Auto Add Rulers to Every New Document

If you use rulers often in Illustrator and get frustrated by having to add them into each new document, then this tip is for you. You can automatically add rulers to each new document by modifying the Illustrator startup file located in your Applications or Program Files, in Adobe Illustrator CS2, in the Plug-ins folder. There are two files, so be sure to change both the CMYK and RGB files.

1. Quit Illustrator.

2. This step is optional. In the Adobe Illustrator CS2 Plug-ins folder, duplicate the current default startup file Adobe Illustrator Startup_CMYK or Adobe Illustrator Startup_RGB and give it a different name. (This creates a copy of the original startup file in case you need it again. You only need to do this once to back up the original if you want.)

3. Open one of the default startup files Adobe Illustrator Startup_CMYK or Adobe Illustrator Startup_RGB depending on which type of document you intend to use.

4. Choose View>Show Rulers.

5. Now, here's the trick. You can't just save this file because you haven't really made any changes that Illustrator will register yet. So, create a rectangle on the artboard using the Rectangle tool (M). Then just delete it.

6. Save the new file as Adobe Illustrator Startup _CMYK or Adobe Illustrator Startup_RGB (depending on which you opened) in the Plug-ins folder.

7. Restart Illustrator.