Change page and spread display

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn how to use panel options to customize page thumbnails, icons, and layout views in Adobe InDesign.

The Pages panel display options let you control how pages and parent pages appear, including thumbnail size, orientation, and visual indicators. Adjust these settings to make navigating complex or long documents easier.

Open any InDesign document.

In the Pages panel (Window > Pages), select the Pages panel menu   icon and then select Panel Options.

Under Icons, select which icons appear next to page thumbnails. These indicate transparency, page transitions, or rotated spread views.

Under Pages and Parents, select an option from the Size drop-down menu.

Select Show Vertically to display spreads in a single vertical column. Deselect to allow spreads to display side-by-side.

Select Show Thumbnails to display thumbnail previews of page content. Deselect to show only page icons without content previews.

Under Panel Layout, select Pages on Top to display document pages above parent pages, or Parents on Top to reverse the order.

In the Resize drop-down menu, select how the panel sections resize when you adjust the panel height:

  • Proportional: Resizes both sections equally.
  • Pages Fixed: Keeps the Pages section constant while resizing Parents.
  • Parents Fixed: Keeps the Parents section constant while resizing Pages.

Select OK. The Pages panel updates immediately and keeps your settings across sessions.