Guides

Type a layout, get the guides. Guides reads a simple line like 10mm | 3x(auto | 5mm |) | auto | 10mm and draws the columns, rows, gutters and margins on one artboard or all of them, in any units, as guides or as coloured lines.

See it in the shop · Version 0.3.5 · Needs PowerScripts 3.8.32 or later

Open the PowerScripts panel (Window > Extensions > PowerScripts) and choose Guides from the Tools scripts. The script has two tabs: Guides and Examples.

Three equal columns with 10 mm margins and 5 mm gutters:

1. In Horizontal Guides, type | 10mm | 2x(auto | 5mm |) auto | 10mm |
2. Clear Vertical Guides if you only want columns.
3. Press Create Guides.

Not sure where to start? Double click any example on the Examples tab to try it.

A layout is a list of sizes with a bar | wherever you want a guide.

• Sizes: 10mm, 1.5cm, 2in (or 2inch or 2"), 24pt. Mix units as you like.
• Bars at the ends: | 10mm | 95mm | also puts guides on the edges of the artboard. Leave them off for guides only between the sizes.
• auto: a column that shares out whatever space is left. Three autos make three equal columns.
• Percent: 20% of the width (or height).
• Repeats: 3x( ... ) repeats everything in the brackets 3 times, for example 0.5cm | 3x(| auto | 0.5cm ).
• autox( ... ): repeats the brackets as many times as will fit, for example 25mm | autox(|10mm|) | 25mm for as many 10 mm cells as fit between 25 mm margins.
• Colours (only when making lines, not guides): put a colour between two bars instead of a plain bar, as |cmyk:100,0,100,0| or |rgb:255,0,0|.
• |none|: leave that guide out.

If there's a mistake in the list, the panel tells you what's wrong (for example “Two | with nothing between them”) and nothing is drawn.

• Range: the Current Artboard or All Artboards.
• Border: a margin inside the artboard edges that the layout fits into.
• Create Border Frame: draw guides round the border too.

• Horizontal Guides: the layout across the artboard. These make the up-and-down guides between your columns.
• Align: if the layout is narrower than the artboard, put it on the Left, Center or Right.
• Use fixed width: lay out across this width instead of the artboard's width.
• Scale to fit width: if the layout has no auto, stretch or shrink every size so it fills the width exactly. Untick to keep the sizes exactly as typed.
• Resize Artboard width plus: change the artboard's width to fit the layout, plus this much extra (for example a bleed).

The same options for the rows: Vertical Guides, Align (Top, Center, Bottom), Use fixed height, Scale to fit height and Resize Artboard height plus.

• Create guides as standard lines: draw ordinary lines instead of guides, at this stroke width and Opacity. Lines can have colours (see above) and they print, so use them for fold or panel marks.
• Create a layer called: put the guides on their own layer, with this name.
• Group Guides: group them.
• Lock the Guides Layer: lock that layer so they can't be moved by mistake.
• Create Guides: does it.

A list of ready-made layouts. Double click one to see it drawn on your artboard.

1. Set Range to All Artboards and Border to your margin, for example 12mm.
2. Horizontal Guides: | 3x(auto | 5mm |) auto | for four columns with 5 mm gutters.
3. Vertical Guides: | 6x(auto | 5mm |) auto | for seven rows.
4. Press Create Guides.

1. Tick Create guides as standard lines.
2. Type the panel widths, for example | 60mm |cmyk:100,0,0,0| 40mm |cmyk:100,0,0,0| 60mm |.
3. Untick Scale to fit width so the sizes stay exact, and tick Resize Artboard width plus to make the artboard fit.
4. Press Create Guides.

• Save layouts you use often as presets (see Using Presets).
• Press Create Guides again after changing the list: untick Lock the Guides Layer first if you want to delete the old ones easily.
• Undo (Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z) removes the guides.

• Only one auto repeat (such as autox( )) is allowed in a list, and a repeat that uses auto as its count can't have auto inside the brackets.
• Align Left and Align Right don't take the Border into account (Center does).

• 0.3.5
  • Fixed: autox( ) groups fill every column that fits, and Align Bottom for the vertical guides works.
  • Fixed: a size or auto right after a closing bracket now counts, so the default guide list makes its 4 columns.
  • Fixed: a mistake in the guide list no longer stops the script.
  • Improved: general bug fixes, reliability and speed.
• 0.3.4: Buy in PowerScripts now opens this script's page in the shop.
• 0.3.3: Updated for PowerScripts 3.8.32.
• Older changes: PowerScripts Release Notes