      19. Scale and rotate type
      20. Line and character spacing
      21. Hyphenation and line breaks
      22. Spelling and language dictionaries
      23. Format Asian characters
      24. Composers for Asian scripts
      25. Create text designs with blend objects
      26. Create a text poster using Image Trace
    9. Create special effects
      1. Work with effects
      2. Graphic styles
      3. Appearance attributes
      4. Create sketches and mosaics
      5. Drop shadows, glows, and feathering
      6. Summary of effects
    10. Web graphics
      1. Best practices for creating web graphics
      2. Graphs
      3. SVG
      4. Slices and image maps
  7. Import, export, and save
    1. Import
      1. Place multiple files
      2. Manage linked and embedded files
      3. Links information
      4. Unembed images
      5. Import artwork from Photoshop
      6. Import bitmap images
      7. Import Adobe PDF files
      8. Import EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files
    2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator 
      1. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
    3. Save and export
      1. Save artwork
      2. Export artwork
      3. Create Adobe PDF files
      4. Adobe PDF options
      5. Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
      6. Collect assets and export in batches
      7. Package files
      8. Extract CSS | Illustrator CC
      9. Document info panel
  8. Printing
    1. Prepare for printing
      1. Set up documents for printing
      2. Change the page size and orientation
      3. Specify crop marks for trimming or aligning
      4. Get started with large canvas
    2. Printing
      1. Overprint
      2. Print with color management
      3. PostScript printing
      4. Print presets
      5. Printer's marks and bleeds
      6. Print and save transparent artwork
      7. Trapping
      8. Print color separations
      9. Print gradients, meshes, and color blends
      10. White Overprint
  9. Automate tasks
    1. Data merge using the Variables panel
    2. Automation with scripts
    3. Automation with actions
  10. Troubleshooting 
    1. Fixed issues
    2. Known issues
    3. Crash issues
    4. Recover files after crash
    5. File issues
    6. Supported file formats
    7. GPU device driver issues
    8. Wacom device issues
    9. DLL file issues
    10. Memory issues
    11. Preferences file issues
    12. Font issues
    13. Printer issues
    14. Share crash report with Adobe
    15. Improve Illustrator performance

Learn how to work with rulers, grids, and guides in Illustrator. 

Use rulers

Rulers help you accurately place and measure objects in the illustration window or on an artboard. The point where 0 appears on each ruler is called the ruler origin.

Illustrator provides separate rulers for documents and artboards. You can select only one of these rulers at a time.

Global rulers appear at the top and left sides of the illustration window. The default ruler origin is located at the top-left corner of the illustration window.

Artboard rulers appear at the top and left sides of the active artboard. The default artboard ruler origin is located at the top-left corner of the artboard.

The difference between artboard rulers and global rulers is that if you select artboard rulers, the origin point changes based on the active artboard. In addition, you can have different origin points for artboard rulers. Now, if you change the artboard ruler origin, the pattern fills in objects on the artboards are not affected.

The default origin point for the global ruler is at the upper-left corner of the first artboard, and the default origin for the artboard rulers is at the top left corner of the respective artboard.

  • To show or hide rulers, choose View > Rulers > Show Rulers or View> Rulers > Hide Rulers.
Show/Hide Rulers

  • To toggle between artboard rulers and global rulers, choose View > Rulers > Change to Global Rulers or View > Rulers > Change to Artboard Rulers. Artboard rulers appear by default, so the Change to Global Rulers option appears in the Rulers sub-menu.

  • To show or hide video rulers, choose View > Show Video Rulers or View > Hide Video Rulers.

  • To change the ruler origin, move the pointer to the upper-left corner where the rulers intersect, and drag the pointer to where you want the new ruler origin.

    As you drag, a cross-hair in the window and the rulers indicate the changing global ruler origin.

  • To restore the default ruler origin, double-click the upper-left corner where the rulers intersect.

Note:

Changing the global ruler origin affects the tiling of patterns.

The coordinate system has now been switched to the fourth quadrant, which was previously the first quadrant. In Illustrator CS5, when you move downwards, the value of the y-axis increases, and if you move toward the right, the value of the x-axis increases.

For saving to legacy versions of Illustrator, the Global rulers remain at the position set in the legacy document. Although the origin point does not move to the upper left, the coordinate system changes to the fourth quadrant.

The change in the coordinate system and the ruler origin does not apply to scripting, which allows you to retain old scripts. However, when you transform objects using scripting, the Y coordinate values differ from the values that you set in the Illustrator user interface. For example, if you apply a move operation of Y= +10 points, apply a transformation of Y = -10pts to emulate the same movement with scripting.

