Page layout: margins and grid
Last updated: 12 September 2026 · 6 minute read
Set margins and a column/row grid with a few numbers, start from a preset, override the layout per parent or per page, and snap blocks to those lines.
Page layout replaces dragging guides one by one: you enter margins, column and row counts and spacing, and the line set is computed from them. The lines show only in the editor; they never appear in the publication or in exports. Values are in mm, the same language as the bleed for press output. On a spread the margins read as inside and outside: the inside margin sits at the spine. The pixel grid is a separate tool; it is an evenly spaced measuring net, while page layout is the design grid.
Steps
- 1
Turn on the page layout
CanvasPage LayoutLayout guides
Click an empty spot to open the Canvas panel and switch on Layout guides in the Page Layout section. The margin frame and column lines appear on the canvas. The section edits the catalog default; a line under the switch says which source is in effect.
- 2
Pick a preset
CanvasPage LayoutGrid preset
Choose a starting point from the Grid preset list: Catalog 3×4, Catalog 2×3, Price list, Lookbook, Magazine 12 columns, Datasheet, Brochure 3 panels or Presentation. The choice writes margins, columns and rows in mm for your page size.
As soon as you edit a field the list shows Custom. Your custom values are not lost: try another preset and return to Custom and the earlier values come back.
- 3
Enter margins, columns and rows
CanvasPage LayoutMargins (mm)
Enter the top, bottom, inside and outside margins in mm (in single page view they are labelled left and right). Set the number of columns and rows and the gutter width in the Spacing fields next to them. With rows at 0 only column lines are drawn.
Both edges of every column and row are drawn; the gutter stays empty between the two lines. Catalog 3×4 is a good start for product card grids.
- 4
Adjust the appearance
CanvasPage LayoutColor
Color and opacity set how the lines look; pick a light colour on dark designs. Show hides the lines but keeps snapping; Snap turns only snapping off. The two are independent.
- 5
Set a separate layout for a parent or a page
CanvasPage LayoutSeparate layout for this page
On a page, switching on Separate layout for this page copies the layout in effect to that page, and from then on the fields change only this page. While editing a parent the same switch reads Separate layout for this parent; both faces of the parent share the layout and every page using that parent inherits it. The order is always the same: page, then parent, then catalog.
Changing a layout inherited from a parent on a page does not touch the catalog default; the change is written to that page.
- 6
Snap blocks to the grid
EditorCanvas
With Snap on, margins and column/row lines become snap targets while you move and resize blocks; page edges and your own guides keep working as before. Select several blocks and use Distribute to grid under Align to canvas in the context menu: the blocks are placed one per cell in reading order (top to bottom, left to right); when the cells run out the remaining blocks stay where they are.
A text block keeps its height when distributed, so the text keeps flowing.
- 7
Review the margin warning in preflight
PreflightAllow
With the page layout on, preflight warns when a block that carries text (text, product card, table, table of contents) extends outside the margins: it gets close to the trim in print. Move the block inside the margins, or if it is intentional choose Allow on the row to exempt the block; page numbers and other edge elements are the expected case.
The exemption shows in the block's Transform section and can be reverted there. The warning does not block publishing.
Options
Page layout settings and where they live.
| Option | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Layout guides | Canvas | Turns margins and the grid on. |
| Grid preset | Canvas | Applies one of eight proportional starting points to the page size; Custom restores the previous values. |
| Color and opacity | Canvas | Sets how the lines look. |
| Show | Canvas | Hides the lines but keeps snapping. |
| Snap | Canvas | Turns snapping to margins and column/row lines on or off. |
| Margins (mm) | Canvas | Top, bottom, inside and outside margins. |
| Columns, Rows, Spacing | Canvas | Column and row counts and the gutters between them. |
| Separate layout for this parent / page | Canvas | Opens a layout specific to the parent or page instead of the catalog default. |
| Distribute to grid | Editor | Places the selected blocks into cells in reading order (multiple selection). |
| Allow | Preflight | Exempts a block outside the margins from the check. |
Result
Margins and the grid show in the editor and never in the publication; blocks snap to these lines and preflight reports text outside the margins. When you change the page size the lines are recomputed for the new size; because presets are proportional, the layout keeps its feel.