Smart guides InDesign 5.5 problem

One of my files in InDesign 5.5 has the problem that Smart Guides is greyed out under View > Grids & Guides. The option is ticked but the guides do not appear on the layout when an object is moved. Other files do not have the same problem when open at the same time.
I've exported the file as IDML and rebuilt it but that has had no effect.
I have deleted the InDesign prefs file but that has had no effect.
Any ideas?

Turn off Document grid magnetic!
If Magnetic Document Grid is on, Smart Guides will not function (I know, Strange, but it does!)

Similar Messages

Smart Guides in Indesign aren't working suddenly

I am working on a 100 page catalog. I am on page 70 and suddenly my smart guides will not work for all of the next pages after page 70. If I go back to any of the previous pages the smart guides work without a problem. Any thoughts or ideas as to what is the problem?

There are a couple standard troubleshooting techniques that might help.
There could be corruption in your document. Saving as IDML and reopening might help. Here's how:
http://www.pfl.com/cidf
If that doesn't work, try restoring your InDesign preferences. Here are some instructions:
http://pfl.com/trb
Good luck!

Indesign cs6, smart guides on, transform not proportional

i use my smart guides a lot. i have found that when i go to transform an image using the direct select tool, and the cmd+shift function, the percentage of the scale is not consistant on teh x and y axis (they should be the same). i do have the "constrain proportions" active. i have tested without them being active. it seems, so far, the only time i can recreate the issue is when the smart guides are active.
-osx 10.8.3
-indesign cs6 (cloud subscription)
-smart guides on
-transform window open
-constrain proportions active
-direct select tool
-select image within a frame with direct select tool (white arrow tool)
-use shift+cmd and drag and scale, repeat (small and large areas)
-repeat a few times and watch the horizontal and vertical percentages in the transform window. percentages will not be consistent after a few tries
does anyone else have this issue?
can anyone else recreate this issue?
does anyone have any suggestions on a fix (other than turning off the smart guides)?
thanks in advance
-maria

okay, i finally figured this bad boy out! here is the solve in case you guys come across the problem
-indesign cs6, go to preferences>guides and pasteboard
-go to "smart guide options"
-turn OFF "smart dimensions" and "smart spacing"
all is well with the world, and i can sleep peacefully once again

Problem with smart guides in CS5 with converting type object to outlines.

Hi There,
I recently upgraded to Illustrator CS5, and am having some issues with the smart guides. I create some type with the text tool, then convert that type object to outlines. Now, when I want another graphical object to "snap" to any of the anchors of the outlined text graphic, the smart guides don't kick in! The problem does not seem to occurr if I make a standard graphic with other tools, only when I create a graphic from a type object. I need to be able to snap to graphical objects that are created via the convert type to outlines command. Has anybody experienced this issue before? It's kinda frustrating.
The issue didn't seem to happen in CS3, and I've noticed the design of the smart guides is a bit different in the CS5 version as well. Am I missing something?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

When you switched to CS5 did you turn on view >> snap to Point
If your snapping tolernace is set to a small value, you may need to zoom in more to get snapping to work, or just increase the value. Also make sure you have the appropriate items checked (eg:Anchor Path Labels)
Edit Preferences >> Smart Guides >> Snapping Tolerance

Indesign CS3 - smart guides?

Does indesign cs3 has smart guides, or an option similarly to it? I can't find one.

Yea i know that ... but it would have been nice if cs3 had it too.

Smart Guide Problem

Smart guides 'intersect,' (two interweaving paths) does NOT seem to appear anymore –(when 'ADD Anchor' has been selected). A degree of accuracy is lost... Eye strain increases..........

Adobe Illustrator – (2014)
Problem solved temporarily...
Reverted back to 2013. This handy function has either been removed (smart guide label) or 'simply' didn't install properly... Everything else seemed alright.....

Smart guides labels appears but sometimes NOT.

