Rulers appear along the top and left side of the main screen to help you measure and align objects. As you move the cursor in the design area, a tick mark on each ruler follows the movement of the cursor. Also, the coordinates of the cursor position are displayed at bottom-left corner of the screen.
To show or hide the rulers, from the View menu:
- Point to Show.
- Click Show Rulers.
Grids, like rulers, can help you align objects in the design area. Grids are displayed as horizontal and vertical lines within the design area. They will not show when you print them.
To show or hide the grids, from the View menu:
- Point to Show.
- Click Show Grid.
The rulers, grids, and all other numeric values that represent a length follow a unit system defined in your software. To change the unit system, right-click a ruler and select the new unit. This includes Inches, Feet, Decimal Inches (meaning Inches with the hash marks in increments of .1 instead of fractions), Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, and Points (a tiny unit of measurement used for Fonts. One point = 1/72 inch)
Note the options here for Ruler and Grid... as well as showing the Ruler.
By default, the origin of the rulers is located in the lower-left corner of the design area. To change the origin, you can click and drag the origin icon in the upper-left corner of your screen
Click and Drag the Origin Icon The new Origin
You can also adjust the origin's position by using the Ruler and Grid Settings dialog box.
To display the Ruler and Grid Settings, do one of the following:
- Double-click the Origin icon in the upper-left corner of the design area.
- Right-click anywhere on the Ruler and select Ruler and Grid.
- From the View menu, select Ruler and Grid.
The Ruler and Grid dialog box consists of Ruler and Grid tabs.
On the Ruler tab, adjust the following parameters:
|
Origin |
Enter the X,Y coordinates of the new origin. This is in reference to the existing origin. |
|
Orientation |
Click one of these buttons to change the orientation of the coordinates in the X,Y rulers. |
|
Units |
Select the unit system that will be used for length values from this list. |
On the Grid tab, adjust the following parameters:
|
Spacing |
Horizontal and vertical space between adjacent dots. |
|
Snap to grid |
Check this option to snap the objects to the grid while moving or resizing them. |
|
Show grids as dots |
Check to display grids as dots at the intersection points instead of solid lines. |
Solid Line Grid Dotted Grid