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A
Anonymous
October 2, 2012
Question

Can you toggle a "Rule-of-thirds" grid on/off in PS?

  • October 2, 2012
  • 5 replies
  • 48761 views

I would like to toggle a "rule-of-thirds" grid on and off while editing an image in PS CS5.1. It would be handy when placing elements into a composite image.

Is this feature available or do I need to create a custom grid. I'm not just referring to the ROT grid in the Crop Tool. Thanks.

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    5 replies

    D
    davthor
    Participant
    December 7, 2014

    In CC when you select crop there is an overlay option that allows you to select different overlays including golden rule, spiral, rule of 3rds, the icon icon like a tic tac toe box

      D
      David Duke
      Inspiring
      March 9, 2014

      I have a quick and dirty way that I break an image into thirds.

      Select the slice tool, and then click-and-drag it across the entire document. Right click inside the slice and select divide slices. Then it is just a matter of entering in the number of divides you want. For thirds, it is simply just 3 horizontal, 3 vertical.

      After that, drag guides to match where the slices are. Usually they snap right into place, unless you have it changed in your preferances.

      Following that, with the slice tool selected you can simply right click and delete slices.

      It takes less than 30 seconds to complete.

        A
        Anonymous
        October 3, 2012

        Thanks everyone. I did a bit of digging and learned how to create a "rule-of-thirds" grid for image editing. Unfortunately, it seems you can only set one grid at a time in PS. If you want another type of grid for a particular image, it will have to be changed.

        Here's how to set up a "Rule-of-Thirds" grid:

        Go to PS Preferences:

        Mac: PHOTOSHOP > PREFERENCES > GUIDES, GRID & SLICES...

        PC: EDIT > PREFERENCES > GUIDES, GRID & SLICES...

        Enter values in "Grid" section as shown below:

        If anyone knows of a way to save multiple grid sizes so they can be invoked on the fly, please feel free to pipe-in. Actions maybe? Thanks.

        Info from S. Woods at Digital Heavens.

        Jeff Arola
        Community Expert
        Jeff ArolaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        October 3, 2012

        You might try these two scripts:

        Golden crop:

        http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&loc=en_us&extid=1875025

        Golden ratio grid:

        http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&loc=en_us&extid=1045114

        A
        Anonymous
        October 3, 2012

        Thanks. The Golden Ratio Grid looks like it will work fine for creating a layer that can be toggled on/off while composing an image.

        I installed it on CS5.1 and it seems to work. (For Mac, put downloaded .jsx file into Applications > Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 > Presets > Scripts) You must restart PS for the script to show up at File > Scripts > Golden Ratio.

        Sure would like to be able to use the other composition guides that are available in Damian Sepczuk's excellent Golden Crop script. Unfortunately, this script is only for cropping and not for composition editing. Not sure if it would be practical to try using this script and then just not cropping.

        The GuideGuide plugin mentioned earlier sounds like it may work. Looks a bit complex so I will have to play with that when I get time.

        Chris Cox
        Chris Cox
        Legend
        October 2, 2012

        Which grid?

        There are a couple possible grids: the crop tool, and grids/guides.

        All of them have options to change the style or hide them.

        A
        Anonymous
        October 2, 2012

        Sounds like there is no generic rule-of-thirds guide to use in PS, other than when using the Crop Tool. Could be a good feature for future versions.

        Not familiar with grids/guides. Would a custom guide have to be set up for each image since size may differ? And then can that particular guide be saved and toggled on and off? Thanks.

        A
        Anonymous
        October 2, 2012

        You may want to try the GuideGuide plugin.

        Silkrooster
        Silkrooster
        Legend
        October 2, 2012

        It wouldn't be very hard to create guides to use for creating the lines, since they accept percentages.

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