Working with Grid and Guide Features in Lectora

Introduction

Grids and guides in Lectora are powerful tools for precisely aligning objects on your canvas. These stationary guides, set manually by the user, help create a well-organized and professional layout for your eLearning content.

While this video is from an earlier version of Lectora, the tool and steps remain current.

Working with Grid and Guide Features in Lectora

Specifying Grids and Guides Preferences

You can customize your grid and guide preferences to suit your design needs. The grid is an alignment and spacing framework displayed as a page background, while guides are horizontal and vertical lines that can be placed anywhere on a page for precise object alignment.

Setting Grid and Guide Preferences

1. Accessing Preferences:

   • On the View ribbon, click Options from the Grids and Guides group to open the Grid and Guides Options window.

2. Grid Preferences:

   • Grid Color: Use the Grid Color drop-down list to select the color for your grids.
   • Grid Spacing: Specify the grid spacing in pixels in the Grid Spacing field. The default is 20 pixels.
   • Click OK to save your preferences.

Working with Rulers

• Showing Rulers:
  • Click Show Rulers in the Grid and Guides group on the View ribbon to display rulers along the top and left side of the work area. The ruler provides measurements in pixels.
• Clearing Guides:
  • Click Clear Guides to remove all guides from the canvas.

Working with the Grid

• Showing the Grid:
  • Click Show Grid in the Grid and Guides group on the View ribbon to display the grid in the background of the work area.
• Snap to Grid:
  • Select Snap to Grid to enable this feature, which pulls objects toward the closest grid point for accurate placement.

Working with Guides

• Showing Guides:
  • Click Show Guides in the Grid and Guides group to display guides in the work area.
• Snap to Guides:
  • Select Snap to Guides to enable this feature, which pulls objects toward the closest guide lines for precise alignment.

Adding and Managing Guides

1. Adding Guides:

   • Horizontal Guide: Click the drop-down list in Add Guide and select Add horizontal guide.
   • Vertical Guide: Click the drop-down list in Add Guide and select Add vertical guide.
   • Alternatively, create new guides by clicking and dragging from the rulers. For a new vertical guide, place your cursor over the left ruler, click and hold, then drag to the desired location.

2. Moving Guides:

   • Click the guide in the ruler area to display its drag handle. Click and drag the handle to move the guide to a new position.

3. Removing Guides:

   • Move the guide back into the appropriate ruler to remove it. Click Clear Guides in the Grid and Guides group to remove all guides.

Using grids and guides in Lectora helps you achieve precise alignment and a professional appearance for your eLearning content. By customizing your preferences and utilizing these features, you can ensure that all objects are perfectly aligned and your design is consistent.

This article last reviewed June 2024. The software may have changed since the last review. Please visit our Release Notes to learn more about version updates.