When I am using smart guides in illustrator cs6 it is problem which makes me nervous.
When I select point, handles appear. When I move next to handle top the label appear. But SOMETIMES NOT appear, SOMETIMES APPEAR. It is terrible.
- It might be nice when labels ALWAYS APPEAR, WHEN I AM NEXT TO HANDLE TOP or NEXT TO THE ANCHOR POINT.
Because then I know, that when label appear, I can work with that concrete handle, or point.
I know, that it depends of the snapping tolerance, which I can set in Preferences. But when the snapping tolerance is too high, it is unpleasant to draw anything. When snapping tollerance is high i can draw objects on A4 leter which is usual, but my lines and handles are attached anytime when I do not want.
When I do not use smart guides it is unpleasant to draw lines too. Sometimes I grab handle when I want, but sometimes I fail.
I think it may be a good solution if you fix it so that the snapping tollerance will be lower, but labels will appear sooner and reliably.
I like Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. But this is the reason, why Illustrator makes me crazy, when I work there. Thanks

David,
I do not have align to pixel grid or snap to grid turned on
It sounds as if Illy thinks the former.
The following is a general list of things you may try when the issue is not in a specific file (you may have tried/done some of them already); 1) and 2) are the easy ones for temporary strangenesses, and 3) and 4) are specifically aimed at possibly corrupt preferences); 5) is a list in itself, and 6) is the last resort.
1) Close down Illy and open again;
2) Restart the computer (you may do that up to 3 times);
3) Close down Illy and press Ctrl+Alt+Shift/Cmd+Option+Shift during startup (easy but irreversible);
4) Move the folder (follow the link with that name) with Illy closed (more tedious but also more thorough and reversible);
5) Look through and try out the relevant among the Other options (follow the link with that name, Item 7) is a list of usual suspects among other applications that may disturb and confuse Illy, Item 15) applies to CC, CS6, and maybe CS5);
Even more seriously, you may:
6) Uninstall, run the Cleaner Tool (if you have CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6/CC), and reinstall.
http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cscleanertool.html

Smart guides headache,

Below is a link to a tutorial I found on perspective in ai cs5. After downpoading the ai file,
I looked at it in outline view Ctrl+y.I zoomed into the drawing and saw all the object alignment flaws, a great example
of how cs4/cs5 faulty smart guides have added countless hours of frustrating extra work.
My compliments to Anil Ahuja for the fine work, it must have driven you mad all that faulty snapping.
PLEASE FIX THE SMART GUIDES ISSUES ADOBE
http://blogs.adobe.com/infiniteresolution/

I'm very sure I'm patched to 6.04 at work (home now, but very sure as it came out in Sept 09 and I'm running new 27"ers [g]).
When I shift-drag an item to hold the alignment to the original position, if a smart-guide-sensed boundary is within the snap distance to the original position, holding shift moves the object to the smart-guided-sensed alignment, and will not snap to the previous position. Turning off smart guides solves the problem. No mention of it here: http://indesignsecrets.com/indesign-cs4-6-0-4-update-now-available.php
A particularly annoying problem as it doesn't move the object much (snap distance?). Could be easy to overlook. How long this has been going on I'm not even sure. When I get some time at work, I'll try 6.00 through 6.04. I'm not sure when I noticed the problem. Maybe it's a SL / Leopard thing as I just moved from Tiger.

Smart guides overriding shift / cardinal directions.

Smart guides override snapping to the previous position using the shift key while dragging an object. I suppose they're only trying to help and the underlying problem is with my document composition, but smart guides seems to respect every other boundary imaginable (a lovely feature for me, and why turning them off is no solution), except the previous position of the object while holding shift (which seems to be the most important one, since I've taken time to hold shift). It ignores the previous position completely, not even adding it to one of the many stops of the alignment train...
Any workarounds (besides better design)?

I'm very sure I'm patched to 6.04 at work (home now, but very sure as it came out in Sept 09 and I'm running new 27"ers [g]).
When I shift-drag an item to hold the alignment to the original position, if a smart-guide-sensed boundary is within the snap distance to the original position, holding shift moves the object to the smart-guided-sensed alignment, and will not snap to the previous position. Turning off smart guides solves the problem. No mention of it here: http://indesignsecrets.com/indesign-cs4-6-0-4-update-now-available.php
A particularly annoying problem as it doesn't move the object much (snap distance?). Could be easy to overlook. How long this has been going on I'm not even sure. When I get some time at work, I'll try 6.00 through 6.04. I'm not sure when I noticed the problem. Maybe it's a SL / Leopard thing as I just moved from Tiger.

Refine smart guides....

As it is now smart guides becomes problematic when you have lots of lines and points in your illustration. It becomes what I call 'snap to crap'. It some point there are so many points that you can no longer sanp to the point you want.
It would be good to have a key command that one could use to select a particular point/line/grid and have it ignore everything else.
-C

I'm very sure I'm patched to 6.04 at work (home now, but very sure as it came out in Sept 09 and I'm running new 27"ers [g]).
When I shift-drag an item to hold the alignment to the original position, if a smart-guide-sensed boundary is within the snap distance to the original position, holding shift moves the object to the smart-guided-sensed alignment, and will not snap to the previous position. Turning off smart guides solves the problem. No mention of it here: http://indesignsecrets.com/indesign-cs4-6-0-4-update-now-available.php
A particularly annoying problem as it doesn't move the object much (snap distance?). Could be easy to overlook. How long this has been going on I'm not even sure. When I get some time at work, I'll try 6.00 through 6.04. I'm not sure when I noticed the problem. Maybe it's a SL / Leopard thing as I just moved from Tiger.

