One of my dealers asked for some help on this order that they where trying to get. It is creating a ruler. I have been asked about this a couple of times so let us make the file up and show you how to do it.
Here is the File I got
Here is the file that I got from the dealer. The overall plate is 6.25 inches in length and 3 inches tall. The spacing between the small graduations is .5 inches. The spacing between the longer graduations is 2 inches. The height of the tall graduation is 2 inches. The height of the small graduation is 1 inch. The distance from the first to the last graduation is 6 inches. Thus we need a border of .250 divided by 2 which is .125 or an 1/8 inch.
Drop in Some Guidelines
I have dropped in some guidelines to aid in the visual setup of the ruler. I have a vertical guideline at 1 inch (1) and 7 inches (2). I also have two horizontal guidelines at 10 (3) and 7 (4). Thus I have a box that is 3 by 6
Click on the Freehand Tool
Select the freehand tool or press the F5 key (1)
Your mouse becomes a Cross hair
Your cursor becomes a cross hair with a small line below (1)
Draw A Straight Line
Click once and while holding down the ctrl key on your keyboard drag down . This creates an ortho line.
Make your line 2 inches
We need to create our big line. It has to be 2 inches in height so select it and in the property bar make it 2 inches (2).
Select the Position Command
Got to ARRANGE (1) | TRANSFORMATION (2) | POSITION (3).
Position the Line
In the position tab enter in the following values. The height position is 1 inch (1). The Vertical Position is 7 (2). The Relative Position is unchecked (3). The origin position is the check mark at the bottom of the selection handles (4). Click Apply to move the line.
Our line is at the Proper Position
You can see that my line is at 1 inch and 7 inches which is the edge of my 3 by 6 inch box.
Create 3 Duplicates
Select Relative Position (1). We want to have a 2 inch spacing so our horizontal duplicate spacing is 2 inches (2). Click apply 3 times to create 3 copies. Note in X4 or less click on the Apply to Duplicate 3 times. In the above example you could have typed in 3 copies and than pressed Apply once.
I now have four lines
I now have four lines at the 1 inch mark the (1) the 3 inch mark (2) the 5 inch mark (3) and the 7 inch mark (4).
Now create a 1 inch line
Using the Freehand tool create a line that is 1 inch in height (1). I have typed in 1 in the height to make it exact.
Position the Line
Now we are going to position the 1 inch line. With the position docker open make sure that the Relative Position is unchecked (1). Your origin is the bottom (2). The Horizontal position is 1.5 (.5 of an inch away from the large line) (3). The Vertical position is 7 inches (4). Click the Apply button.
Our Line is Positioned
Our line is now positioned (1). It is at the 1.5 inch mark
Create 2 Duplicates
Check the Relative Position (1). Set your horizontal to .5 of and inch (2). Set the Vertical to 0 (3). Make our copies as 1 or 2 (4) and than click Apply (5).
Our 3 Lines
We have created 3 small lines. Now the next problem is our 4th line will be on top of the big red line. You have two choices here. 1 is to click apply and keep going and create a line on top of the red line and than go back and delete that line or you can change the Horizontal Value to 1 inch and click apply once change the value back to .5 create the next two and than repeat. In this case I just went back and deleted the two lines that where on top of the red 2 inch lines.
Here is the Completed Lines
Here are the complete lines. Now all I have to do is to add in the box.
Select the Rectangle Tool
Select the Rectangle Tool or press F6 (1).
Bring your Cursor out to the Page
Your cursor will turn into a plus symbol and a box (1).
Draw the Box
Draw the Box. Do not worry about the size we can resize after
Resize the Box
Resize the Rectangle to 6.25 (1) by 3 (2).
Set up the Position
First uncheck the Relative Position (1). Next make your origin the bottom left hand corner (2). Next make your Horizontal Value .875 (1 inch minus the .125 of an inch) (3) and the Vertical 7 (4). Your copies are 0 (5). Than click apply.
Finished
Here is our finished ruler. Note: If you want to have thin lines than make the lines hairline so you can vector them on the laser. If you want thicker lines set the width so that they raster.
