Rulers in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

Rulers in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac are typically located on the top and left parts of the active slide. Also, by default, they might not be visible at all. However, it is a great idea to make them visible because not only do they provide you with a visual cue about where you are placing slide objects, they also let you use other PowerPoint features like the grid and guides more usable.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to show/hide these rulers in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac:

1. Launch PowerPoint. Typically, the program opens with a new presentation with a blank slide, as shown in Figure 1, below. As you can see, there are no rulers visible by default.
2. 
   Figure 1: Default PowerPoint 2011 interface with no Rulers visible
2. To make the rulers visible, select the View | Ruler menu option, as shown in Figure 2, below.
3. 
   Figure 2: Ruler option selected within View menu
3. This action will turn on the visibility of both horizontal and vertical rulers in the Slide Area, as shown in Figure 3, below. If you want to hide them again, select the View | Ruler menu option to toggle their visibility, as shown in Figure 2, above. If you see a check mark in front of the Ruler option, this indicates that the ruler is active, click it again to remove the check mark, and deactivate it.
4. 
   Figure 3: Rulers made visible
4. If you see only the horizontal ruler and no vertical ruler, as shown in Figure 4, below. You need to make sure that the vertical ruler's visibility has not been turned off.
5. 
   Figure 4: PowerPoint interface with only horizontal Ruler visible
5. To check these preferences, select the PowerPoint | Preferences menu option, as shown in Figure 5, below.
6. 
   Figure 5: Preferences option selected within the PowerPoint menu
6. Doing so opens the PowerPoint Preferences window, as shown in Figure 6, below. Make sure that the View tab is selected. Locate the Vertical ruler, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 6. As you can see, it is currently unchecked, because of which you can't see the vertical ruler.
7. 
   Figure 6: Vertical ruler check box within PowerPoint Preferences window
7. Select the check box, as shown in Figure 7, below, and click the OK button to get back to the slide.
8. 
   Figure 7: Vertical ruler check box selected
9. Now, you will be able to see the vertical ruler, as shown in Figure 7, above.