Art Directors Toolkit Help Utilities & Tools > Layout Utility  
 

Layout Utility

The Layout Utility is broken up into 2 different modes. The Grid mode helps you calculate elements for objects on a single page. The Spreads mode helps with converting a multi-page document into "Printer Spreads".

Grid

This utility speeds the creation of complex layouts by doing the calculation work for you. Set the page size, margins, number of columns, number of rows and gutter width/height.

The "Unit of Measure" selected via the popup menu applies to all edit fields except "#/Columns" and "#/Rows". The preview on the right allows you to select a layout element. The results section displays size and position information about the currently selected element. These selections can also be made using the "Selection" pop up button located in the "Results" area. The size and position information are displayed below for use in your actual layout program.

The "Copy Layout" button in the lower right corner allows you to copy the layout in PDF format to the clipboard. You can then paste the layout directly into any application that supports PDF elements, saving a lot of time in manual positioning of individual elements.

Spreads

The Spreads mode is helpful for laying out documents with facing pages that are to be printed in a format like saddle stitch. Enter the number of pages to be used in the document to see how the "Reader" spreads correlate to the "Printer" spreads. The large number shown in the center of each page indicates the reader page number and the smaller white number near the bottom shows the printer page number.

Because of the nature of spreads, some layouts will need blank pages added. These pages will show their reader page numbers in gray instead of black.

 
  Scale Utility Ruler