Setting Margins and column guides in Pagemaker

Setting Margins:

The margins you specify in the Document Setup dialog box are applied to the Document Master (the default master page initially applied to all pages in a new publication). When you create additional masters, you can specify margins different from those of the Document Master.

When Double-sided is selected, margins are set as Inside and Outside. The inside margin is on the right side of even-numbered (left) pages and on the left side of odd-numbered (right) pages; the outside margins are- correspondingly reversed. When Double-sided is deselected, PageMaker changes Inside and Outside to Left and Right margins. Margins appear on pages as pink (horizontal) and blue (vertical) nonprinting lines.

Setting margins Command:

Choose File > New or File > Document Setup.

To change the margins, type the values in the Margins area, and then click OK.

Invisible grid defined by rulers:

The rulers set up layout grid so it is a good idea to choose a measurements system before you begin laying out pages. You can set the unit of measure separately for each ruler. For example, you may want to measure vertical lines of text vertically in points, but prefer millimeters for margins, tabs and other horizontal measurements – (a) the horizontal ruler is set to picas; the vertical ruler is set to Custom, 12 points. (b) the horizontal ruler reflects the unit of measure used for most measurements in the publication. You specify tabs, margins, indents and other measurements according to the measurement system reflected on the horizontal ruler.

You usually work with one unit of measure throughout a publication, but you can change to another unit of measure at any time. Guides and – objects already positioned using the original measurement system will stay in place, and might not align with the altered ruler tick marks.

Hide or display rulers:

Choose View > Show/Hide Rulers.

The zero point:

The zero point is the position at which the zeros on the vertical and horizontal rulers intersect. When you start a new, single-sided publication, PageMaker puts the zero point at the top left corner of the page. When you work with facing pages, the default zero point is at the intersection of the top inside edges of the facing pages.

You can easily move the zero point to measure distances from a specific part of your page or to customize the way oversized pages print. To avoid accidentally moving the zero point after you set it, you can lock it in place.

To move the zero point – (a) Position the pointer tool on the crosshair in the zero point window. (b) Drag to the new location.  (c) Release the mouse button; the zero point is reset. Before and after zero point is moved.

Setting up column guides

You create columns to control the flow of text in text blocks that you place automatically, and to help position text and graphics. How you specify columns is determined by the command you use.

Working with newsletters and brochures often requires the use of columns. While you can create columns manually by setting your text block’s width, this process can be made easier by creating columns. As you create columns with PageMaker, a set of guides (like the page margins) are added to the page. When you first create your document, its default is one column per page. PageMaker provides the option of creating up to 20 columns on a single page. Between each column will be a “gutter.” The gutter adds some white space between each column so text will not appear on top of the next column. If you are using the columns for a brochure, these gutters should be larger to add space for folding. 

NOTE: If you want to set columns for all pages of your document, set them on the master pages.

Command to Create Columns:

Layout > Column Guides

 

This command creates a specified number of columns of identical widths, fitting them within the margins of the page. If text or graphics are already on the page, PageMaker can reposition them to align with the revised column setup if you select Adjust Layout in the Column Guides dialog box. See Adjusting a layout automatically for details.

The Utilities > Plug-ins > Grid Manager command fits columns within any area you specify, or creates columns of a specified width.

You can create up to 20 columns on a page.

To save time and ensure consistency, add column guides to master pages rather than to specific publication pages.

Setup columns on a page:

(1)Turn to the publication page or master page where you want the columns.

(2)Choose Layout > column Guides. When facing pages appear in the publication window and you choose Column Guides, then Set Left and Right Pages separately option appears so that you can set columnsdifferently for each page.

Type the number of columns you want on the page and the space you want between columns (the gutter). If you are setting left and right pages separately , type values for both pages.

Select Adjust Layout if you want existing text and graphics on the page to adjust to the revised column setupand then click OK. PageMaker creates the specified number of columns, equally spaced and equally sized.

Commands To Lock or Unlock Column and ruler guides:

Choose View > Lock Guides.

Note: The columns can be custom spaced. Just click on the left mouse button and drag into position. Release the mouse when the positioning is made.