3. that's sad, nermander : - )
otherwise, yes, a good way to do a two columns layout is:
- set the guides in the master page
- use shift-click to place the text frame inside of the column
the second step might need some more details:
- normally, you create a text frame by selecting the text tool (if possible, with the shortcut "t" and click-drag the cursor to create the frame of the right size.
- but if you have guides on your page, you can activate the text tool and press the shift key (and keep it down) before clicking in the area inside of the guides to create a text frame that will fit the area inside the guides (and page margins) around it.
- a further shortcut, is to use the next frame tool ('n'): if you select the last frame in the chain, press 'n', and finally shift-click you have a very fast way to create a chain of text frame in columns.