Set Pages to landscape, then use flowing columns for continuous copy or separate text boxes for brochure panels. Keep English text horizontal within each column.

For a Mac user building a brochure, the key decision is how the text should move when you edit it. A continuous introduction can flow between columns; a cover, feature panel, and closing panel usually need their own boxes. This walkthrough covers both approaches and includes an illustrative three-column layout you can adapt.

Choose flowing columns or independent brochure panels

Start by deciding whether the content belongs to one reading sequence or several separate panels. Pages supports automatic text flow between columns and linked text boxes, while a page layout document lets you arrange individual text boxes on a canvas. These features support different editing needs. Apple’s document-type guide explains the distinction.

Brochure content Suggested arrangement What to plan for
One continuous article A text area with multiple columns Copy continues into the next column
Separate cover, features, and closing panels Independent text boxes Edit each panel’s copy separately
A continuous story with differently sized text areas Linked text boxes Check the thread’s reading order
A heading spanning several columns A separate heading box above the column area Reserve enough space below it

For a folded brochure, start with independent boxes unless the copy truly needs to continue across panels. This is an editorial recommendation: it makes each panel’s purpose explicit before you start adjusting its typography. For an unfolded information sheet, flowing columns may involve less manual copy placement.

Set the paper size and landscape orientation first

Open the brochure in Pages, click Document in the toolbar, and select the Document tab. Choose the paper size you intend to use, then select the landscape orientation. Apple notes that changing orientation can require layout adjustments, so do this before placing your columns. Pages allows only one orientation per document; portrait and landscape pages cannot be mixed in the same file. Set paper size and orientation in Pages on Mac.

Next, check Document Body in the Document sidebar. A selected checkbox identifies a word-processing document, where body text flows between pages. An unselected checkbox identifies a page layout document, where text goes into boxes and pages are added manually. For a brochure with individually positioned panels, a page layout template is a practical starting point. Intro to word-processing and page layout documents.

If you already have a brochure template, inspect its existing text areas before adding more. Decide which boxes will hold headings, which will hold body copy, and which belong to separate panels. Sketch the intended reading sequence before refining spacing.

Create columns for continuous brochure copy

Use this method when the reader should finish the first column and continue directly into the next. Pages can apply columns to selected paragraphs, a section, or text inside a text box or shape. Format columns of text in Pages on Mac.

  1. Click in the document body to format its current section, select specific paragraphs, or select the text box containing your copy.
  2. Open the Format sidebar and click Layout. For a text box or shape, click Text, then Layout.
  3. Under Columns, set the number of columns, such as 3.
  4. Adjust the Column and Gutter values to control widths and gaps.
  5. Leave Equal column width selected for matching columns, or deselect it when you need different widths. Apple’s column-formatting instructions.

To start the next piece of copy at the top of the next column, place the insertion point where the previous column should end. Click the toolbar’s Insert menu button and choose Column Break. Prefer this control to repeated blank paragraphs when establishing a deliberate column boundary. Apple’s column-break instructions.

Keep a short test paragraph in the layout while adjusting widths. Look for awkwardly short lines, oversized headings, and paragraphs that feel crowded. Revise the copy or spacing before committing the full brochure text.

Arrange separate text boxes for fixed brochure panels

For independent panels, click Text in the toolbar to add a box, replace its placeholder copy, and drag it into place. Repeat for the remaining panels. If you are editing text and cannot move the box, click outside it, then click once to select the box itself. Resize it using its selection handles. Add and replace text in Pages on Mac.

For precise positioning, select a box and open Format > Arrange. The Position fields accept X and Y coordinates measured from the page’s left and top edges to the object’s upper-left corner. In a word-processing document, select Stay on Page if these fields are dimmed. Position and align objects in Pages on Mac.

Worked example: three columns on an unfolded landscape sheet

The following dimensions are illustrative design inputs for an 11-by-8.5-inch landscape sheet. They describe an unfolded three-column layout, rather than a production specification for a folded brochure.

Reserve 0.5 inch at each outside edge and use two 0.25-inch gaps. The available width for the three text boxes is 11 − 0.5 − 0.5 − 0.25 − 0.25 = 9.5 inches. Each box is therefore approximately 3.167 inches wide.

Text box Left-edge X position Width Top-edge Y position
First 0.500 in 3.167 in 0.750 in
Second 3.917 in 3.167 in 0.750 in
Third 7.333 in 3.167 in 0.750 in

Use these values as a planning reference, allowing for rounding. Give all three boxes the same height initially, then check whether their copy fits. If your brochure will be folded, establish the fold positions and panel order separately; this calculation only divides the usable sheet width into equal columns.

To tidy the arrangement, select the boxes and choose an option from Arrange > Align, such as top alignment. With three or more objects selected, Distribute > Horizontally gives equal horizontal spacing. Position the outer boxes deliberately before distributing the set. Apple’s alignment and distribution controls.

Link boxes only when the text should continue

Linked text boxes are useful when one piece of copy needs to move through several differently shaped areas. Select the first box and click its white circle at the top to start a thread. Select the next empty box and click its white circle to join it. Matching circle colors identify the thread; numbers show the reading order. Locked or grouped boxes cannot be linked. Link text boxes in Pages on Mac.

Check those numbers after rearranging boxes. Moving a linked box elsewhere on the same page does not automatically change its reading order. Click its circle and use Layout Order to assign the intended sequence. For panels with separate purposes, leave their boxes independent. Apple’s linked-box ordering instructions.

If the last linked box displays a clipping indicator, some text does not fit. Enlarge an existing box or add another box to the thread. Then reread the transitions between boxes so a heading and its explanation appear where you intended. Apple’s guidance on overflowing linked text.

Use Vertical Text only for top-to-bottom writing

Pages’ Vertical Text feature changes the writing direction: characters run from top to bottom, and successive lines appear to the left. It requires a document formatted for Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, or at least one of those languages in the device’s preferred language list. Ordinary English brochure columns can keep their usual horizontal writing direction. Use vertical text in Pages on Mac.

If you specifically need that writing direction in one object, Control-click its text box or shape and choose Turn On Vertical Text. Choose Turn Off Vertical Text to reverse the setting. For word-processing body text, the Vertical Text checkbox is in Document > Document; enabling it also makes new objects use vertical text. Apple’s vertical-text controls.

Check the complete brochure before exporting

Review the brochure at its intended reading size. Compare heading sizes across panels, check the gaps between columns, and read every panel from its first word to its final sentence. In an independent text box, a clipping indicator means the box needs more room; drag the indicator or a selection handle until the text is visible. Apple’s text-box resizing guidance.

Export a review copy with File > Export To > PDF, choose the export settings, and save it. Pages exports a separate copy, so changes to that exported document do not affect the original Pages file. Convert to Word, PDF, or another file format in Pages on Mac.

Open the PDF and read it in the intended panel sequence. For a folded design, make a sample fold to check which panel becomes the cover and whether text sits comfortably beside the folds. Finish by correcting the Pages original and exporting again, keeping the column structure that matches how the brochure should be read.

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