Smart guides not working

[yu_jiet15685082]

Hello! I have read previous discussions on issues when the smart guides options gets grayed out due to accidental selection of "snap to document grid". I am wondering if there is a possibility for other commands to deactivate my smart guide. I have retrieved an idml layout file from work and it does not work for that file. My smart guides are working for my other indd documents.

I am also curious what the green boxes grids are? Thanks in advance to any help!

[Srishti Bali]

Hi yu jiet,

Please try on a new document, if it is still the same, please try resetting preferences.

Set preferences in Adobe InDesign

Please update the discussion if the issue is resolved or if you have any further query.

Regards

Srishti

[yu_jiet15685082]

Hi Srishti,

The issue is only of that idml file. Smart guide works alright for all other files and new documents that I have.

Is there a way to reset preferences for that idml file?

Best

Yu Jie

[cmgap]

Can you select the green grids with a text tool? It looks like table cells.

[yu_jiet15685082]

Nope i cannot select it with a text tool!

[davidblatner]

I'm not entirely sure, but here are some common reasons why InDesign features may be grayed out: https://indesignsecrets.com/why-is-some-feature-grayed-out-in-indesign.php

[yu_jiet15685082]

Updates. I am still unable to solve the issue, but I have worked around it by moving the master pages to a new indd document. The green grids should be I type of grid i suppose? When i transferred them to a new document, the converted to the traditional guidelines. Thanks for everyone's help!

[Jane needs help]

Hi!

I'm a photographer who has worked with indesign for years. Right now I'm doing an online training session with lynda.com.

It appears that I too cannot access smart guides when creating a master page, even after resetting my indesign permissions and restarting my computer. I can, however, access them on other, non master pages. Yes, smart guides are selected in the view menu, and I've tried toggling on and off the snap to document guide feature. So go figure.

Is this a glitch in the program itself? Given what I've read here, that might be what's going on.

[davidblatner]

Jane: that's weird… I have not seen any problems with Smart Guides appearing on master pages. Have you tried to zoom in or out, so that all the objects you want to align are visible? Are you seeing ANY smart guides as you drag objects around the master page? (For example, do you see the pink ones that say the object is centered on the page?)

[Jane needs help]

Thanks David, for your quick reply! The only smart (ish) guide that pops up is the vertical center line, which appears in red if I get close to while drawing a box. On other pages, I have no problem seeing the smart guides–only on the master page.

[davidblatner]

Jane, that is definitely weird. I wish I could think of a good solution for you!

[RedstoneSG25]

This is so funny! I'm actually watching your tutorial on Linkedin Learning (Chapter 3.2) and am having the same problem when trying to add the document name in the master page. At least I know it's not just me, and thank you for this course, David! It's been so fantastic to finally feel like I CAN learn InDesign!

[Laubender]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/yu+jiet15685082  wrote
… I am also curious what the green boxes grids are? Thanks in advance to any help! 

Hi,

the green boxes grid is from a Japanese InDesign document, I think.

Did you open a template document from a Japanese source?

Regards,
Uwe

[Owen Clay · Accepted solution]

I know this an old thread, plus this isn't a solution for the initial issue (based on your screengrab), but I found that I had by mistake checked the "Snap to Document Grid" feature under View > Grids & Guides. This made the Smart Guides option inaccessible.

Once I'd taken that option off, the Smart Guides started working again.

[lisab323]

Thank you @Owen Clay!  You've just made my Friday afternoon a lot easier!

[DarienMorales]

That's for that @Owen Clay . Been wondering for 45 minutes why no smart guides have been working lol.

[martinat35552217]

thank you !! you saved me

[BubbleBug7]

THANK YOU! This saved my sanity.

[Scott_Beilke5236]

❤️

[timodoig]

thank you so much

[deboraht43520393]

Thanks, @Owen_Clay!

Seems I cannot live without the Smart Guides and you just gave me the solution to a situation. 

[paulj65067438]

There is a button at the bottom of the tool panel. Click on there, and it will show smart guides. If it does not have a tick in the box, it means it is off. Click it, and this will reactivate them.