Snap to? Smart Guides? Not sure what the issue is but it's annoying.

Just made the big step up from CS2 to CS5. Lots of changes as to be expected but otherwise a smooth transition. Nice work Adobe.
One recurring issue has got me baffled and annoyed. It appears to be a snap-to function yet I'm unable to locate the place where it might be disabled.
In my previous version of InDesign resizing window sizes and shapes was a fluid and easy motion. Now it's staggering and akward. The text and picture boxes want to snap on an unseen grid. I understand how this can be a useful function for some kinds of work but it also gets in the way of composing an image.
Any suggestions on how to disable this?
Presently, I have both Smart Guides and Snap to Document Grid UNCHECKED in the View menu yet I'm remain unable to smoothly and fluidly size my text and picture boxes.
Thanks!

There's another new feature, Live Screen Drawing, that's on by default, but for many users it causes real choppiness in moving around on screen. It's at the bottom of the Interface section of the preferences. Try setting it to Delayed. That will allow you to have a live preview when you really want it by clicking, then holding for a moment before you drag, but moving immediately will give you what you are used to in CS2.
I actually think Smart Guides are worth using. They save me a TON of time.

Smart Guide/Snap to point not working

Hi
I am trying to remove a circular shape from a rectangle in illustrator, the retangles width is 10px and the diameter of the circle is 13px, I centre the circle ontop of the rectangle ( or I appear to) but when I use the Shape mode tool minus front, the circle is no longer centred ( see images)
I have tried switching off smart guides and snap to grid and am still having the same problem.
In the above image you can see once I have divided the 13px circle from the rectangle it has moved off to one side.
Also when I am trying to manually place the circle ( rather than using the centre guides ) I can only move it by a large degree it alway moves further than I move the mouse, could this be because of a pixel grid? I do not think I am using this. ( can see in the above image where I am trying to place the circle and when I let go of the mouse, the grey circle is where it lands
From the 2 images below you can see that there is a 1px difference on either side of the extracted circle I was trying to get centred
I should mention that the 'Align to pixel grid' in the transform menu is inactive when I am trying to do this, as I initially thought that this may be the cause of my problems, but it made no difference

Rebecca,
So why does the minus front tool mess up alignment so much?
No clue. I believe this issue has never been reported.
At a first glance, it really looked like an Align to Pixel Grid issue, and also the fact that it works when both object widths have an odd (or even) number of pixels.
But that is apart from the fact that you stated that it was off. If it were on, Align to Pixel Grid would apply to the circle, to the rectangle, or to both.
Obviously, it is possible to (direct) select each and check. It is also possible to check the Y value of the centre for both in the Transform palette and see that they are actually identical before applying the Pathfinder.
And if on, Align to Pixel Grid should also affect/destroy the Object>Path>Divide Objects Below way. And it should make it impossible to even place both objects centre aligned when one is an odd number of pixels wide and the other is an even number wide.
As the issue is described, it may indicate some Pathfinder>Minus Front malfunctioning.
It may be worth trying some of the following things (you may have tried/done some of them already) and see whether it helps (the following is a general list of things you may try when it is not in a specific file; 3) and 4) are specifically aimed at possibly corrupt preferences):
1) Close down Illy and open again;
2) Restart the computer;
3) Close down Illy and press Ctrl+Alt+Shift/Cmd+Option+Shift during startup (easy but irreversible);
4) Move the folder with Illy closed (more tedious but also more thorough and reversible);
5) Look through and try out the relevant among the Other options (Item 7) is a list of usual suspects among other applications that may disturb and confuse Illy, other items may also be relevant);
Even more seriously, you may:
6) Uninstall, run the Cleaner Tool if you have CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6, and reinstall.
http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cscleanertool.html

