Show or hide measurement and ruler guides

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn how to use the View menu commands in Adobe InDesign to control the visibility of margin, column, and ruler guides.

InDesign displays margin (magenta), column (violet), and ruler guides (cyan) to help align objects and structure layouts. You can hide or show guides without affecting document content, making it easier to preview designs without visual distractions.

Open a document where you want to show or hide guides.

To show or hide all guides, select View > Grids & Guides > Show Guides or Hide Guides.

To show or hide ruler guides on a specific layer, double-click the layer name on the Layers panel (Window > Layers), select or deselect Show Guides, and select OK.

To preview your document without all guides, select the Preview icon from the Toolbox.

Tip

Press Ctrl + ; (Windows) or Cmd + ; (macOS) to quickly toggle guide visibility.