@Section @Title { Page margins, page boxes, and page backgrounds } @Tag { margins } @Begin @PP There are six options for setting the top and bottom margins on each margins. @RawIndex { margins } margins.in.pages @SubIndex { in pages } top.margin @Index @Code "@TopMargin" foot.margin @Index @Code "@FootMargin" odd.left.margin @Index @Code "@OddLeftMargin" odd.right.margin @Index @Code "@OddRightMargin" even.left.margin @Index @Code "@EvenLeftMargin" even.right.margin @Index @Code "@EvenRightMargin" page, and the left and right margins on odd and even pages. Here they are with their default values: @ID @OneRow @Code { "@TopMargin { 2.50c }" "@FootMargin { 2.50c }" "@OddLeftMargin { 2.50c }" "@OddRightMargin { 2.50c }" "@EvenLeftMargin { 2.50c }" "@EvenRightMargin { 2.50c }" } When setting these options you must ensure that @ID @Eq { @Code "@OddLeftMargin" + @Code "@OddRightMargin" = @Code "@EvenLeftMargin" + @Code "@EvenRightMargin" } In other words, the total margin on odd pages must be the same as on even pages. @PP You can have a box drawn around each page if you wish. Here are the relevant options and their default values: @ID @OneRow @Code { "@PageBoxType { None }" "@PageBoxMargin { 1.00c }" "@PageBoxLineWidth {}" "@PageBoxPaint { None }" "@PageBoxShadow { 0.06c }" } You get boxes by changing the @Code "@PageBoxType" option: page.box.type @Index @Code "@PageBoxType" @ID @OneRow @Tab @Fmta { @Col @Code A ! @Col @CC B } { @Rowa A { "@PageBoxType { None }" } B { (no box) } @Rowa @Rowa A { "@PageBoxType { Box }" } B { @Box 1.0c @Wide 1.4c @High } @Rowa @Rowa A { "@PageBoxType { CurveBox }" } B { @CurveBox 1.0c @Wide 1.4c @High } @Rowa @Rowa A { "@PageBoxType { ShadowBox }" } B { @ShadowBox 1.0c @Wide 1.4c @High } } Page boxes reduce the amount of space available to the page contents, so your columns will become somewhat narrower and shorter when you introduce them. @PP The {@Code "@PageBoxMargin"}, {@Code "@PageBoxLineWidth"}, {@Code "@PageBoxPaint"}, and {@Code "@PageBoxShadow"} options affect the page box exactly as the {@Code margin}, {@Code linewidth}, {@Code paint}, and {@Code shadow} options described for other boxes in Section {@NumberOf boxes} do. For example, @ID @OneRow @Code { "@PageBoxType { CurveBox }" "@PageBoxMargin { 1.0c }" "@PageBoxPaint { grey }" } draws a curved box, painted grey, around each page, with a one centimetre margin between its boundary and the page contents. If the left margin is 2.5 centimetres, say, this gives a total left margin from the page edge to the page contents of 3.5 centimetres. @PP Finally, it is possible to have something other than the usual white background on the page, using the @Code "@PageBackground" option: page.background @Index @Code "@PageBackground" @ID @Code { "@PageBackground { @Scale 60d @Rotate lightgrey @Colour DRAFT }" } The value of the option is an object which is drawn on each page, within the margins, before the page contents are drawn. This example draws a large word DRAFT in light grey diagonally across each page: @ID @Box margin { 0c } 0.2 @Scale @IncludeGraphic draft.eps You have to find a suitable angle by experiment. As Section {@NumberOf scaling} explains, @Code "@Scale" with no scale factor only takes account of the available horizontal space, not the available vertical space, so if your angle is too steep the result will be too tall for the page and you will get a regrettably obscure warning message about a `broken size constraint.' The solution is to try a smaller angle. @PP Another useful page background draws marks to show where the margins boundarymarks @Index @Code "@BoundaryMarks" cut.marks @Index { cut marks } lie: @ID @Code "@PageBackground { @BoundaryMarks }" produces something like this around each page: @DP @DP @ID { |@DisplayIndent 3c @High 2c @Wide @HExpand @VExpand @BoundaryMarks } @DP @DP The @Code "@BoundaryMarks" symbol has options for controlling the line width (thickness), the line length, and the gap between the ends of the lines and the corner of the text area: @ID @OneRow @Code { "@PageBackground {" " @BoundaryMarks" " linewidth { 0.2p }" " length { 0.5c }" " gap { 0.5c }" "}" } This shows the default values: 0.2 points for line width, 0.5 centimetres for the others. @End @Section