Help! I typed in the wrong dimensions for my InDesign document!

 May 22, 2014

AKA how to change your document dimensions, column guides and margins in Adobe InDesign CS6.  Beginning a new document file in Adobe InDesign is relatively easy, but what do you do if after you've added content, you need to change the page dimensions or alter the column guides? The following quick procedures will allow you to modify your document layout with relative ease.

Changing document setup in InDesign CS6

To alter the size of your pages for the whole layout, navigate to the 'File' tab and open the 'Document Setup' dialogue. 

Changing Document Setup in InDesign CS6

Adjusting your margin and column guides in InDesign CS6

Automatic layout adjustment settings If you want your text and graphics frames currently present in the document to shift positions with your new margins and column locations, you may need to adjust some settings. To do so, navigate to the 'Layout' tab and click 'Liquid Layout,' which will open a panel. Select 'Liquid Layout Panel' and then choose 'Layout Adjustment'.

Please note that for automated adjustment to be successful, the edges of your existing frames must be close enough to your existing margin and column guides. The snap zone you enter in the layout adjustment settings is your current maximum distance a frame edge can be from the margin or column guides. If the text and graphics frames are not within the snap zone, they will be left for you to manually adjust afterwards. If you do not want InDesign to modify your frames, simply leave the 'Automatic Adjustment' option unchecked in the 'Margins and Columns' dialogue box.

Adjusting your margin and column guides in InDesign CS6

Margins and columns dialogue To alter the column guides, open the margins and columns dialogue box by navigating to the 'Layout' tab and selecting 'Margins and Columns.'

Adjusting your margin and column guides in InDesign CS6

Extra tip about master pages and adjusting margins and columns

If you wish to alter only the columns on the active page, then before adjusting the columns and margins, first navigate to the master page assigned to your pages. You can easily do this through a few methods. First, a sure footed way, to know you are editing the master page and not a regular page, is to use the page navigator located in the status bar. Select your master page from the drop-down listing. The page navigator will always list which page or spread you are editing in InDesign. By selecting the master page with this method, you select both left and right pages in a facing pages spread. In the case of a file utilising multiple master pages, you may wish to display the pages panel to check which master page your page is assigned to. To do this, go to 'Windows' and select 'Pages.' In the pages panel, you will see the letter(s) listed on each page. This tells you which master page your page is assigned to. To select both pages, in your facing pages master page, double click on the master page’s name, and then adjust your margins and columns through the layout menu. To make adjustments to only the left or right side of a master page spread, double click on the appropriate page icon displayed to the right of the master. Editing a master page’s columns and margins will update the columns and margins on all the pages that master page is assigned to. If you have multiple masters in your file, you can have different column configurations for each master. In a future blog post, we’ll look at liquid layouts and multiple page dimensions in the same file. Till next time, here’s to amazing layouts and happy editing in InDesign.

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About the Author:

Katherine Davis  

With over 15 years of experience, Kate is one of New Horizons most knowledgeable and skilled Desktop Applications and Graphic Design trainers. She approaches each training event with an understanding of the student’s perspective and with their learning goals in mind. Her extensive knowledge and dynamic training style enables her to engage users of all varying skills levels and ensure that each student’s learning goals are achieved. Kate is especially well known around the New Horizons office for her creative flair and talent in using the Adobe suite. She takes a genuine satisfaction from helping students solve issues and always makes an extra effort to ensure that students have an enjoyable learning experience.

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