How to Show the Ruler in PowerPoint

To show the ruler in PowerPoint, open the View tab and tick Ruler in the Show group. If the box is grayed out, you’re not in Normal view. Click Normal on the same tab first.

Show the ruler in PowerPoint for Windows and Mac

1. Open your presentation.
2. Click the View tab.
3. Make sure Normal view is selected.
4. In the Show group, tick Ruler.

A ruler appears above the slide and another down the left side. Clear the box to hide them.

The ruler isn’t available in every view. In Slide Sorter, for example, the option is grayed out.

Why the ruler starts at 0 in the middle

PowerPoint’s rulers count outward from 0 at the center of the slide, so on a widescreen slide the top ruler runs from about 6.7 inches on the left, through 0, to 6.7 inches on the right. That makes it easy to place two objects the same distance either side of the middle.

When you click inside a text box, the top ruler changes. It then measures that box from its left edge and shows its indents and tab stops, just like Word.

PowerPoint for the web has no ruler

If you’re using PowerPoint in a browser, you won’t find a ruler. Microsoft says rulers and gridlines are only available in desktop PowerPoint. Instead, PowerPoint for the web shows smart guides, the dashed lines that pop up as you drag an object, to help you line things up.

Other ways to place things precisely in the web version:

• Align and distribute: select several objects and use the Arrange options to align their edges or centers, or space them evenly.
• Exact sizes: select a shape or picture and type the height and width on the Shape or Picture tab instead of dragging.
• Open the desktop app: if you have desktop PowerPoint, open the file there for rulers, gridlines and guides.

Gridlines and guides (desktop)

Next to Ruler on the View tab are two more layout helpers:

• Gridlines draw a fixed grid over the slide. On Windows, Shift+F9 toggles them.
• Guides are draggable lines for lining things up. They always start through the center of the slide. On Windows, Alt+F9 toggles them.

Change the ruler units

PowerPoint for Windows takes its units from your computer’s region settings, not from PowerPoint itself:

1. Close PowerPoint.
2. Open Windows Settings, search for measure, and choose Change the way measurements are displayed.
3. In the Region dialog, select Additional settings.
4. On the Numbers tab, set Measurement system to Metric (centimeters) or U.S. (inches).
5. Select OK twice and reopen PowerPoint.

Turn off just the vertical ruler

Go to File > Options > Advanced, scroll to Display, and clear Show vertical ruler.

Measuring real objects

Like Word, PowerPoint’s ruler measures the slide, and it changes size with zoom, so it won’t match a real ruler held against the screen. To measure something physical on your display, use a ruler calibrated to your screen, such as our inch ruler or cm ruler. To work out how big an image will print, try the pixels to inches converter.