Using Guides
Guides are individual, straight lines that can be randomly positioned “over” the Canvas to help you position, resize, and align objects accurately. Besides acting as a kind of visual straight-edge, a guide can be configured so that objects on the Canvas “snap” to it, much like metallic objects snap to a magnet. This makes aligning the edges of objects much easier.
In order to use guides, one or both of the rulers must be displayed.
Creating and moving guides
Before you can create a guide, you must first make either or both of the horizontal and vertical rulers visible. The horizontal ruler is needed to create horizontal guides, while the vertical ruler is needed for vertical guides.
To create a guide:
- Click inside a ruler and drag out over the Canvas. As you drag, a dotted line and position indicator will follow the mouse pointer, indicating where the guide will be if you release the mouse button.
- When the dotted line is in the desired position, release the mouse button.
To move a guide, click and drag it to the desired position. Make sure to click away from any object on the Canvas, or you will not be able to move the guide. (The mouse pointer will change to a double bar with arrows when it is in a place where you can drag a guide.)
In addition to clicking and dragging from a ruler, you can create a guide by clicking and dragging an existing guide while holding down the <Ctrl> key.
Making objects snap to guides
To make the edges of objects snap to guides as you drag them, select the [View > Snap to Grid/Guide] menu command.
The [View > Snap to Object/Guide] command has a different effect. When this option is enabled, an object being dragged will snap to guides and to other objects at the point where you clicked it.
Locking guides
Locking a guide prevents it from being moved accidentally. To lock a guide, right-click it and select Lock from the pop-up menu. To unlock it, right-click and select Unlock. To lock or unlock all guides at once, select the [View > Lock All Guides] menu command.
Removing guides
To remove a particular guide, right-click it and select Clear from the pop-up menu. Alternatively, you can remove a guide by dragging it back to the appropriate ruler. To remove all guides at once, select the [View > Clear All Guides] menu command.
Showing and hiding guides
To show or hide all guides, select the [View > Show Guides] menu command.
Changing the color or style of guides
You can specify the color and/or style of guides with the [View > Grid/Guide Settings...] menu command. In the Guides/Grid dialog box, specify a color and/or style in the Guides section.
