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Syrax12
Known Participant
March 18, 2016
Answered

Turn off Align to Pixel Grid

  • March 18, 2016
  • 6 replies
  • 73429 views

I have Align to Pixel Grid, Align New Objects to Pixel Grid, and Snap to Grid all disabled, but it keeps snapping to the grid! Any ideas?

Correct answer isa_orianthi

In Illustrator CC 2017, "Align to Pixel Grid" has become part of "Pixel Preview."

To control pixel grid alignment, toggle the icon that looks like three vertically aligned boxes with a magnet, located in the top right of the menu bar (beneath the "Search Adobe Stock" bar).

6 replies

Mya Peel
Participating Frequently
August 22, 2023

I'm using Adobe Illustrator CS6 (version 16, see image 0) and I couldn't find the magnet or the three little dots, but I did find two little boxes, (see image 1,) and when I clicked that, it opened all my alignment tools along the top bar. Once that was opened, I also saw a "transform" word in blue, that could be clicked, (see image 2) and when I clicked it, a drop-down menu opened and I could uncheck the box next to, "align new objects to pixel grid, (see image 3,) and this removes the possibility that it will re-enact the transform... Unless I open another web file (maybe a picture?) somewhere along the way that will re-enact it... This is a stupid added feature that does no real good but screw up your day and make your art all wonky. I thought my computer was hacked and someone was screwing with my art as I was creating it.

Doug A Roberts
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 22, 2023

The magnet icon was added in CC 2017, as some of the earlier posts here describe.

Align to Pixel Grid is pretty useful if you want your objects aligned to the pixel grid. Some people do.

Mya Peel
Participating Frequently
August 22, 2023

And, how does it get activated? (I just don't want to get it activated again.)

ruthl83413302
Participant
May 22, 2019

Do you know if there's a way to make it default to OFF in all new documents?

Ton Frederiks
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 22, 2019

See answer 20.

ruthl83413302
Participant
May 22, 2019

So I have to select a specific file template each time I want to create a new document just to ensure that align to pixel grid is off as default? Does that mean it will open the same size and number of artboards every time? I guess I'd rather automatically click the corner icon every time I start a new project. That's really frustrating.

MSAi
Participating Frequently
April 12, 2018

You know which version of Illustrator rocks? The one that doesn't have knickknacks like this garbage in it. Unclicking the snap icon hasn't removed the functionality. I'm just going to install pre-2017...

MSAi
Participating Frequently
April 12, 2018

FYI ---

Alt+Ctrl+Y

(Pixel Preview)

That dealt with it.

Shouldn't be on by default!

Ton Frederiks
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 12, 2018

Turn off the View > Snap to Pixel option.

It is not On by default unless you choose any of the Web preset documents.

isa_orianthiCorrect answer
Inspiring
February 7, 2017

In Illustrator CC 2017, "Align to Pixel Grid" has become part of "Pixel Preview."

To control pixel grid alignment, toggle the icon that looks like three vertically aligned boxes with a magnet, located in the top right of the menu bar (beneath the "Search Adobe Stock" bar).

Participant
April 19, 2017

After looking around for about 40 minutes and getting more and more confused with all the complicated answers, this actually solved the problem. I knew it couldn't be THAT hard. Thanks!

Doug A Roberts
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 1, 2017

After looking around for about 40 minutes and getting more and more confused with all the complicated answers, this actually solved the problem. I knew it couldn't be THAT hard. Thanks!

be thankful you were born in the CC2017 era. truly we are living in a golden age.

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2016

It's an object based setting. Did you select the objects before disabling it?

Also: do you still copy and paste objects from other files? They keep the setting from other files.

Jacob Bugge
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2016

Syrax,

Is Align New Objects to Pixel Grid in the flyout options completely unticked, not just a - which also counts as ticked?

Maybe Illy has become confused, and it may be time for the list:

If things that should work simply refuse to (all possibilities exhausted (and carefully making sure you are performing (all) the needed things)), you may try the list below.

Sometimes, (certain) things may fail or stop working for no apparent reason. When the (other) possible reasons/cures fail to work, it may be some kind of (temporay or permanent) corruption, or even some inconvenient preference setting(s), which may be cured with something on the following list set up in an attempt to provide a catchall solution for otherwise unsolvable cases. It starts with a few easy and harmless suggestions 1) and 2) for milder cases, and goes on with two alternative ways 3) and 4) of resetting preferences to the defaults (easily but irreversibly and more laboriously but more thoroughly and also reversibly), then follows a list 5) of various other possibilities, and it ends with a full reinstallation 6). If no other suggestions work, or if no other suggestions appear, you may start on the list and decide how far to go and/or which may be relevant.

The following is a general list of things you may try when

A) The issue is not in a specific file,

B) You have a printer correctly installed, connected, and turned on if it is physical printer (you may use Adobe PDF/Acrobat Distiller as the default printer with no need to have a printer turned on, obviously you will need to specify when you actually need to print on paper), and

C) It is not caused by issues with opening a file from external media (see at the bottom).

You may have tried/done some of them already; 1) and 2) are the easy ones for temporary strangenesses, and 3) and 4) are specifically aimed at possibly corrupt/inconvenient preferences); 5) is a list in itself, and 6) is the last resort.

If possible/applicable, you should save current artwork first, of course.

1) Close down Illy and open again;

2) Restart the computer (you may do that up to at least 5 times);

3) Close down Illy and press Ctrl+Alt+Shift/Cmd+Option+Shift during startup (easy but irreversible);

4) Move the folder (follow the link with that name) with Illy closed (more tedious but also more thorough and reversible), for CS3 - CC you may find the folder here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/preference-file-location-illustrator.html

5) Look through and try out the relevant among the Other options (follow the link with that name, Item 7) is a list of usual suspects among other applications that may disturb and confuse Illy, Item 15) applies to CC, CS6, and maybe CS5);

Even more seriously (this may be serious because you may need to restore plugins and whatnot afterwards if you have customized things), you may:

6) A) Uninstall (ticking the box to delete the preferences if applicable), B) run the Cleaner Tool (if you have CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6/CC), and C) reinstall. You may try without step B), but sometimes it is needed, because otherwise things may linger.

http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cscleanertool.html