Change the unit of measurement

The default unit of measurement in Illustrator is points (a point equals .3528 millimeters). You can change the unit that Illustrator uses for general measurements, strokes, and type. You can override the default unit while entering values in boxes.

  • To change the default unit of measurement, choose Edit > Preferences > Units (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Units (Mac OS), and then select units for the General, Stroke, and Type options. If Show Asian Options is selected in the Type preferences, you can also select a unit specifically for the Asian type.
Note:

The General measurement option affects rulers, measuring the distance between points, moving and transforming objects, setting grid and guides spacing, and creating shapes.

  • To set the general unit of measurement for the current document only, choose File > Document Setup, choose the unit of measurement you want to use from the Units menu and click OK.
  • To change the unit of measurement when entering a value in a box, follow the value by any of the following abbreviations: inch, inches, in, millimeters, millimeters, mm, Qs (one Q equals 0.25 millimeter), centimeters, centimeters, cm, points, p, pt, picas, pc, pixel, pixels, and px.
Tip:

When mixing picas and points, you can enter values as XpY, where X and Y are the numbers of picas and points (for example, 12p6 for 12 picas, 6 points).

Use the grid

The grid appears behind your artwork in the illustration window. It does not print.

  • To show or hide the grid, choose View > Show Grid or View > Hide Grid.
  • To snap objects to gridlines, choose View > Snap To Grid, select the object you want to move and drag it to the desired location.

    When the object’s boundaries come within 2 pixels of a gridline, it snaps to the point.

    Note: If you choose View > Pixel Preview, Snap To Grid changes to Snap To Pixel.

  • To specify the spacing between gridlines, grid style (lines or dots), grid color, or whether grids appear in the front or back of the artwork, choose Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Mac OS).
Adobe Illustrator deeplink

Try it yourself in the app
Create and align artwork with guides in a few simple steps.

Open Illustrator
Snap to grid
Artwork with grid showing

Use guides

Guides help you align text and graphic objects. You can create ruler guides (straight vertical or horizontal lines) and guide objects (vector objects that you convert to guides). Like the grid, guides do not print.

You can choose between two guide styles—dots and lines—and you can change the color of guides by using either predefined guide colors or colors you select using a color picker. By default, guides are unlocked so that you can move, modify, delete, or revert them, but you can choose to lock them into place.

  • To show or hide guides, choose View > Guides > Show Guides or View > Guides > Hide Guides.
  • To change guide settings, choose Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Mac OS).
  • To lock guides, select View > Guides > Lock Guides.

Create guides

  1. If the rulers aren’t showing, choose View > Show Rulers.
  2. Position the pointer on the left ruler for a vertical guide or on the top ruler for a horizontal guide.
  3. Drag the guide into position.

    To convert vector objects to guides, select them and choose View > Guides > Make Guides.

    Note:

    To make working with multiple guides easier, move them into a separate layer.

  4. To restrict the guides to an artboard instead of the entire canvas, select the Artboard tool and drag the guides on to the artboard.

Move, delete, or release guides

  1. If guides are locked, select View > Guides > Lock Guides.
  2. Do any of the following:

    • To move the guide, drag it or copy it.

    • To delete the guide, press the backspace key (Windows) or the Delete key (Mac OS), or choose Edit > Cut or Edit > Clear.

    • To delete all guides at once, choose View > Guides > Clear Guides.

    • To release the guide, turn it back into a regular graphic object, select the guide, and choose View > Guides > Release Guides.

Snap objects to anchor points and guides

  1. Choose View > Snap To Point.

  2. Select the object you want to move and position the pointer on the exact point you want to align with anchor points and guides.

    Note:

    When snapping to a point, the snapping alignment depends on the position of the pointer, not the edges of the dragged object.

  3. Drag the object to the desired location.

    When the pointer comes within 2 pixels of an anchor point or guide, it snaps to the point. When a snap occurs, the pointer changes from a filled arrowhead to a hollow arrowhead.

Use Smart Guides

Smart Guides are temporary snap‑to guides that appear when you create or manipulate objects or artboards. They help you align, edit, and transform objects or artboards relative to other objects, artboards, or both by snap-aligning and displaying X, Y location, and delta values. You can specify the type of smart guides and feedback that appear (such as measurement labels, object highlighting, or labels) by setting the Smart Guides preferences.

