Guides, Grids, Slices

Guides, Grids, & Slices

Q1:	How do I add a guide to a specific position?
A1:	Under the View menu, choose New Guide. Enter the Position you want (and the Orientation) in the dialog.
Q2:	How do I add a guide exactly in the center of an image?
A2:	Try changing the ruler units (View>Rulers) to percentage, and then drag a guide to 50%, using the ruler to determine the position. (To change the ruler units, Control-click [PC: Right-click] anywhere on the ruler and choose a unit of measurement from the contextual menu.) Or, from the View menu, choose New Guide and enter 50% in the Position field.
Q3:	Is it possible to change a horizontal guide to a vertical guide (or vice versa)?
A3:	Press-and-hold Option (PC: Alt) to change the orientation of a guide by either clicking-and-dragging an existing guide, or press-and-hold Option/Alt as you drag a new guide from the ruler. Note: You must have the Move tool (V) selected to change an existing guide.
Q4:	How do I change the look of my guides?
A4:	If you go to the Preferences, under Guides, Grid & Slices, you can choose a color and whether you want the guide to be a solid or dashed line. (If you have a guide on an image and you are using the Move tool [V], you can press-and-hold Command [PC: Control] and double-click on the guide to bring up the Preferences dialog.)
Q5:	Is there a quick way to hide all my guides?
A5:	Sure, press Command; (PC: Control;) to toggle all guides on and off.
Q6:	How do I move an existing guide? I've added some guides, and while I use the Blur tool, I'd like to move my guide. How do I do that?
A6:	To move a guide, you use the Move tool. This means either switching to the Move tool (by pressing V) and then switching back to your current tool, or pressing-and-holding Command (PC: Control) to temporarily activate the Move tool. Position the cursor over a guide until you see the cursor change into a double-sided arrow, then you can move the guide. Release the key, and you're back to the tool you were using.
Q7:	Is it possible to make guides in orientations other than horizontal and vertical?
A7:	You can simulate guides by creating a new layer (by clicking on the Create a New Layer icon in the Layers palette), and then using the Line tool (set to Fill Pixels in the Options Bar) to create "guidelines" on any angle. If you want the guides to be the same color as the default guides, click on your Foreground swatch and choose color Pantone Matching System (PMS) 279 by clicking on the Libraries button or enter R: 171, G: 254, B: 255 in the Color Picker. Also, you can create a path (using the Pen tool [P]) at the angle you want, and show/hide the path to use as a form of guide by going under View>Show>Target Path .
Q8:	Is it possible to rotate or flip an image but not the guides?
A8:	Yes, just choose Lock Guides from the View menu before you rotate or flip the image.
Q9:	How do I stop things from aligning automatically with my guides? Whenever I move anything, it seems like my guides are magnetized and my object jumps to the guide. How do I turn that off?
A9:	The Snap To options are found under the View menu. You can choose to turn off Snap completely or snap to certain things such as slices, guides, grid, or the edges (bounds) of the document.
Q10:	How do I get rid of the slice border around my image? What is the little number in the upper-left corner of the image window?
A10:	That little number in the box is the slice indicator, and it appears if you have clicked on the Slice tool (K). To remove it, go to the View menu, under Show, and deselect Slices. The next time you use the Slice tool, the slice border will show again. To stop the slices from ever showing, go under Preferences (Command-K [PC: Control-K]), under Guides, Grid & Slices, and uncheck Show Slice Numbers.