How to Make a Horizontal Grid in InDesign

In the days before computer page layout, a graphic artist used a straight edge or T-square to align items on a mechanical. It was a tedious job without the benefit of an "undo" key. Adobe's InDesign CS5 comes with a set of tools that allow the designer to create a non-printing grid under text or graphic elements. Horizontal grids guarantee ensuring precision alignment of headlines, body copy and placeholders for graphics.

Instructions

1. Launch InDesign and open a new document by selecting "File," and then "New." Set up your page margins, number of pages and columns and click "OK."

2. Select "Preferences" and then scroll down to "Grids." When working with a structured grid, set up the grid prior to working on the document, as each design may have different grid settings based on the contents you place on the page.

3. Click the "Color" menu to select the color for your grid, and then enter a value in the "Start Field" text box to specify how far down from the top of the page you want the first grid line to appear. Select the "Relative To" pop-up menu to choose "Top of Page" or "Top Margin." Enter a value in the "Increment Every" text field to choose the amount of space between each grid line. Select "View Threshold" and enter a value between "Five" and "4000" to prevent the page's grid from appearing below a certain view percentage. Click "OK" to create the non-printing horizontal grid.

References

• "Adobe InDesign CS5 Bible"; Galen Gruman; 2010