In Adobe Illustrator, "ruler lines" are typically referred to as Guides. Hiding or removing these guides helps you visualize your artwork without the alignment lines.
There are a few effective ways to hide or remove guides in Illustrator, making it easy to clean up your workspace.
Methods for Hiding or Removing Guides
The primary method mentioned in the reference, and often the most direct way to temporarily hide specific guides, involves selecting them.
1. Using the Hide Guides Feature (Selecting Lines)
According to the reference, "There are a few ways to hide ruler lines in Illustrator, but the easiest and most efficient way is to use the Hide Lines tool." While there isn't a tool explicitly named "Hide Lines" in Illustrator, the reference seems to describe the process of hiding selected guides.
Here's how this method works in practice, relating to the reference's description of selecting lines:
- Select the Guides: Using the Selection Tool (V), click directly on the guides you wish to hide. You can select multiple guides by holding down Shift while clicking or dragging a marquee selection over them.
- Hide Selected Guides: Once the guides are selected, you can hide them. The reference mentions a "Hide Lines button," which might refer to using menu commands or keyboard shortcuts associated with hiding selected guides. The standard Illustrator command for this is:
- Go to View > Guides > Hide Guides.
- Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut: Cmd + ; (Mac) or Ctrl + ; (Windows). Note: This shortcut typically toggles all guides, but if only specific guides are selected, hiding might apply only to those depending on Illustrator version/settings, though the standard shortcut toggles visibility for all. The reference's description implies a method possibly specific to selected lines which most closely aligns with the "Hide Guides" menu option when guides are selected.
This method is efficient for clearing specific guides from view without deleting them.
2. Using the Free Transform Tool (Temporary Effect)
The reference also states, "Alternatively, you can use the Free Transform tool to hide ruler lines in a more temporary manner." This description is less standard as the Free Transform tool (E) is primarily used for scaling, rotating, shearing, and distorting objects. It doesn't directly interact with guides for hiding purposes in the typical sense.
It's possible the reference is describing a less common interaction or perhaps a misunderstanding of the tool's primary function regarding guides. Free Transform primarily affects selected objects, not guides themselves. Guides can snap to objects being transformed, but the tool itself doesn't have a built-in function to hide guides.
- Practical Insight: In standard Illustrator workflow, the Free Transform tool is not used for hiding guides. The standard approach is via the View menu or shortcuts as described above.
Other Standard Methods for Hiding Guides
While the reference focuses on selecting lines and the Free Transform tool, Illustrator offers more conventional and reliable ways to manage guide visibility:
- Hide All Guides:
- Go to View > Guides > Hide Guides.
- Use the keyboard shortcut: Cmd + ; (Mac) or Ctrl + ; (Windows). This is the most common way to quickly toggle visibility for all guides.
- Clear All Guides: This removes guides permanently, rather than just hiding them.
- Go to View > Guides > Clear Guides. Use this with caution as it deletes all guides in the active artboard or document.
- Lock/Unlock Guides: To prevent guides from being accidentally moved or selected:
- Go to View > Guides > Lock Guides.
Summary Table
| Action | Menu Command | Keyboard Shortcut (Default) | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hide All Guides | View > Guides > Hide | Cmd+; / Ctrl+; | Hides all guides (toggle) |
| Show All Guides | View > Guides > Show | Cmd+; / Ctrl+; | Shows all guides (toggle) |
| Clear All Guides | View > Guides > Clear | None | Permanently deletes all guides |
| Lock Guides | View > Guides > Lock | Cmd+Opt+; / Ctrl+Alt+; | Prevents guides from being moved/selected |
Note: The reference's description of hiding selected lines likely corresponds to the "Hide Guides" command when specific guides are selected, or possibly an older/less common workflow.
In summary, the most common and reliable way to hide what the question calls "ruler lines" (Guides) in Illustrator is using the View > Guides > Hide Guides menu command or its associated shortcut, which toggles the visibility of all guides. While the reference mentions hiding selected lines or using the Free Transform tool, the standard keyboard shortcut is usually the quickest way to hide all guides.
