diff --git a/libs/canvas/canvas/ruler.h b/libs/canvas/canvas/ruler.h
index 59e5c48173..ec1656e1fd 100644
--- a/libs/canvas/canvas/ruler.h
+++ b/libs/canvas/canvas/ruler.h
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ public:
 	void set_range (int64_t lower, int64_t upper);
 	void set_font_description (Pango::FontDescription);
 	void set_second_font_description (Pango::FontDescription);
-	void set_metric (const Metric&);
+	void set_metric (const Metric *);
 
 	void render (Rect const & area, Cairo::RefPtr<Cairo::Context>) const;
 
diff --git a/libs/canvas/ruler.cc b/libs/canvas/ruler.cc
index e337ff9a86..98e51a3705 100644
--- a/libs/canvas/ruler.cc
+++ b/libs/canvas/ruler.cc
@@ -255,9 +255,9 @@ Ruler::set_divide_colors (Gtkmm2ext::Color t, Gtkmm2ext::Color b)
 }
 
 void
-Ruler::set_metric (const Metric& m)
+Ruler::set_metric (const Metric*  m)
 {
-        _metric = &m;
+        _metric = m;
         _need_marks = true;
         redraw ();
 }