On the Rulers tab of the Options dialog box, the Horizontal and Vertical Ruler areas provide options affecting the two rulers. The rulers are independent, so you can have different options for each. The ruler settings are saved with the document.
For each ruler, you can choose a unit of measure, the number of snap divisions for each ruler unit, and how the ruler is labeled. Click Options from the Tools menu to open the Options dialog box.
You can change the measurement units of a ruler by clicking its Units button and choosing the desired units.
| You can also set ruler units according to a specific scale by using the Scale Drawing Wizard. Simply click Scale Setup from the File menu and follow the screen prompts to define a scale on which to base your rulers. |
Setting the Number of Snaps Per Unit
The Snaps per Unit setting sets the number of divisions per unit, which affects the number of grid dots that appear when the grid is displayed and also affects how objects snap to the rulers if Snap to Rulers is selected. The grid appears as a pattern of dotted lines that corresponds to divisions in your ruler settings. You can use the grid as a guide for aligning objects or measuring distances.
| To prevent the drawing area from becoming too cluttered, Designer limits the number of grid dots and ruler divisions that appear. |
This value specifies how frequently a number appears to label the ruler's units. This option prevents overcrowding the ruler when it is set to small units. For example, when a ruler is set to inches, you might use a value of 1, but when a ruler is set to millimeters, you might prefer a value of 10.
Setting Displayed Precision Coordinates
The Displayed Precision of Ruler Units value sets the decimal precision of the coordinates displayed in the status bar. The H list box sets the precision for the Horizontal and X coordinates. The V list box sets the precision for the Vertical and Y coordinates.
The ruler origin is the point, on or off the page, where the two rulers intersect at zero. The default position for the ruler origin is at the upper left corner of the page. You can also drag and drop the Ruler origin button to change the placement of the ruler origin.