How to make horizontal columns in InDesign
📐 How to Make Horizontal Columns in InDesign
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Welcome to iZoRun — your expert guide for layout and design in Adobe InDesign! In today’s tutorial, you’ll learn how to make horizontal columns in InDesign, perfect for creating stacked sections, timeline layouts, multi-row content, or type grids. While InDesign is known for vertical columns, using tables gives you precise control over horizontal layout structure.
🧱 What Are Horizontal Columns in InDesign?
Horizontal columns are better described as horizontal sections or rows. You can create them by building a 1-column table with multiple body rows, giving the illusion of horizontal divisions stacked top-to-bottom across a page or frame.
This technique is ideal for:
• Timelines
• Content rows
• Type grids
• Portfolio layouts
• Newsletter rows
📋 How to Make Horizontal Columns in InDesign – Step-by-Step
Follow these steps to create clean and functional horizontal columns using a table:
1. Open your InDesign project or create a new document.
2. Go to the top menu and choose Table Create Table.
3. In the dialog box:
• Set Number of Body Rows to however many horizontal sections you want (e.g., 5).
• Set Number of Columns to 1.
1. Click OK.
2. Your cursor will change — click and drag on your page to draw the table.
3. A table with 1 vertical column and multiple horizontal rows will appear.
Now you have a structured horizontal column layout that can hold text, images, or styled elements.
This answers:
• How to make horizontal columns in InDesign
• How to create horizontal columns in InDesign
• InDesign how to make columns horizontal
🖋️ Customizing Horizontal Columns (Table Rows)
Once the table is placed, you can customize it:
• Resize rows by clicking and dragging the row lines.
• Use Table Cell Options or right-click for inset spacing, padding, and alignment.
• Use the Stroke and Fill settings to color alternating rows or add dividing lines.
• Convert the table to text frames (via Table Convert to Text) if you need more freedom.
🧠 How to Make Horizontal Columns for a Type Grid in InDesign
If you're building a modular type grid, follow this approach:
1. Create a table with 1 column and multiple rows.
2. Resize the rows evenly using Exact Height from the Table Cell Options Rows and Columns menu.
3. Use Baseline Grid and Text Frame Options to align your typography cleanly within each horizontal row.
This technique supports:
• Editorial layouts
• Information design
• Print-ready grids with modular flexibility
Relevant for:
• How to make horizontal columns for type grid in InDesign
• InDesign 2017 how to make columns horizontal
🔧 Alternatives: Horizontal Columns Without a Table
Option 1: Use Multiple Text Frames
1. Create one text frame per row using the Rectangle Frame Tool.
2. Align them vertically and adjust spacing manually.
3. Use Smart Guides or Object Distribute Spacing for perfect alignment.
Option 2: Use Baseline Grid
For text-heavy layouts, a baseline grid helps you create horizontal zones aligned to your typographic rhythm.
🎯 Summary: What You’ll Learn in This Video
In this tutorial, you’ll learn:
• How to add horizontal columns in InDesign using the Table tool
• How to structure content by rows for layouts like timelines, portfolios, or newsletters
• Ways to customize row height, padding, and color for clean visual separation
• Alternatives using text frames or grids when tables aren’t ideal
• Tips for aligning text and images consistently within horizontal columns
Understanding how to create horizontal structure in InDesign gives you layout flexibility that goes beyond the default vertical columns.
Hashtags:
#InDesignTips #InDesignTables #LayoutDesign #TypeGrid #HorizontalColumns
💬 Need help aligning rows to your document grid or combining tables with master pages? Drop your question in the comments — we're here to help!