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DigitalChickster
DigitalChickster
Inspiring
January 22, 2019
Answered

Change units from points to inches won't "stick"

  • January 22, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 38836 views

I just updated from Illustrator 2018 to 2019. Everything is working fine... except I want to change "General" units from points to inches. It does not remain in inches. The next time I open a file, it's back to points. Any ideas? I'm on a Mac, by the way. Thanks so much!

julie

      Correct answer Monika Gause

      Right-click the ruler and select the unit from the menu.

      4 replies

      I
      iant3810619
      Participant
      May 24, 2023

      Who in the hell even uses points these days?? The few would probably use indesign anyway. I don't see why they haven't changed it to in or px. Its not 1987 anymore adobe...

       

        I
        iant3810619
        Participant
        May 24, 2023

        And I'm pretty sure the "designer" who put the photo on the web didn't "set it up" using points... The image would go through the web and use pixels...

         

        S
        shotz
        Participant
        July 14, 2021

        File/document setup - units 

          Me-too-Zee
          Me-too-Zee
          Participating Frequently
          January 30, 2020

          This is very frustrating. If I am understanding this when I import a document from another designer I can not change the units?

          This seems to be the case: I went to preferences - Units and the ruler did not change. That seems very broken and yes I agree this has been this way for far too long.

          Monika Gause
          Community Expert
          Monika GauseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
          Community Expert
          January 30, 2020

          Right-click the ruler and select the unit from the menu.

            A
            andrewk26695853
            Participant
            March 30, 2020

            This worked for me, even when changing the units in my preferences did not (not even for the document I was working in). Thanks!

            Ton Frederiks
            Community Expert
            Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            January 22, 2019

            The units you set in Preferences > Units > General are only used for documents that you open that do not have a unit specified, like an image.

            The document that you open determines the Unit settings.

            For new documents that means they will use the Units specified in the New Document Profile.

            DigitalChickster
            DigitalChicksterAuthor
            Inspiring
            January 22, 2019

            Really? That's so weird. I've been doing these same charts for many, many years. They are generated online. I've always had them open with inches. Every time I've updated Illustrator, I set the units to inches and it always shows up that way. So is this a new thing?

              DigitalChickster
              DigitalChicksterAuthor
              Inspiring
              January 22, 2019

              OK, so I see where when I create a new document I can choose inches at that point. I am thinking that's the trick. Thanks so much for your help!

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