How to Change Photoshop Ruler Units In 3.5 SIMPLE Steps!

How do I change the ruler to CM in Photoshop?

When you're working on a design or editing an image in Photoshop, precision is key. The rulers in Photoshop are one of those tools that, once you get the hang of them, you'll wonder how you ever managed without. They help you align, measure, and structure your work, ensuring that every element is just where it needs to be.

Bringing the Rulers into View

If you've opened your Photoshop and you're staring at your canvas, but you don't see the rulers, don't worry. They're there, just hidden from view. Here's how you can make them visible:

1. Look at the top of your screen. You'll see a menu bar with various options like "File", "Edit", and "View".
2. Click on "View". A dropdown menu will appear.
3. In this dropdown, you'll find an option labeled "Rulers". Click on it.
4. As soon as you do this, you'll notice two rulers appear: one horizontally at the top of your canvas and one vertically to the left.

For those who love shortcuts, pressing Control+R on Windows or Command+R on Mac will also toggle the rulers on and off. Try it out. Press the shortcut once, the rulers disappear. Press it again, and they're back.

Adjusting the Measurement Units of the Rulers

Now, depending on what you're working on, you might want these rulers to display measurements in pixels, inches, centimeters, or another unit. Let's walk through how to change this:

1. Hover your mouse over either the horizontal or vertical ruler.
2. Right-click. A small menu will pop up with various measurement options.
3. For our example, let's say you want to change the unit to inches. So, click on "Inches" in the menu.
4. Immediately, you'll see the ruler's measurements adjust to reflect inches instead of the previous unit.

But what if you're someone who likes to dive deep into settings and customize from there? Photoshop has got you covered:

1. Go to the top menu bar and click on "Edit".
2. From the dropdown, navigate to "Preferences" and then "Units & Rulers".
3. A new window will pop up. Here, under the "Units" section, you'll see a dropdown next to "Rulers".
4. Click on this dropdown, and you'll see the same list of measurement units. For our example, let's switch to "Centimeters".
5. After selecting "Centimeters", click "OK" to close the window.
6. Now, when you look at your rulers, they'll be displaying measurements in centimeters.

Remember, any change you make to the ruler unit in one document will reflect across all open Photoshop documents. It's a universal setting, so be mindful if you're working on multiple projects simultaneously.

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

Photoshop is designed to remember your preferences. So, the next time you open a document, it will display the ruler units you last used. This is handy as it saves time, especially if you consistently work with a specific unit.

However, one thing Photoshop doesn't allow is setting different ruler units for different documents. It's a global setting. So, if you're working on a web design project (where pixels might be preferred) and a print project (where inches or centimeters might be more appropriate) simultaneously, you'll need to switch back and forth as needed.