Use rulers

Rulers help you precisely position and size layers.

Show or hide rulers#

Do one of the following:

  • Click the disclosure arrow next to the Show or hide Layers button in the Pixelmator Pro toolbar, then choose Show Rulers or Hide Rulers.
  • Choose View > Show Rulers or Hide Rulers from the View menu at the top of your screen.
  • Press Command ⌘ + R on your keyboard.

Change ruler units#

The rulers' settings apply to all Pixelmator Pro documents. You can change settings at any time, even if you’re editing an image.

  1. Choose Pixelmator Pro > Settings from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen, then click the Rulers tab at the top of the settings window.
  2. Click the Ruler Units pop-up menu, then choose a unit (Percent, Pixels, Centimeters, Millimeters, or Inches).

Change the zero origin#

The zero origin is the location of the rulers’ 0. By default, units increase from 0 in the upper-left corner of the image, but you can also change the zero origin to any other location on both the vertical and horizontal ruler.

  1. Move the pointer to where the rulers meet in the upper-left corner of the canvas.
  2. Drag diagonally down onto the image to set a new zero origin.

To reset the zero origin, double-click the area where the horizontal and vertical rulers meet in the upper-left corner of the canvas.