Ruler Units:
Origin
Learn to customize the layout of your project in InDesign using rulers.
Rulers in InDesign show the exact dimensions of an object and its position on the page which helps users align and distribute objects consistently throughout a design.
InDesign provides horizontal and vertical rulers that assist in creating and aligning objects on your document. These rulers, located at the top and left sides of your workspace, display measurements in your chosen unit (For example-inches, centimeters, or pixels).
To show or hide rulers, choose View > Show Rulers or Hide Rulers.
You can easily modify the measurement units displayed on the on-screen rulers and apply them. You can even temporarily override the default units when entering values. When you change measurement units, it doesn't move guides, grids, and objects.
A. Labeled tick marks B. Major tick marks C. Minor tick marks
You can set up different measurement systems for horizontal and vertical rulers.
However, all vertical rulers use the same settings you specify in the Units & Increments preferences dialog box.
Ruler Units: Origin |
Changes the origin of the zero point. |
Horizontal |
Changes the horizontal measurement system used for rulers, dialog boxes, and panels. |
Vertical |
Changes the vertical measurement system used for rulers, dialog boxes, and Control panel. |
Other Units: Stroke |
Changes the values of stroke. |
Points/Pica Size: Points/Inch |
Changes the value of calculating points. For PostScript points, you can use 72 points per inch, 72.27 traditional printer points per inch, or you can use a different measure, depending on the selected preference. |
Keyboard Increments: Cursor Key |
Controls the increment for the arrow keys when you move objects. |
Size/Leading |
Controls the increment for increasing or decreasing the point size or leading using keyboard shortcuts. |
Baseline Shift |
Controls the increment for shifting the baseline using keyboard shortcuts. |
Kerning/Tracking |
Controls the increment for kerning and tracking using keyboard shortcuts. |
Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) at the intersection of the horizontal and vertical rulers to change the ruler units for both rulers at the same time.
You can specify a unit of measurement that is different from the default. You can type the new value using the notation given in the following table:
To specify |
Type these letters after the value |
Examples |
Result |
Q |
q |
6q |
6 Q |
Ha |
h |
6h |
6 Ha |
Inches |
i in inch " |
5.25i 5.25in 5.25inch 5.25” |
5 1/4 inches |
Millimeters |
mm |
48mm |
48 millimeters |
Centimeters |
cm |
12cm |
12 centimeters |
Picas |
p |
3p |
3 picas |
Points |
pt p (before value) |
6pt p6 |
6 points |
American points |
ap |
6ap |
6 American points |
Picas and points |
p (between values) |
3p6 |
3 picas, 6 points |
Pixels |
px |
5px |
5 pixels |
Ciceros |
c |
5c |
5 ciceros |
Agates |
ag |
5ag |
5 agates |
The zero point refers to the origin of both horizontal and vertical rulers, from which measurements start. You can customize the zero point to suit your design requirements, making it easier to measure and align objects within your layout. By default, the zero point is located at the upper-left corner of a page or spread. You can move the zero point to measure distances, create a new reference point for measurement, or tile oversized pages.
When you move the zero point, it moves to the same relative location in all spreads. For example, if you move the zero point to the top left corner of the second page of a page spread, it appears in that position on the second page of all other spreads in the document.
Watch this short clip to learn how to adjust the zero point.
To lock or unlock the zero point, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) the zero point of the rulers and select Lock Zero Point in the context menu.
You can change the default zero point for rulers as well as the scope of the horizontal ruler. The scope determines whether the ruler measures across the page, across the entire spread, or, for multipage spreads, from the center of the spine.
Select Edit > Preferences > Units & Increments (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences > Units & Increments (macOS).
In the Ruler Units section in the Origin menu:
Select Spread to set the ruler origin at the top-left corner of each spread. The horizontal ruler measures across the entire spread.
Select Page to set the ruler origin at the top-left corner of each page. The horizontal ruler starts at zero for each page in a spread.
Select Spine to set the ruler origin at the center of the spine. The horizontal ruler measures in negative numbers to the left of the spine and positive numbers to the right of the spine.
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