Cannot center Smart Guides exactly? CS6

Hello: Level: Newbie OS: Windows 7 64 bit Illustrator CS6
I am learning about Smart Guides but have found myself a bit perplexed.
I have drawn a Circle with the Ellipse tool by clicking and then entering the values: 432x432
Then I hover the mouse over the "center" square which reads: x:260 & y:259.5 which doesn't make sense to me ~ if it is the Center shouldn't the x & y values match? Any way, so then I manually type in the x & y value boxes 260.000 and they both stay at 260.
However, when I pull out the Smart Guides and place the horizontal guide over the center the x & y values also do not match and so I enter the number manually but the values will not stay where I set them.
e.g. The x value states: 259.5 and the y value: 260.000 and no matter how many times I reset the x value it always reverts back to 259.5 ... ???
The vertical smart guide is also off by rougly .5
Now, since I am attempting to make a symmetrical object ... won't this differentiation cause "eye sores" once the artwork is done?
I am (still) attempting to construct a compass with a rose, increments, needle etc. etc. and my first attempt ... and I quote the awesome Jacob ...
looks as if I have dropped it on the floor
So, after all that ramble'n ... I suppose I would like to know from others if this is just the way things are and rather I am suppose to just deal with things being a "bit" off??
Thank you for your time
hope you're having a great day/night

Hey Jacob ...
So, I did the Move the Folder but ... dang'it I'm slow at times ... and so, I am unsure if I followed your directions right ...
I signed into my computer under admin and then when I searched my C drive for the Adobe Illustrator CS6 Settings folder ... two folders came up
One for the Admin account and one for mine
So, I right clicked on both of them and chose ... Move to Desktop ... placing both folders on the Desktop of the Admin
Then I restarted my computer and logged in under my user name not as the Admin & then opened Illustrator but I am still having the same problems.
The Align tool doesn't Align so I gotta eye things out. The first compass I showed you was a result of "listening" to illustrators X/Y/H/W settings.
And when I have the Align to Pixel Grid ON I still do not have integer values when they ought to very well be integers.
So, I just hoping I didn't go about things the right way.
I am now going to go log back into my pc as an Admin and undo the Moved folders and give things a go again.
Jacob ... you've been such a huge support to me that I cannot thank you near enough!!
PS. to check things I made a circle that's 300x300 > the W = 300 and H = 300 and the X = 250 and the Y = 250 < the Align to Pixel Grid is on
Then I choose the Line tool and make a Line of 20px > then directly below I make an other Line of 20px with the Align to Pixel Grid on ...
I select the top 20px Line and the Values are: X = 249.5 and Y = 132 H = < Align Pixel Grid is on
I select the bottom one and X = 250 and Y = 358 and H = 20 and W = 0 < Aliign Pixel Grid on
Then I Group them both and the values are: X = 249.5 and Y = 245 and H = 246 and W = 0
Then I Rotate by 20 degrees and the first set Values are: same as just above
The next set Values are: X = 249.5 and the rest is the same as above
The next set Values are: X = 249.5 and Y = 245 and H = 231.164 and W = 84.137
As I go around the H & W values keep changing. After all you've patiently taught me ... they shouldn't change? OR the H & W do change b/c the bounding boxes outline the Path and Not the line itself ... right?
The 5th copy Values change to: X = 249.5 and Y = 244.999 and so on from there. Not to beat a dead horse but is this how it ought to be?
Uhhh sigh ... ...

Align / smart guides not working

I am having a super-weird problem. I have a black rectangle that I would like to be exactly the same width as a larger white rectangle. When I try aligning the left edges, it is ever so slightly off. When I turn on smart guides and try to transform the black rectangle to snap to the white rectangle's left edge, the same thing happens -- ever so slightly off.
There are only 3 rectangles in the entire .ai, and I have checked to make sure that snap to pixels / snap to grid are turned off. I have quit and restarted the program.
Any clue why align is being funky, or how to fix it?
Thanks!

It sounds like something is going on with the alignment using the align tool. You could, if need be do it the old fashion way by the numbers. Entering numeric values fo X and Y positions to align exactly. This can be done with copy and paste too.
Wait, you may need to check how your aligning in Preferences.
Are you aligning to Preview Bounds or to the actual vectors?
Or… Vector

Smart Guides CS4

I'm studying up on inDesign CS4 though Adobe TV. Deke's tutorial on making a text frame shows the frame snaping to guidelines and margins. The dimension arrows appear indicating the frame area is complete top to bottom, left to right.
My settings have snap to guides and smart guides both turned on (check mark). However, the only time I see the dimensions arrows is when I snap to the edge of the page.
I'm snapping to guides and margins, but the arrows do not appear. Am I missing a setting?
William-01

I understand now. Thanks!

Smart guides InDesign 5.5 problem

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