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@Section
@Title { Margin notes and arbitrary placement }
@Tag { marginnotes }
@Begin
@PP
A note can be placed in the left margin by typing
leftnote. @Index @Code "@LeftNote"
marginnote. @Index { margin notes }
@ID {
@Code "@LeftNote { A left note. }"
@LeftNote { A left note. }
}
after the word that the note refers to. The note will appear in the
margin at the same height on the page as that word, unless that would
cause it to overlap a previous margin note, in which case it will be
shifted downwards (but never onto the next page). The note may be an
arbitrary Lout object; for example, you might type
@ID {
@Code "@LeftNote @I { A left note. }"
@LeftNote @I { A left note. }
}
to make your note come out in italics.
@PP
You can get a note in the right margin by using @Code "@RightNote"
@RightNote { A right note. }
rightnote. @Index @Code "@RightNote"
instead of {@Code "@LeftNote"}. To get a note in the outer margin
(left on even pages, right on odd pages), use {@Code "@OuterNote"};
@OuterNote { An outer note. }
outernote. @Index @Code "@OuterNote"
and for the opposite, use {@Code "@InnerNote"}.
@InnerNote { An inner note. }
@PP
By default, Lout produces margins that are 2.5 centimetres wide, which
is not really enough to accommodate reasonable margin notes. To
change these margins, you need to change options in the setup file, as
explained in Section {@NumberOf margins}.
@PP
The appearance of the margin notes themselves is also determined by
options in the setup file (for a general introduction to setup files
and their options, consult Section {@NumberOf setup}). Here are
the options and their default values:
@ID @OneRow @Code {
"@MarginNoteFont { 0.80f }"
"@MarginNoteBreak { ragged 1.10fx }"
"@MarginNoteHGap { 0.5c }"
"@MarginNoteVGap { 1.00v }"
"@MarginNoteWidth { 1.50c }"
}
@Code "@MarginNoteFont" determines the font; the default value
produces the current font scaled to 0.8 times the current size.
@Code "Slope 0.80f" would yield italic notes, and so
on. @Code "@MarginNoteBreak" is the paragraph breaking style,
similar to the @Code "@InitialBreak" setup file option.
@PP
@Code "@MarginNoteHGap" determines how far away from the
adjacent text column the margin note will appear; the default
value is 0.5 centimetres. Notice that, by this definition, margin
notes will appear in the page body margin (Section {@NumberOf margins})
if there is one. @Code "@MarginNoteVGap" is the minimum
vertical separation between margin notes (i.e. it determines how
far downwards a note will be shifted to avoid the previous
one). @Code "@MarginNoteWidth" determines the width of the column
in which margin notes (both left and right) are set; the default
value of 1.5 centimetres is suited to the 2.5 centimetre page margins
that are the default, but if you widen the page or page body margins
you will be able to increase @Code "@MarginNoteWidth" too.
@PP
Left notes extend into the left margin (including the left page body
margin) a total distance of @Code "@MarginNoteHGap" plus
{@Code "@MarginNoteWidth"}, and it is up to you to make sure that this
does not put them off the page. Similar remarks apply to right
notes. And since notes are never shifted to the next page, only
downwards, there is also a risk that a note will be shifted off the
bottom of the page, if it is very long or if preceding notes obstruct
it. Again, it is up to you to avoid this problem by keeping your notes
small and not too close together.
@PP
Margin notes inside footnotes, figures and tables work well. Margin
notes in multi-column documents are disastrous unless used very
sparingly. Margin notes do not appear in plain text output
(Section {@NumberOf plain}).
@PP
A more radical way to place objects at arbitrary points on the current
place. @Index @Code "@Place"
page is provided by the @Code "@Place" symbol:
@ID @OneRow @Code {
"@Place"
" x { right - 1c - xsize }"
" y { { foot + top } / 2 }"
"{"
" @Box { Hello }"
"}"
}
The placed object may be any object. This particular example produces a
box whose @I x (horizontal) position is such that its right edge is one
centimetre from the right edge of the page, and whose @I y (vertical)
position is halfway up &
@Place
x { right - 1c - xsize }
y { { foot + top } / 2 }
{
@Box { Hello }
}
the page.
@PP
In addition to numbers, with or without units of measurement
(Section {@NumberOf objects}), the following symbols
may be used inside the @Code "x" and @Code "y" options:
@ID @Tab
@Fmta { @Col @Code A ! @Col B }
{
@Rowa
A { left }
B { The left edge of the page }
@Rowa
A { right }
B { The right edge of the page }
@Rowa
A { foot }
B { The foot edge of the page }
@Rowa
A { top }
B { The top edge of the page }
@Rowa
A { "+" }
B { Addition (positive is to the right and up) }
@Rowa
A { "-" }
B { Subtraction (negative is to the left and down) }
@Rowa
A { "*" }
B { Multiplication }
@Rowa
A { "/" }
B { Division }
@Rowa
A { "xsize" }
B { The width of the object being placed }
@Rowa
A { "xmark" }
B { The column mark of the object being placed (for expert users) }
@Rowa
A { "ysize" }
B { The height of the object being placed }
@Rowa
A { "ymark" }
B { The row mark of the object being placed (for expert users) }
}
Negative numbers have to be enclosed in double quotes to avoid the
initial @Code "-" being mistaken for subtraction. The usual precedences
and associativities apply to the mathematical operators; braces (not
parentheses) may be used for grouping. It is best to give values to
@Code "x" and @Code y that do not depend on any assumptions about
where the coordinate system's origin is; this is true of the examples
above. At the point where @Code "@Place" occurs, the result is an
empty object. As with margin notes, Lout does not know what is
happening and will not lay out the rest of the page around the
placed object.
@End @Section
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