Opacity icon

Points vs Pixels

In many places where you can enter values in Opacity, you have the option to enter a number in points or pixels. This makes a difference for resolutions other than 1x. You can tell that a number's units can be changed if the "pt" or "px" after the number is black (if it is gray then it can't be changed). Click on the black "pt" or "px" to toggle between points and pixels. If a number's units are pixels (such as 3px), that property will be that number at all resolutions. If a number's units are points (such as 4pt), the number of pixels will be different at different resolutions (ie 4 pixels at 1x, 8pixels at 2x, etc.).

Most of the time, points are more useful, since the value will then scale along with the resolution. Using pixels can be used when you want to achieve a specific effect, like making a stroke that is 1 pixel at all resolutions.

Pt vs Px at 1x

Pt vs Px at 4x

Related Topics

Resolution Independence