Artboards, Rulers, Guides, and Grids

Artboards, Rulers, Guides, and Grids

• Multiple Artboards: Adobe Illustrator allows you to work with multiple artboards in a single document, making it easier to manage related artwork or designs together;
• View All Artboards: To view all artboards at once, select View > Fit All in Window;
• Focus on Specific Artboard: To focus on a specific artboard, select it and then choose View > Fit Artboard in Window;
• Artboard Navigation Menu: Use the Artboard Navigation Menu at the bottom to quickly switch between different artboards by clicking on their names;
• Artboard Panel: Access the Artboard Panel through Window > Artboards to see a list of all artboards in your document. You can rearrange the stacking order by clicking and dragging artboards in the Artboard Panel, which affects the order of pages when exporting a multi-page PDF;
• Edit Artboards: To edit artboards, click Edit Artboards in the Properties Panel. This action activates the Artboard Tool, and artboards will be highlighted with dashed lines;
• Resize Artboards: Resize artboards by dragging their corner points or adjust dimensions in the Properties Panel;
• Create New Artboards: Create new artboards by clicking the plus icon, using presets, or manually drawing artboards on the canvas;
• Name Artboards: Name your artboards to keep the workspace organized, which helps with navigation and exporting;
• Change Orientation: Change the orientation of artboards (portrait or landscape) by selecting options in the Properties Panel;
• Move Artwork with Artboard: Use the option "Move Artwork with Artboard" to move the artboard along with its contents. Uncheck this option to move the artboard independently of its artwork;
• Specify Dimensions: When creating or resizing artboards, specify dimensions directly in the Properties Panel. Use the chain icon to maintain aspect ratio when resizing;
• Avoid Overlapping: Be cautious of overlapping artboards, as they can accidentally capture content from neighboring artboards.

Using Guides, Grids, and Rulers

Rulers and Guides

• Use Ctrl + R (Windows) or Cmd + R (Mac) to toggle rulers on and off; Alternatively, go to View > Rulers > Show/Hide Rulers;
• Click and drag from the rulers to create guides. Release the mouse button to place the guide. Drag from the top ruler for horizontal guides or from the side ruler for vertical guides;
• Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) while dragging a guide to change its orientation;
• Select a guide and press Backspace or Delete to remove it;
• The magenta lines that appear are called “Smart Guides”. They help align objects and guides. Turn them on/off via View > Smart Guides;
• Right-click on the ruler and choose the unit (pixels, inches, centimeters, etc.). This can also be done in the Properties Panel when nothing is selected. Be mindful of the two options:
  • Global rulers: The ruler starts from the first artboard and stays fixed;
  • Artboard rulers: The ruler starts at zero for each artboard;

Working with Grids:

• Use Ctrl + ‘ (Windows) or Cmd + ‘ (Mac) or go to View > Grid > Show Grid to toggle grids on and off;
• To adjust the grids, go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Mac) to change gridline spacing, subdivisions, and color;
• In the Guides & Grid preferences, you can change the color and style of guides, or modify gridline spacing to suit your project needs.

These features—guides, grids, and rulers—are invaluable tools in Adobe Illustrator for keeping designs organized and precise, ensuring that objects are aligned correctly and maintaining consistency across different elements;