- Introduction
- Setting General Preferences
- Modifying File Handling Preferences
- Working with Display & Cursors Preferences
- Controlling Transparency & Gamut Preferences
- Working with Units & Rulers
- Working with Guides, Grids & Slices
- Selecting Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks
- Allocating Memory & Image Cache
- Working with the File Browser
Working with Units & Rulers
While changing the measurable units and rulers do no affect output quality, they do help to measure information in a document consistent with the specific output device. Ruler units give you precise information on the width and height of the active document. The column size measurements provide information that Photoshop needs to create documents in the column and width of newspapers, magazines, brochures, etc. The Preset Resolutions lets you select specific resolution values for creating new documents. Insert the values you'll use most often in the creation of a new Photoshop document.
Work with Units & Rulers Options
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Click the Edit (Win) or Photoshop (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
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Click Units & Rulers.
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Select the Units options you want to use:
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Rulers. Sets a default measuring system for the Ruler bar.
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Type. Sets to measure type with a default value of points, or millimeters.
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Select the Column Size settings you want to use:
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Width. Choose a measurement system and numerical value for column width.
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Gutter. Choose a measurement system and numerical value for gutter (the space between the columns).
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Select the New Document Preset Resolutions settings you want to use:
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Print Resolution. Select a print resolution and measurement value for default printing.
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Screen Resolution. Select a print resolution and measurement value for default screen display.
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Click the Postscript and Traditional option measuring systems for Photoshop's type tool (Postscript is the most widely used).
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Click OK.
For example, pixels would be most common for images displayed on a monitor, and pica, or inches most common for output to press or printer.
NOTE
Did You Know?
You can switch between ruler measurements without going to preferences. To change the default measurement system of the ruler bar, simply move into the ruler bar, and right-click your mouse. A list of available measurement options will be instantly available.
When you choose a measurement system(points, inches, or cm), Photoshop changes the value to correspond to the type of measurement system.