Hide Guides in Photoshop: 3 Quick Ways

To hide guides in Photoshop, press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Cmd+H (Mac) to hide all extras including guides, or use View > Show > Guides to toggle just the guides. You can also press Ctrl+; (Windows) or Cmd+; (Mac) as a direct shortcut for showing/hiding guides only. These methods work in every recent version of Photoshop, from CS6 through the latest Creative Cloud releases.

Why Hide Guides in Photoshop?

Guides are the blue (or cyan) non-printing lines you drag out from the rulers to align layers, text, and shapes. They are essential for precise layout work, but they can clutter your canvas when you want to preview your design without visual distractions. Hiding guides lets you see your artwork as it will actually appear to viewers—without the blue lines—while keeping the guides intact for when you need them again. This is especially useful before exporting, presenting, or showing a client a clean preview.

The Three Main Methods to Hide Guides

There are three reliable ways to hide guides, each suited to different situations. All of them are reversible—your guides are never deleted, just hidden.

• Keyboard shortcut (guides only): Press Ctrl+; (Windows) or Cmd+; (Mac). This toggles the visibility of guides on and off without affecting other interface elements like grids or smart guides.
• Keyboard shortcut (all extras): Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Cmd+H (Mac). This hides guides, grids, smart guides, selection edges, and target paths all at once. Press the same shortcut again to bring them all back.
• Menu command: Go to View > Show > Guides. A checkmark next to “Guides” means they are visible. Click it to remove the checkmark and hide them. This is the most explicit method and is easy to remember.

What About Smart Guides and Grids?

Smart guides are the pink or magenta lines that appear temporarily when you are moving an object and it aligns with another element. They are separate from regular guides. To hide smart guides only, go to View > Show > Smart Guides and uncheck it. The grid is also a separate overlay; toggle it via View > Show > Grid or with the shortcut Ctrl+’ (Windows) / Cmd+’ (Mac). If you use the Ctrl+H shortcut, it will hide all of these at once, which is handy for a full clean view.

How to Permanently Delete Guides (Not Just Hide)

If you no longer need certain guides, you can remove them permanently. To delete a single guide, make sure guides are visible, then use the Move Tool (V) and click on the guide—your cursor will change to a double-arrow—then drag it back onto the ruler (horizontal guide up to the top ruler, vertical guide left to the side ruler) and release. To clear all guides at once, go to View > Clear Guides. This action cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z in older versions, but in recent versions (Photoshop CC 2019 and later) you can undo it with Ctrl+Z. If you only want to hide them temporarily, use the toggle methods above instead of deleting.

Common Problems and Fixes

One frequent issue is that the Ctrl+H shortcut hides more than just guides—it also hides selection edges, which can be confusing if you are trying to see a selection. If you only want to hide guides, use Ctrl+; instead. Another issue: after hiding guides, you might still see blue lines when you export or print. That happens if the guides are actually set to print—unlikely, but check File > Print and look for “Print Guides” in the output settings. Also, if guides appear as a different color (like red or green), you may have changed them in Preferences > Guides, Grid & Slices. The hiding methods work regardless of color.

Why Can’t I See My Guides Even When They’re “On”?

If you have guides enabled but they are not visible, the most likely cause is that they are outside the current zoom level or you are in a full-screen preview mode. Press F to cycle through screen modes; in “Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar” or “Full Screen Mode,” guides may be hidden. Press Ctrl+0 (Windows) or Cmd+0 (Mac) to fit the canvas to your screen and see if they appear. Another possibility: you accidentally hid the rulers. Guides can only be created from rulers, so if rulers are hidden (View > Rulers), you cannot drag new guides, but existing ones should still show.

Hiding Guides vs. Locking Guides

Hiding guides and locking guides serve different purposes. Hiding makes them invisible but still active—they will still snap objects to them, which can be annoying if you want to move something freely. Locking guides (View > Lock Guides, or Ctrl+Alt+; / Cmd+Opt+;) prevents you from accidentally moving or deleting them, but they remain visible. If you want to temporarily disable snapping while keeping guides visible, go to View > Snap and uncheck it. For a completely clean canvas without any snapping interference, hide the guides and disable snapping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does hiding guides delete them?

No, hiding guides using any of the methods above only makes them invisible. They are still part of the document and will reappear when you toggle them back on. To permanently remove them, you must drag them back to the ruler or use View > Clear Guides.

Why does Ctrl+H not work in Photoshop?

Ctrl+H is the default shortcut for “Show Extras,” but it can be changed or disabled. Check your keyboard shortcuts by going to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows) or Photoshop > Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac), and look under the “View” menu for “Show Extras.” If it is unassigned, you can set it again. Also, make sure you are not in a text editing mode (like typing in a text box) where shortcuts are captured by the text field.

Can I hide guides only for export?

Yes. When you use File > Export > Export As or Save As, guides are never included in the exported file by default. They are non-printing elements. However, if you use the legacy “Save for Web” dialog, guides do not appear either. So you generally do not need to hide guides before exporting—they will not show up in the final image.

How do I show guides again after hiding them?

Simply press the same shortcut you used to hide them. If you used Ctrl+H, press it again to show all extras. If you used Ctrl+;, press it again to show guides. Or go to View > Show > Guides and check the box.

Are guides visible in printed output?

No, guides are non-printing by default. They will never appear on paper or in exported image files. If you see lines in your print that look like guides, they are likely part of your artwork or a grid that you accidentally left visible. Check your layers and the View menu to ensure Grid is unchecked.

What is the difference between guides and grid?

Guides are individual lines you place manually, while the grid is a uniform pattern of lines covering the entire canvas. You can toggle them independently: View > Show > Guides for guides, and View > Show > Grid for the grid. The shortcut Ctrl+’ toggles the grid, while Ctrl+; toggles guides.

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