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John Mensinger
Community Expert
John MensingerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 20, 2017
Answered

Units preference won't stick in Illustrator 2018

  • October 20, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 17372 views

I use Inches as my "General" unit of measure, but in the new 2018 version (running under Win 7), it doesn't stick.

I'm pretty sure all my other preference settings are sticking...it's just Units that won't take. On every launch or New Document, it reverts to Points.

I've tried all the combinations, (prefs dump/reset, close/relaunch, reboot, set with document/no document open, set at the rulers, etc., etc,. etc.), I can think of short of uninstall/reinstall...

Anyone else see this?

    Correct answer Ton Frederiks

    John thanks! I thought I was going to go crazy over this one. I can't tell you how many hours I lost searching this, deleting preferences, and pulling my hair out.

    I think you are absolutely right—no program should work this way. If you set units to inches (like I did), and then open the New Document dialog, the units in that dialog should be inches. What the hell is the point of having a preference for units otherwise?

    Anyway thanks again.


    I don't think that the Units in the Preferences should change when a New Document with a different Unit setting is created.

    But that's the way it has worked for a very long time (I can only check as long ago as version CS4).

    The Preference setting for units is only used when a non native document is opened that does not have a unit setting: image files like jpeg or a pdf wiithout Illustrator editing capabilities.

    2 replies

    redhenmcconnell
    redhenmcconnell
    Participant
    April 29, 2025

    I just had this same issue and fixed it by right clicking on my rulers, which were set to points by the person who originated my document. Right there, you can change to ruler to inches (or pixels, picas, meters, etc.). I chose inches and when I drew a box that previously measured in points, now it measures in inches.

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 20, 2017

    If you did not get rid of any preference folders left over from your previous version of Illustrator you should do so. I've seen several instances in the last few days where trashing old preference files got rid of certain problems that had appeared to be bugs.

    To trash preferences:

    For Macintosh Users: With Illustrator closed launch a Finder Window in column view and click on your home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the following two files and delete them: “Adobe Illustrator <Version #> Settings” (earlier versions of Illustrator might just say “Adobe Illustrator”) and “com.adobe.Illustrator.plist”. When Illustrator is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

    For Windows Users: On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [version number]\ Settings\<Language>. Make sure that Illustrator is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create  new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

    After you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, it is a really good idea to create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

      John Mensinger
      Community Expert
      John MensingerCommunity ExpertAuthor
      Community Expert
      October 20, 2017

      Thanks Bill. I had already done that, but working through it again, I found it was simpler (and I was dumber) than I thought.

      I would have expected (rightly so, I think), that setting my General Units to Inches in Preferences would override or dictate all downstream choices of units, but the New Document dialog has its own Units menu which defaults to Points regardless of the setting in Preferences. To make matters worse, if you (like I did) miss that and unwittingly accept the New Document defaults, it overrides your entry in Preferences, changing it to match the setting you accepted in the New Document dialog.

      So, my difficulty was due to a general lack of experience with the application in its default state, more than anything else. Once I set a New Document's Units to Inches, the identical Preferences entry stuck.

      All that said, I'd say the way it works is a design mistake. Nothing should be able to override your entry in Preferences. Indeed, it should be the reverse, with your Preferences entry inherited downstream, rather than overridden upstream. For all I know, it's always been this way and it took me years to trip over it.

        Bill Silbert
        Community Expert
        Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        October 20, 2017

        Glad it worked out.

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