Adobe Photoshop CS3 - Manual (Page 50)

PHOTOSHOP CS3
User Guide
43
Measure between two points
1 Select the Ruler tool .
2 Drag from the starting point to the ending point. Hold down the Shift key to constrain the tool to 45˚ increments.
3 To create a protractor from an existing measuring line, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) at an angle
from one end of the measuring line, or double-click the line and drag. Hold down the Shift key to constrain the tool
to multiples of 45˚.
Edit a measuring line or protractor
1 Select the Ruler tool .
2 Do one of the following:
• To resize the line, drag one end of an existing measuring line.
• To move the line, place the pointer on the line away from either endpoint, and drag the line.
• To remove the line, place the pointer on the line away from either endpoint, and drag the line out of the image, or
click Clear in the tool options bar.
Note: You can drag out a measure line on an image feature that should be horizontal or vertical, and then choose
Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary. The correct angle of rotation required to straighten the image is automatically
entered into the Rotate Canvas dialog box.
Position with guides and the grid
Guides and the grid help you position images or elements precisely. Guides appear as nonprinting lines that float over
the image. You can move and remove guides.You can also lock them so that you don’t move them by accident.
The grid is useful for laying out elements symmetrically. The grid appears by default as nonprinting lines but can also
be displayed as dots.
Guides and grids behave in similar ways:
• Selections, selection borders, and tools snap to a guide or the grid when dragged within 8 screen (not image)
pixels. Guides also snap to the grid when moved. You can turn this feature on and off.
• Guide spacing, along with guide and grid visibility and snapping, is specific to an image.
• Grid spacing, along with guide and grid color and style, is the same for all images.
You can use Smart Guides to help align shapes, slices, and selections. They appear automatically when you draw a
shape, or create a selection or slide. You can hide Smart Guides if you need to.
See also
“Slice a web page” on page 508
Show or hide a grid, guides, or smart guides
❖ Do one of the following:
• Choose View > Show > Grid.
• Choose View > Show > Guides.
• View > Show > Smart Guides.
• Choose View > Extras. This command also shows or hides layer edges, selection edges, target paths, slices, and
annotations.