InDesign: Change column width - here's how to go about it

When you split documents into different pages in InDesign, the guides to maintain the width are automatically locked. Because of this, it seems you can no longer freely vary the column width. However, unlocking the option gives you access to it again.

InDesign: change column width - unlock

As soon as a page is split in InDesign, the program locks the guides for you. This is to prevent you from accidentally changing the layout significantly.

1. To unlock, click on the "View" item in the top menu bar and select the "Grid and Guides" item.
2. Now, in the menu that pops up, uncheck Lock Column Guides.
3. By using the selection tool, you can now select the individual columns in your document and move them freely.
4. Once you are satisfied with the editing, the columns can be locked again to avoid accidental moving.
5. Also make sure that you do not drag a selected column beyond an already existing column boundary. This would confuse the layout and layer text on top of each other.
6. In addition, you can select a safety margin for printing by editing the page margin. Die Spaltenbreite passt sich nach Aktivierung des Seitenrandes automatisch an, auch wenn die Hilfslinien gesperrt sind.
7. Bearbeiten Sie aus diesem Grund den Inhalt der Spalte erst, wenn das komplette Layout fertiggestellt ist.