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Line text up on a baseline grid

Set a baseline grid in Page layout, then turn on Snap to the baseline grid in a paragraph style, so lines of text sit on the grid and line up across columns.

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A baseline grid is a set of evenly spaced lines across the page that text sits on. When every column's lines sit on the same grid, they line up across the page, so the lines of one column are level with the lines of the next.

The baseline grid comes in two halves, set in two places, on purpose:

  • The grid is part of the page layout. You set it in the Page layout panel.
  • Whether text sits on it is a setting of a paragraph style. You turn it on in the Paragraph styles panel.

The grid on its own moves nothing. It draws on the page, but text only sits on it where a paragraph style asks to. That lets you choose which text follows the grid: body text, say, but not a large heading.

Before you start

  • The baseline grid is on every plan.
  • Open a design in PlexiiDesign, or click inside a Design work widget on a desk. See PlexiiDesign overview.
  • The grid sets text in a story: text threaded through linked frames, including a document laid out with Redesign. An ordinary text box does not follow it. See Thread text through frames.

Step 1: Set the grid

  1. Choose Layout > Margins, columns & layers…, or click Layout in the toolbar. The Page layout panel opens.
  2. Under Baseline grid, tick Use a baseline grid.
  3. In Every, set the space between grid lines, in pixels. It starts at 12 and cannot be less than 2. Your body text's line spacing, its size multiplied by its Line height, is a good place to start.
  4. If you like, set From to move the whole grid down the page.

The grid draws as pale lines across the area inside the margins, whenever the layout guides are showing. Click Guides in the toolbar, or Layout > Show layout guides, to show or hide them. Like the other guides, the grid never appears in an export.

Under the settings, the panel reminds you of the second half: The grid shows with the layout guides. Text only sits on it where a paragraph style asks to: turn on "Snap to the baseline grid" in Layout → Paragraph styles.

Step 2: Put text on the grid

  1. Choose Layout > Paragraph styles…. The Paragraph styles panel opens.
  2. Click the style whose text should sit on the grid, such as Body.
  3. Under Typesetting, tick Snap to the baseline grid.

Every line set in that style now sits on a grid line. Styles based on it follow, unless you untick the box on them. See Paragraph styles and hyphenation.

The note under the checkbox tells you the grid's spacing, such as The grid is set to 12px. With no grid set yet, it says Set a grid under Layout first, or this does nothing.

How snapping moves text

Snapping only ever moves a line down, to the next grid line, never up, so it cannot overlap what sits above it. Each line's spacing is also rounded up to a whole number of grid lines.

So when a style's line spacing does not match the grid, its lines spread out to the next grid line, and the story takes more room. A large heading on a small grid can take two or three grid lines per line. After you turn snapping on, check that the last frame of the story is not full. See Thread text through frames.

Common questions

I turned on the baseline grid and nothing moved. That is how it works: the grid alone moves nothing. Turn on Snap to the baseline grid for a paragraph style in Layout > Paragraph styles…, and the text set in that style moves onto the grid.

I ticked Snap to the baseline grid and nothing moved. No grid is set yet. The checkbox says Set a grid under Layout first, or this does nothing. Tick Use a baseline grid in the Page layout panel. Or the text is in an ordinary text box, which the grid does not set.

I cannot see the grid. The layout guides are hidden. Click Guides in the toolbar.

Does the grid print? No. It is a guide, like margins and columns, and is left out of every export.

The lines of my text moved further apart. The style's line spacing does not divide evenly into the grid, so each line moves to the next grid line. Make Every match the line spacing of your body text, or change the style's Line height.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].