• Layers
• Guides
• Rulers

Layers

If you don't see them already, go to – Window - Layers (F7).

Changing Layers Panel Options

You can change the icon size (12-100 px) so your Layer icons will be bigger.

Click and hold the right corner of the Layers Panel to open the Layers Panel Menu and then choose Panel Options at the bottom (see below):

The Layers Panel Options dialog box will then open. Choose Other and specify your new icon image size (see below):

Your Layer icons will now be the new size you specified (see below):

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Viewing a Layer's Elements

You can click the triangle next to a Layer icon (see below) to open up all its elements – these are called Paths and/or Groups:

Paths

The very basic element of Illustrator is called a Path.

Groups

A combination of Paths – they also have triangles that you can click to see their Path layers

Changing the names of Layers, Paths and Groups

Double-click the name you want to change (see below):

A dialog box opens and you name it what you want (see below):

Selected Layers

When a Layer is selected, initially a little blue box appears (see below):

Remember: This box will change color if you change the color of the layer in the Layer Options dialog, but if a box is present (no matter the color) – the layer is selected.

Guides – the snapping lines that help align objects

• Guides don’t print.
• Holding a Guide next to any edge of the pasteboard starts auto-scrolling.

Locking Guides

If you lock your Guides by clicking in the Layers Panel (see below), they will no longer snap. Instead go to View - Guides - Lock Guides (Option-Command-;) to lock them down and retain their snapping:

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Finding Invisible Guides

Go to View - Guides - Show Guides (Command - ;) (⌘;)

Creating Perpendicular Guides

Make certain Rulers are visible, go to View - Show Rulers (Command-R).

• Click (within the horizontal or vertical Rulers bars) – Hold and Drag a Guide to the position you want.
• Option toggles your Guides to either horizontal or vertical.
• Holding Shift snaps your Guides from one Ruler increment to the next.

Creating Custom Guides

Turn off Smart Guides (Command-U) – or go to View - Smart Guides and un-check it.

• Draw the Guide shape you want – rectangle, circle, etc. Then select it and make it a Guide by going to View - Guides - Make Guide (Command-5).
• Click away from it and it becomes a Guide.

Deleting Guides

Drag the Guide layer into the Layers Panel trash.
– or –
Go to View - Guides - Lock Guides (Option-Command-;) to unlock (if locked) and select the Guide and then Delete or Cut (Command-X).

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Selecting All Your Guides and Putting Them into One Layer

If your Guides have different attributes and/or are on different layers, do the following:

View - Guides - Clear Guides
Edit - Undo Clear Guides (Command-Z)

They will all then re-appear and all Guides will be selected in all the Layers that have Guides inside them. You can tell they are selected because the little box appears on each Guide layer in the Layers Panel. (Do not click inside your pasteboard/artboards while doing this or you’ll de-select your group selection of Guides.)

If you then collapse any open layers that have selected Guides inside, a larger box will appear on the right of the layer.

Now, create a layer using the New Layer button on the bottom of the Layers Panel (see below):

If you want, you can also hold Option while clicking the New Layer button to open the Layer Options dialog box and name it Guides and change its layer color (see below):

Drag the little box (or all the little boxes) to your new Guides layer (see below):

The Guides will now all be in your new layer (see below):

Changing Ruler Alignment

If they're not visible, go to View - Show Rulers (Command-R).

By default, Rulers are aligned somewhere to the bottom left. Drag from the white box intersection in the upper left corner of the two Rulers (see below) to where you want the Rulers to be aligned on your Pasteboard:

Artboard Rulers

• Rulers are specific to each artboard. Their alignment cannot be changed.
• View - Show Artboard Rulers (Option-Command-R)

Any questions?

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