Precision tips: getting from 99 to 100
October 5, 2026
The last one percent of a shape is a different game from the first ninety-nine. Here is what the controls do up close and how to use them.
Fine mode slows everything down
Once the match passes about 98%, every control eases from one-to-one down to a quarter speed by 99.8%, and the rulers show a FINE tag. The gain depends only on how close you are, never on how fast you move, so the same finger movement always does the same thing. On a phone a pinch is slowed much further, because a fingertip's wobble is a far bigger angle than the same wobble on a ruler.
Fix rotation first, then size, then position
Rotation errors look like position errors. If one side of the shape overlaps and the opposite side falls short, you are probably turned a degree or two, not off-centre. Match the longest edge of the outline first with the Rotate ruler, then bring the size in until the edges run parallel, and only then slide the shape into place.
The outline shows through
Where the dashed outline runs under the shape's ink, its dashes are drawn over the ink in white. That tells you which side of your edge the target is on when the two lines are nearly touching, which is exactly when it is hardest to see.
On a keyboard
Arrows nudge one pixel, Q and E rotate half a degree, plus and minus change size by 0.3%. Shift makes each step ten times larger, which is quicker than the mouse for the first rough alignment. Space banks. Wheel ticks closer than 400 milliseconds together count as one move, so scroll in deliberate single clicks when you are in fine mode.
On a phone
Drag with one finger to move and use the two rulers for rotation and size. They are tapes that move with your finger, and in fine mode they zoom in to show single degrees and single percent. For the very last step, tap the left or right edge of a ruler: each tap is one tick, the same as one key press on a desktop.
A pinch does one job at a time. Twist and it only rotates, spread and it only resizes, slide and it only moves, decided by whichever you do first. Pinch beside the shape rather than on it, and watch the lens in the top corner: it magnifies the corner that is farthest from home, so you can see the gap your fingers would otherwise cover.
Once your hands are steady, the harder question is when to stop.