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If Photoshop’s rulers are missing, select View > Rulers. If the rulers show but guide lines do not, select View > Show > Guides, then check View > Extras. Guides are separate from rulers, and a document with no guides will still have no lines to display.
These steps apply to Photoshop desktop. Menu wording can vary in older releases; on macOS, current versions use Photoshop > Settings where older versions may say Photoshop > Preferences.
First identify what is missing
| Photoshop feature | What it looks like | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Rulers | Measurement bars along the top and left edges of the document window. | View > Rulers |
| Guides | Placed horizontal or vertical lines over the canvas. | View > Show > Guides; confirm that guides exist in this document. |
| Grid | A repeating pattern across the canvas, rather than individually placed lines. | View > Show > Grid |
| Smart Guides | Temporary alignment cues that appear while you move, create, or arrange objects. | View > Show > Smart Guides, then move or create an object. |
| Extras | A broad display switch that can hide guides, grids, selection edges, paths, and slices. | View > Extras |
Rulers, guides, grids, and Smart Guides have different controls. Enabling the grid will not bring back manually placed guides, and enabling rulers does not create guides. Adobe’s ruler documentation and guide and grid instructions describe these as separate display features.
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Turn the rulers back on
- Open a document and click its window so it is active.
- Select View > Rulers.
- Look for measurement bars along the top and left sides of the document area.
The desktop shortcut is usually Ctrl+R on Windows or Command+R on macOS. Use the menu path if the shortcut has been remapped or does nothing. If View > Rulers is enabled but no rulers are drawn, continue to the display troubleshooting steps below.
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Show existing guides—or create one
To reveal guides already in the document, choose View > Show > Guides. The shortcut is Ctrl+; on Windows or Command+; on macOS. If the command is enabled but the canvas has no guide lines, the document may simply contain no guides.
You can create one in either of these ways:
- Drag from a ruler: Turn on rulers, then drag from the horizontal ruler to make a horizontal guide or from the vertical ruler to make a vertical guide. Hold Shift while dragging to snap the guide to ruler ticks.
- Use the menu: Choose View > Guides > New Guide, select Horizontal or Vertical, enter a position, and confirm. If the dialog offers a color choice, select one with good contrast against your image.
See Adobe’s instructions for creating guides from rulers or the View menu. Guides are workspace aids, not image content; they do not print or appear in an exported image.
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If guides are enabled but still invisible
- Check Extras. Choose View > Extras to ensure the broader overlay display is on. Extras can hide guides and other on-canvas aids together.
- Inspect at a useful zoom. Zoom to about 100% and check the canvas carefully. At some zoom levels, a line can be hard to distinguish from image detail.
- Check guide contrast. On Windows, open Edit > Preferences > Guides, Grid, & Slices. On macOS, open Photoshop > Settings > Guides, Grid, & Slices (older versions may say Preferences). Try a guide color and line style that stand out from the image.
- Create a test guide. Add one with View > Guides > New Guide. If the new line appears but older ones do not, the issue may be specific to the existing document or its guides.
- Test another document. Try a new blank file. If guides work there, the problem may be limited to the original document. If they fail in both, look at Photoshop’s workspace, display, or preferences.
Adobe recommends checking guide appearance and inspecting alignment at 100% or using the Info panel for accurate positioning. See its display guidance.
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If you cannot move a visible guide
A locked guide is still visible; locking prevents moving or removing it rather than hiding it. To change that, choose View > Guides > Lock Guides and turn the command off if it is checked or enabled. Then try moving the guide again.
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If Smart Guides are what you expected to see
Choose View > Show > Smart Guides. The shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+; on Windows or Command+Shift+; on macOS. Unlike ordinary guides, Smart Guides are temporary alignment indicators: they generally appear while you create, move, or arrange an object, not as permanent lines on an idle canvas.
Troubleshoot a display problem
If the correct menu commands are enabled and a newly created guide still does not render, try the following in order. These steps move from low-risk interface checks to more disruptive diagnostics.
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- Reset the workspace. Choose Window > Workspace > Essentials (Default), or select Window > Workspace > Reset Essentials if available. This can restore default interface behavior.
- Update Photoshop and your operating system. Install available updates and test again. Updates are a sensible compatibility check, not a guaranteed fix for every ruler or guide issue. Adobe’s general troubleshooting guidance recommends keeping the application and operating system current.
- Test Photoshop with GPU acceleration disabled. On Windows, open Edit > Preferences > Performance; on macOS, open Photoshop > Settings > Performance. Temporarily clear Use Graphics Processor, restart Photoshop, and test the same document. If the problem disappears, the GPU, graphics driver, or GPU-related setting is a strong suspect—not proof of which one is responsible.
- Try advanced GPU settings if needed. Re-enable Use Graphics Processor, open Advanced Settings, and temporarily turn off Use OpenCL and GPU Compositing. Restart and retest. Treat this as diagnosis, not a universal permanent setting: disabling GPU acceleration can slow work or make GPU-dependent features unavailable, including Oil Paint, Perspective Warp, Smooth Brush Resizing, and certain 3D functions. Adobe explains these checks in its GPU and graphics-driver troubleshooting guide.
- Reset preferences only after simpler checks. Preferences can become corrupted, but a reset restores defaults and may remove customized settings. Back up preferences first. A less destructive option is to open Edit > Preferences > General on Windows or Photoshop > Settings > General on macOS, select Reset Preferences On Quit, confirm, then quit and relaunch. Alternatively, close Photoshop and launch it while holding Alt+Ctrl+Shift on Windows or Option+Command+Shift on macOS; confirm the prompt to delete the Photoshop Settings file. See Adobe’s preference-reset instructions.
If the problem occurs only in a remote desktop session or virtual machine, that environment may be relevant: Adobe says GPU use in virtual machines and remote desktop environments is not supported. If you are troubleshooting a local installation, keep to Adobe’s update and driver guidance rather than using third-party driver or system-cleaner utilities.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Windows and macOS menu wording
In current Photoshop desktop releases, Windows commonly puts settings under Edit > Preferences, while macOS uses Photoshop > Settings. Older macOS versions may label the latter Photoshop > Preferences. The main visibility controls remain under View. If a path does not match your screen, check the equivalent preference or settings section for your installed version.
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You do not need to buy anything to fix rulers or guides in an existing Photoshop installation. Start with visibility, guide creation, and workspace checks before considering deeper display or preference troubleshooting.
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