Article Edit Discuss

Use Grids in Adobe InDesign CS6

Edited by Freya, VisiHow, Eng, Visihow Admin

3 Parts:

Steps

Video: Use Grids in Adobe InDesign CS6

Comments

You're watching VisiHow. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to use grids in Adobe InDesign CS6 in Windows 7.

Use grids on Adobe InDesign CS6.mp4-canvas269 561892.jpg

Steps

1
To begin, you should open Adobe InDesign CS6 either from your desktop or by coming down to the bottom-left corner and clicking the Windows icon
.
Clicking this will bring up a list of your recently used programs. You might see "Adobe InDesign" on the list. It has a pink-and-purple icon with the letters "ID" on it.

Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
2
Otherwise, click the search bar at the bottom of the screen and type "Adobe InDesign"
.

Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
3
Then, click "Adobe InDesign CS6"
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
4
Click "File" on the bar at the top-left of the window
.

Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
5
Move the cursor to "New" and click "Document..."
.
Alternatively, you could click "Open...". This will create a new document. You can also do this with the shortcut "Ctrl" + "N". For more information, refer to our tutorials on how to create a new document and on how to open an existing document.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
6
Click the "Page Size" drop-down menu
.

Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
7
Let's click "A3"
.
However, you are free to select your own settings.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
8
If you like, you can add the "Number" value of "Columns"
.
Let's set it to 3 by clicking the up arrow.

Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
9
You can also edit the "Gutter" space as well
.
The gutter is the space between the columns.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
10
Then, you can click "OK" to create a new document
.
There are several different colors on the canvas: the purple color is for the columns and the gutter, the pink color is for the margins, the black color is for the page, and the red color is the bleed area. The bleed area is the edge of the page beyond the margins that can be potentially cut off when printing. You can also use it to ensure that the image comes off the page when creating a book cover, for example. Let's start to add different grids.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
11
Next, click "Layers"
.
It's on the right-hand side of the window.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
12
Then, click the button to add a new layer
.
The button is located at the bottom of the "Layer" tab.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
13
After that, click "Layout" at the top of the window
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
14
Then, click "Create Guides..."
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
15
Click the arrow buttons to select the "Number" values of "Rows" and "Columns"
.
You can also enter the numbers.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
16
You can also add "Gutter" values as well
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
17
Next, click either "Margin" or "Page"
.
This will fit the grid within the margins or the page.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
18
Then, click "OK" to apply the guides to the page
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
19
If you want, you can switch the margins off
.
That is why a new layer has been used. You can do it by clicking on the eye icon next to the name of the layer on which you're working. The gutter space, which is the thin area between the columns, is used in correspondence with the imported text frame. The gutter helps to keep the image uniform and less crowded. Generally, you snap the imported image to the upper-left corner. Then, use the gutters to balance the proportions of the text area.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
20
Now, click "View" in the top menu
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
21
Then, move the cursor to "Grids & Guides"
.
You will see a number of options that you can check or uncheck.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
22
Check "Show Baseline Grid"
.
The document will not look different. If you import images and text, you may get some extra visual options. Be cautious not to overload the page, or it may end up too confusing. If you keep adding layers with grids and gutters (more squares), then, theoretically, that will give you more flexibility in terms of aligning your text and images. At the same time, you risk being confused by the amount of grids, especially if you are new to InDesign. Try to keep it along the lines of what you see in the video.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
23
Click "View" in the top menu
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
24
Move the cursor to "Grids & Guides"
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
25
Check the "Show Document Grid" option
.
This creates the graph-paper effect across your workspace.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
26
Click the eye icon to hide "Layer 2" with guides
.
It might be overwhelming if you are using InDesign for a magazine or a book, working with text and images primarily. The graph paper may be useful for creating diagrams.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
27
If you want to come back to your previous version of the document, click "View"
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
28
Move the cursor to "Grids & Guides"
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
29
Check "Hide Document Grid"
.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help
30
You can click the eye icon to show "Layer 2" again
.
This is the recommended setting. Try to keep everything quite simple. It is recommended to use some kind of grid to see proportions and if the things are lined up properly.
Was this step helpful? Yes | No| I need help

This concludes our tutorial showing you how to use grids in Adobe InDesign CS6 in Windows 7. If you have any questions or comments regarding this video or the program used, then just add them to the comment section below. Thank you for choosing VisiHow!