Customize menus

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn how to hide or colorize menu commands to streamline your workspace and emphasize frequently used features in Adobe InDesign.

Customizing menus removes visual clutter by hiding commands you rarely use while highlighting commands you access frequently. This approach keeps your interface focused on your most important workflows. If you frequently switch between focused and comprehensive views, create multiple menu sets tailored to specific tasks (such as Text Editing or Print Production) and save each as part of a dedicated workspace.

Create a custom menu set

Select Edit > Menus.

Select Save As, enter a descriptive name for your menu set, and select OK.

From the Category dropdown menu, select Application Menus to customize the main menu bar, or choose Context & Panel Menus to customize right-click and panel menus.

Select the arrows next to menu categories to expand and reveal individual commands within each menu. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) while selecting a menu name to temporarily display any hidden commands within that menu

For each command you want to customize, select the eye       icon under Visibility to show or hide it.

Select None under Color to assign a highlight color from the menu.

Select Save to preserve your changes, then select OK. Your custom menu set is now active and will remain in effect until you switch to a different menu set or workspace.

Switch between menu sets

Select Edit > Menus.

Choose your desired menu set from the Set dropdown menu. The default menu set cannot be edited or deleted. 

Select OK to apply the menu set.

Modify or delete an existing menu set

Select Edit > Menus.

Choose the menu set you want to modify or delete from the Set dropdown menu.

Select an option:

  • Modify the menu set: Adjust command visibility or colors as needed, select Save, then select OK.
  • Delete the menu set: Select Delete. If the menu set contains unsaved changes, InDesign prompts you to save your modifications before continuing. Select Yes to confirm the deletion.