To "straighten the compass" in Photoshop means to reset the rotation angle of your canvas view, returning it to its default, unrotated state (0 degrees). The compass visual indicator appears when your view is rotated, often unintentionally.
The compass you see in Photoshop is a visual cue that indicates the current rotation angle of your document's view. As mentioned in the reference, this compass appears when you move your fingers in a rotational way on a laptop or when the view is rotated using tools like the Rotate View Tool. Straightening the compass brings your view back to normal, aligned with the standard top, bottom, left, and right edges of your workspace.
Here's how you can straighten the compass (reset the view rotation) in Photoshop:
Methods to Reset View Rotation
There are several ways to quickly straighten your compass and return your canvas view to 0 degrees rotation.
Using the Rotate View Tool
- Select the Rotate View Tool: You can find this tool nested with the Hand Tool in the Tools panel (keyboard shortcut: R).
- Click the Reset View Button: Once the Rotate View Tool is active, look at the Options bar at the top of the screen. You will see a button that says "Reset View". Click this button to instantly snap the view back to 0 degrees rotation and straighten the compass.
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
- A quick way to reset the view using a shortcut is to press Escape (Esc) while the Rotate View Tool (R) is active. This will reset the rotation.
Using the Navigator Panel
- Open the Navigator Panel: If it's not visible, go to
Window > Navigator. - Look for the Rotation Slider/Input: In the Navigator panel, there is a slider or an input field that shows the current rotation angle. You can manually type 0 into this field and press Enter, or double-click the rotation icon next to the field to reset the view to 0 degrees.
Using the View Menu
- Go to the main menu bar at the top.
- Select
View > Rotate Canvas > Reset View. This command will also reset the view rotation to 0 degrees, effectively straightening the compass.
Quick Reset when the Compass is Visible
When the compass is visible on your screen (which happens when the view is rotated), you can often double-click the Rotate View Tool icon in the Tools panel. This action is a shortcut to reset the view rotation.
By using any of these methods, you can easily straighten the compass and continue working with your canvas aligned correctly.
