Using guides, grid and rulers
Last updated: October 5, 2026 · 4 minute read
Learn how to set margins and columns with guides, turn on the grid and snapping, and keep guides on one page or across the whole catalog.
Guides and the grid are visible while you work and never appear in the publication or in exports. Guides have two scopes: the page you are on, or the parent, meaning every page. The grid and snapping are separate settings, so you can snap without showing the grid. Margins and the column/row grid are a separate tool: the Page Layout section of the Canvas panel sets them with a few numbers and the lines are computed; the grid here is the pixel grid.
Steps
- 1
Show the rulers
ViewShow rulers
Choose Show rulers from the View menu. The rulers appear along the top and left edges of the canvas and measure from the top left corner of the page.
Choose the ruler unit by right-clicking a ruler or from the box where the two rulers meet: pixels, millimetres or points.
- 2
Pull a guide
EditorRuler
Drag down from the top ruler for a horizontal guide, or right from the left ruler for a vertical one. As soon as you release, a Guide position field opens next to the pointer: type the value in the current unit and press Enter; arithmetic such as 210/2 works too. Esc closes the field without writing, and clicking elsewhere writes and closes it.
Clicking or moving an existing guide opens the same field, and the position is shown next to the pointer while you move it. Double-click a guide to delete it.
- 3
Choose the guide scope
ViewGuides: this page
Choose This Page for local guides or Master (All Pages) for shared guides. Switching scope does not automatically transfer an existing guide. Create common columns and margins in the intended scope.
The Rulers and guides area of the Canvas panel lists the same scopes and offers an action that applies this page's guides to all pages.
- 4
Remove a guide
CanvasRulerGuide
Double-click an unlocked guide to remove it. For all guides, choose the intended scope and use Clear Guides; avoid clearing all guides when you only need to remove one.
- 5
Lock or clear guides
ViewLock guides
Once the layout is settled choose Lock guides and the lines freeze in place. Clear guides removes the lines in the current scope.
- 6
Turn on the pixel grid and snapping
CanvasPixel Grid
Show Grid draws an evenly spaced measuring net on the canvas; Snap to Grid lands blocks on the nearest grid step while you move and resize. The two are independent: you can hide the grid and keep snapping on. For margins and columns use the Page Layout section.
When you need a position off the step, turning snapping off for a moment is faster than nudging the block pixel by pixel.
- 7
Set the canvas background
CanvasCanvas background
Choose the colour of the working surface in the Canvas panel. A light surface makes it easier to see where the page ends in dark designs. Reset to default brings the original colour back.
This preference is stored in your browser; it affects neither the catalog nor the publication.
Options
Guide and grid settings; each one lives both in the View menu and in the Canvas panel.
| Option | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Show rulers | View | Opens the top and left rulers; required before pulling a guide. |
| Guides: this page | View | Keeps the lines on the page you are on. |
| Guides: parent (all pages) | View | Carries the lines across the whole catalog. |
| Lock guides | View | Closes the lines to moving and deleting. |
| Clear guides | View | Removes the lines in the current scope. |
| Apply this page to all pages | Canvas | Copies the page's guide layout to the whole catalog. |
| Show grid | View | Draws a measuring mesh on the canvas. |
| Snap to grid | View | Settles moving and resizing on the grid step. |
| Canvas background | Canvas | Changes the colour of the working surface; the publication is unaffected. |
| Measurement unit | Canvas | Pixels, millimetres or points for the rulers, guide positions and position fields; stored in your browser. |
Result
Guides and the grid stay inside the editor. Build the page structure in the parent scope and every page you add later opens with the same margins.