View comments | RSS feed

InDesign CS3  |  Go to CS4 Help

Change measurement units and rulers

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Increments (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences > Units & Increments (Mac OS).
  2. To change the origin of the zero point, in the Origin menu under Ruler Units, do one of the following:

    • To set the ruler origin at the top-left corner of each spread, choose Spread. The horizontal ruler measures across the entire spread.

    • To set the ruler origin at the top-left corner of each page, choose Page. The horizontal ruler starts at zero for each page in a spread.

    • To set the ruler origin for multipage spreads on the top-left corner of the leftmost page, as well as at the top of the binding spine, choose Spine. The horizontal ruler measures from the leftmost page to the binding edge; and from the binding spine to the rightmost page.

  3. To change the measurement system used for rulers, dialog boxes, and panels, choose the desired system for Horizontal and Vertical, or choose Custom and type the number of points at which you want the ruler to display major tick marks.
  4. To change the value you want used for calculating points, specify the desired point size per inch for Points/Inch.
  5. Set any of the following Keyboard Increments:
    Cursor Key
    Controls the increment for the arrow keys when nudging objects.

    Size/Leading
    Controls the increment for increasing or decreasing the point size or leading using the keyboard shortcuts.

    Baseline Shift
    Controls the increment for shifting the baseline using the keyboard shortcuts.

    Kerning
    Controls the increment for kerning using the keyboard shortcuts.

  6. Click OK.
You can also change ruler units by right-clicking (Windows) or Control-clicking (Mac OS) a ruler and choosing the units from the context menu. By right-clicking or Control-clicking at the intersection of the horizontal and vertical rulers, you can change the ruler units for both rulers at the same time.



Comments

Comments are no longer accepted for InDesign CS3. InDesign CS4 is the current version. To discuss InDesign CS3, please use the Adobe forum.

Comments


dsjq said on Jun 30, 2008 at 9:47 AM :
I am new to InDesign and publishing in general. Perhaps others who are reading the help files carefully are new also. I think it might be helpful on pages like this (and many others I have come across) to include a brief definition of what some of these terms mean to those who aren't familiar with the lingo: baseline, leading, and kerning are three I had to look up separately. I realize most people using InDesign already know this information, but the terminology used is occasionally intimidating to us newbies.
Bob - Adobe Writer said on Jun 30, 2008 at 11:23 AM :
Thanks for the feedback.
Blazdemension said on Oct 5, 2008 at 6:46 PM :
How do i change type in in design cs3 from points to inches?
Bob Bringhurst - Adobe said on Oct 15, 2008 at 10:14 AM :
Preferences > Units & Increments
editor.fmu said on Nov 4, 2008 at 12:35 PM :
And about "new" units? I'm saying, if I want creat a new exclusive unit scale like "editor"? For example: 1ed (editor) = 15pt (points). I don't want use 15pt. I want to use 1ed... May I?
No screen name said on Nov 10, 2008 at 4:14 AM :
Hi!

How can I change the units permanenty? Now they have always changed automatically into to default when I start InDesign and it's quite annoying to change them everytime... Thanks in advance!!
Bob Bringhurst - Adobe said on Nov 10, 2008 at 5:44 PM :
Close all documents before changing the settings.

 

RSS feed | Send me an e-mail when comments are added to this page | Comment Report

Current page: http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/InDesign/5.0/WSa285fff53dea4f8617383751001ea8cb3f-713e.html