How to turn on the grid in Photoshop on Mac: step by step for Photoshop 27.11

The shortcut: Command and the apostrophe

The fastest way to turn on the grid in Photoshop on Mac is ⌘ ', which means Command and the apostrophe key. It works as a toggle. Press it once and the grid appears over the canvas. Press it again and the grid goes away. You do not need a menu or a dialog for this. On a standard US keyboard, the apostrophe sits next to the Return key, to the right of the semicolon.

The shortcut is worth learning because it is one key combination, while the menu route takes three clicks. Windows uses Ctrl and the same apostrophe key, so the habit carries over if you move between a Mac and a PC. Laptop keyboards and non-US layouts can put the apostrophe in a different place. If you cannot find it, use the menu route below instead.

Use the View menu when you forget the shortcut

Shortcuts slip away if you open Photoshop once a month. The menu is always there. Click View in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Point to Show, then click Grid. When the grid is on, a check mark sits beside Grid. Click Grid again to remove the check mark and hide the grid. Read the check mark each time, because it is the clearest sign of the current state.

Menu names can shift between releases, so trust your own screen. This page covers Photoshop 27.11. CG Channel reported that Adobe released it on October 6, 2026. CG Channel's report mentions no changes to the View menu, grids or guides in this release.

Grid commands at a glance

Check that the grid is really visible

A grid that does not show is usually a settings issue or a zoom issue, not a broken feature. Start with the check mark in View > Show > Grid. If the check mark is there and you still see nothing, the grid color may blend into your image.

Next, check the document itself. The grid draws over the open canvas, so with no document open the shortcut has nothing to draw on. Click the document window once so Photoshop is the active app. Then press the shortcut again. Keyboard focus can sit in a panel, and a shortcut pressed there may not reach the canvas.

Set grid spacing, subdivisions and color

The grid settings live in one dialog called Guides, Grid & Slices. On a Mac you reach it through Photoshop > Settings. Older guides say Photoshop > Preferences. The sources behind this page disagree on that top menu name, so use whichever name your build shows. Look for the Guides, Grid & Slices page under either one.

Two fields shape the grid most. Gridline every sets the distance between the main grid lines. Subdivisions sets how many smaller cells sit inside each main line. Change Gridline every first, so the spacing fits your layout. Then adjust Subdivisions to add finer cells where you need them. Click OK to apply the changes.

Color is the third setting to check. Pick a grid color that contrasts with your artwork. Dark lines suit light images, and light lines suit dark ones. Changing the color is often the fix when people think the grid is missing.

Worked example: lining up a card layout

Say you are laying out a row of product cards for a shop page. You want the cards to sit evenly on a grid. Open the document, press ⌘ ' so the lines appear, and check the spacing. If the cards drift off the lines, open Guides, Grid & Slices and set Gridline every to match your card width. Add subdivisions only if you need a finer guide for text.

Once the lines match, hide the grid with the same shortcut. Lines can distract you when you judge color or type. Turn the grid back on whenever you need to check alignment again. Once the shortcut is second nature, this loop takes only a few seconds.

Pixel grid: a separate tool for close work

The pixel grid is a separate item. It sits in View > Show > Pixel Grid, and it marks the edges between individual pixels. It appears only when you zoom in very far. A PhotoshopBuzz example shows it at 1600% zoom.

Use the pixel grid for pixel-level edits, such as cleaning up an icon edge or checking anti-aliasing. Use the regular grid for layout, alignment and spacing. People often mix the two up. Then they think the command is broken, because nothing shows at normal zoom.

Common mistakes that hide the grid

• Pressing the shortcut twice without noticing. The first press turns the grid on, and the second hides it again.
• Zooming to the wrong level. The regular grid shows at normal zoom, while the pixel grid needs high zoom.
• Choosing Pixel Grid when you wanted Grid. The two sit next to each other in the Show submenu.
• A grid color that matches the image. Change the color in the grid settings.
• Looking for the grid in the Photoshop web app. The web app is not the desktop app this page covers.

View > Extras is worth a look too. Forum threads from 2017 to 2023 describe it as a switch that can hide guides and grids. This page could not confirm that behavior for Photoshop 27.11, so treat it as a lead. Check the View menu for an Extras item if nothing else works.

Which Photoshop version and macOS you need

The steps on this page match Photoshop 27.11, which needs macOS 14.0 or later. CG Channel lists that requirement in its release report, along with Windows 10 or later for the Windows build. If your Mac runs an older macOS, the update may not be offered, so check your system version first.

To see your Photoshop version, choose Photoshop > About Photoshop. The guide to checking your Photoshop version explains how the year and number formats fit together. That helps when you compare tutorials from different years.

The Photoshop web app works differently

This guide covers the desktop app on a Mac. The Photoshop web app runs in a browser and may use different menus. No source used for this page confirms grid steps for the web app, so do not assume the desktop shortcut works there. Check the web app's own help before you follow these steps in a browser tab.

When saved preferences are the problem

If the grid stays hidden after you check the menu, the shortcut, the zoom and the color, saved preferences may be the cause. Resetting preferences clears them, so back up anything you care about first. The reset guide for Photoshop on Mac covers two methods and says which one fits which version.

A quick checklist for next time

1. Open a document so the canvas is active.
2. Press ⌘ ' to turn the grid on, then press it again to turn it off.
3. If nothing shows, look for a check mark at View > Show > Grid.
4. Change the grid color if the lines blend into your artwork.
5. Use View > Show > Pixel Grid only when you zoom in very far.

Where to go next

Most people turn the grid on to line something up, so the next step depends on the task. If you are resizing a file for a new layout, read how to resize an image in Photoshop on Mac. If you are trimming to a frame, see how to crop an image in Photoshop on Mac.

For type that sits on the grid, how to add text in Photoshop on Mac covers the text tool step by step. Windows colleagues can use Ctrl and the apostrophe key for the same toggle, so share the shortcut with them.

Where the facts on this page come from

The shortcut, the menu route and the pixel grid come from Photoshop Training Channel and PhotoshopBuzz. The release date and the macOS and Windows requirements come from CG Channel. Adobe's own help pages could not be checked for this page, so the Mac steps rest on third-party tutorials. If your menus differ from this page, trust the menu on your screen.