[cstrahan]

If I understand what you’re referring to, then I suspect you’re mistaken about the names you’re referring to.

I presume you’re talking about a feature like this: https://tagboard.com/product/guides-and-remote-refresh-capab...

In page layout software, the thin UI elements bordering the left side and top side of the page, with the little tick marks, is called a ruler. The tick marks on the ruler are called rules (just like the rules on a physical ruler used for measuring things). When you click/drag on the ruler elements, you create guides (or guidelines).

I’ve never seen “ruler guides” verbatim, but I would take that to be shorthand for “guides one could create using the ruler” (which would be a mouthful) to disambiguate the word “guide” when there isn’t sufficient context for the reader to likely understand what was meant.

The guides themselves are not rulers.

[rerdavies]

"ruler guide" - One of those English noun chains that my translators hate so much. Because in most other languages you actually do have to say "the guide of the ruler" or some comparably awkward mouthful.