Smart Guides are on by default.

  1. To turn Smart Guides on or off, choose View > Smart Guides.

  2. Use Smart Guides in the following ways:

    • When you create an object with the pen or shape tools, use the Smart Guides to position a new object's anchor points relative to an existing object. Or, when you create a new artboard, use Smart Guides to position it relative to another artboard or an object.

    • When you create an object with the pen or shape tools, or when you transform an object, use the Smart Guides’ construction guides to position anchor points to specific preset angles, such as 45 or 90 degrees. Specify these angles in the Smart Guides preferences.

    • When you move an object or artboard, use the Smart Guides to align the selected object or artboard to other objects or artboards. The alignment is based on the geometry of objects and artboards. Guides appear as the object approaches the edge or center point of other objects.

    • When you transform an object, Smart Guides automatically appear to assist the transformation.

    You can change when and how Smart Guides appear by setting Smart Guides preferences.

    Note:

    When Snap To Grid or Pixel Preview is turned on, you can't use Smart Guides (even if the menu command is selected).

Set Smart Guides preferences

Choose Edit > Preferences > Smart Guides (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Smart Guides (Mac OS) to set the following preferences:

Color

Specifies the color of the guides.

Alignment Guides

Displays guide lines that are generated along the center and edges of geometric objects, artboard, and bleeds. They are generated when you move objects and when you perform operations such as drawing basic shapes, using the Pen tool, and transforming objects.

Anchor/Path Labels

Displays information when paths intersect and when they are centered on an anchor point.

Measurement Labels

Displays information for many tools (such as Drawing tools and Text tools) about the position of the cursor as you position the cursor over an anchor point. While you create, select, move, or transform objects, it displays the x and y delta from the object’s original location. When you press Shift with a drawing tool selected, the starting location appears.

Object Highlighting

Highlights the object below the pointer as you drag around it. The highlight color matches the object’s layer color.

Transform Tools

Displays information when you scale, rotate, and shear objects.

Construction Guides

Displays guidelines as you draw new objects. You specify the angles at which you want guidelines drawn from the anchor points of a nearby object. You can set up to six angles. Enter an angle in the selected Angles box, select a set of angles from the Angles pop‑up menu, or select a set of angles from the pop‑up menu and change one of the values in the box to customize a set of angles. The preview reflects your settings.

Snapping Tolerance

Specifies the number of points the pointer must be from another object for Smart Guides to take effect.

Smart Guides
Setting Smart Guides preferences

Measure distance between objects

Use the Measure tool to calculate the distance between any two points and display the results in the Info panel.

  1. Select the Measure tool . (Select and hold the Eyedropper tool to see it in the Tools panel.)

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Click the two points to measure the distance between them.

    • Click the first point and drag to the second point. Shift‑drag to constrain the tool to multiples of 45°.

      The Info panel displays the horizontal and vertical distances from the x and y axes, the absolute horizontal and vertical distances, the total distances, and the angle measured.

Navigate the Info panel

Use the Info panel (Window > Info) to get information on the area beneath the pointer and on selected objects.

  • When an object is selected and a selection tool is active, the Info panel displays the object’s x and y coordinates, width (W), and height (H). The values for width and height are affected by the Use Preview Bounds option in the General preferences. When Use Preview Bounds is selected, Illustrator includes the stroke width (and other attributes such as drop shadows) in the object’s dimensions. When Use Preview Bounds is cleared, Illustrator measures only the dimensions defined by the object’s vector path.

  • When you use the Pen tool or Gradient tool, or when you move a selection, the Info panel displays the change in x (W), the change in y (H), the distance (D), and the angle  as you drag.

  • When you use the Zoom tool, the Info panel displays the magnification factor and the x and y coordinates after you release the mouse button.

  • When you use the Scale tool, the Info panel displays the percentage change in width (W) and height (H) and the new width (W) and height (H) after the scaling is complete. When you use the rotate or reflect tools, the Info panel displays the coordinates of the object’s center and the angle of rotation  or reflection .

  • When you use the Shear tool, the Info panel displays the coordinates of the object’s center, the angle of shear axis , and the amount of shear .

  • When you use the Paintbrush tool, the Info panel displays the x and y coordinates and the name of the current brush.

  • Select Show Options from the panel menu or click the double arrow on the panel tab to display values for the fill and stroke colors of the selected object and the name of any pattern, gradient, or tint applied to the selected object.

Note:

If you select multiple objects, the Info panel displays only the information that is the same for all selected objects.

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