Document layout and layers/Paper setup

Paper setup is one of the most basic requirements for creating your own style. In this article, the basics of paper setup are explained:

• • \setuppapersize, to set the page size and paper size
  • \definepapersize, to define a new paper size,
  • the many paper sizes already defined by name. Their actual dimensions in mm are given by Paper sizes page.
  • Changing layout setup mid-document
  • Changing paper setup mid-document
  • Setting print size
  • Fitting pages to their content

Basic setup

Setting paper size (\setuppapersize)

Plain TeX and LaTeX were primarily developed in the US. So, they default to letter paper, which is the standard paper size in the US. ConTeXt was developed in the Netherlands. So, it defaults to A4 paper, which is the standard paper size in Europe (and almost everywhere else in the world).

Changing paper size is easy, for letter paper:

\setuppapersize[letter]

Similarly, to get A4 paper, use:

\setuppapersize[A4]

Predefined Paper Sizes

Beyond A4 and letter, ConTeXt predefines many other commonly used paper sizes (see Paper sizes page for actuals dimensions in mm). These include:

ISO (EN/DIN) sizes

• series A and B, from ISO-216 standard (e.g. "A4")
• envelope: serie C 0–10, plus DL
• series RA, SRA 0–4, from ISO-217 standard;
• ISO-based "2 A0" (double A0), "4 A0", "C6/C5", A3plus

US sizes

• letter, ledger, tabloid, legal, folio, executive, A, B, C
• envelope: "envelope 9" (10, 11, 12, 14), monarch, check, DL, E4

Swedish sizes

• sizes G5 and E5 from SIS-014711 standard. These are used for Swedish theses;

Screen sizes

• 4:3 ratio: S3–6 (width 300–600 pt)
• 1:1 ratio: S33, S44, S55, S66 (300 × 300 pt etc.)
• 8:5 ratio: SM (720 × 450 pt), they have the same height as S6
• 16:9 ratio: SW (800 × 450 pt), they have the same height as S6

CD (120 × 120 mm) for CD Covers

Plus keywords oversized (plus 1.5 cm), doublesized, doubleoversized, undersized (minus 1.5 cm). For definitions, see page-lay.mkii and page-lay.mkiv.

Defining new paper sizes (\definepapersize)

The predefined paper sizes in ConTeXt cannot fit all needs. To define a new paper size, use

\definepapersize[exotic]
                [width=50mm, height=100mm]

which defines a paper that is 50mm wide and 100mm high; the name of this paper is exotic (we could have used any other word). All predefined paper sizes are defined using \definepapersize. For example, A4 paper is defined as:

\definepapersize [A4]  [width=210mm,height=297mm]

Use this new paper size like any of the predefined paper sizes. For example, to set the paper size to 50mm x 100mm paper, use

\setuppapersize[exotic]

Orientation

Most of the popular paper sizes default to a portrait orientation. To get landscape orientation, use

\setuppapersize[letter,landscape]

Multiple layouts

If you need to use different layouts in some parts of the document, you can set up a global layout, and then define additional named layouts for the deviating parts. You only need to specify the dimensions that differ: unspecified dimensions will be inherited from the global layout.

To switch to a different layout, call it up in the appropriate place in the document. To revert back to the global layout, use \setuplayout[reset].

\setuplayout[...] % global layout
\definelayout[wide][...] % layout of the first page

\setuplayout[wide]  % switch to layout called 'wide'
\setuplayout[reset] % switch back to the global layout

To specify in advance that you want to change layouts starting from page 4 (e.g.), use \definelayout[4][...]. Resetting the layout must be done explicitly; else, the new layout will be used until the end of the document.

% different layout for first two pages
\definelayout[1][wide]
\definelayout[3][reset]

For the page numbers you can use absolute numbers (as above), relative numbers (like +1, -2) or the keywords odd, even, first and last.

\setuplayout[ % default layout (right page)
...
]
\definelayout[even][ % different layout on left pages
...
]

If you define additional layouts in a doublepage (duplex) setup, remember to think mirrored: leftmargin defines the right margin, backspace is the distance from the spine to the right edge of the text area etc.

.

Warning!

At the moment a layout change (\setuplayout) inside a page is not proper working in mkiv duplex mode. For more details and actual state see mailing list and Bug Layout change inside page while duplexmode.

Maybe using \startlayout…\stoplayout fixes that issue.

Changing paper setup mid-document

Normally, the paper size is set up once—in the environment file—and doesn't need to be changed later. But, occasionally, changing paper size mid-document is needed; for example, to insert a table or a figure in landscape mode. There are two ways to change the paper size mid-document. To illustrate those, let us first define two paper sizes for convenience:

\definepapersize[main] [A4]
\definepapersize[extra][A4,landscape]

One way to change document size is to permanently change the paper size using \setuppapersize and then revert back using \setuppapersize.

% Set the default paper size
\setuppapersize[main]

\starttext

% ...
% text with main paper size
% ...

\page \setuppapersize[extra]

% ...
% pages in landscape mode
% ...

\page \setuppapersize[main]

% ...
% back to main paper size
% ...

\stoptext

The \page before \setuppapersize is necessary as \setuppapersize changes the size of the current page.

Often times, a different paper size is needed only for one page. Rather than manually switching the paper size back and forth using <\setuppapersize, a convenient alternative is to use \adaptpapersize, which automatically reverts back to the existing paper size after one page. This is illustrated by the following example.

\setuppapersize[main]
\starttext
Page 1. Portrait \page
Page 2. Portrait \page
\adaptpapersize[extra]
Page 3. Landscape \page
Page 4. Portrait \page
\stoptext

As with \setuppapersize, always use an explicit \page before \adaptpapersize.

Setting print size

Occasionally you may want to print on a larger paper than the actual page size. This could be because you want to print to the edge of the page—so you print on a large paper and crop later—or because the page size that you are using is not standard. For example, suppose you want to print an A5 page on an A4 paper (and crop later). For that, you need to specify that the paper size is A5 but the print paper size is A4. This information is specified using the two argument version of the \setuppapersize:

\setuppapersize[A5][A4]

Changing page location

By default, this places the A5 page on the top left corner of the A4 paper. To place the A5 page in the middle of the A4 paper use:

\setuppapersize[A5][A4]
\setuplayout[location={middle,middle}]

Other possible values for location are: {top,left}, {top,middle}, {top,right}, {middle,right}, {middle,left}, {bottom,left}, {bottom,middle}, and {bottom,right}. Since {middle, middle} is the most commonly used value, it has a shortcut—location=middle.

If you use {*,left} or {*,right} and print double-sided, then also add doublesided as an option; for example location={doublesided,top,left}. This ensures that the page paper is moved appropriately on even pages.

Crop marks

To get crop marks (also called cut marks) use

\setuplayout[marking=on]

By default, the page numbers are also included with the crop marks. To get additional information like job name, current date and time along with the crop marks, use

\setuplayout[marking=text]

If you want just the crop marks, and no other text, use

\setuplayout[marking=empty]

Defining page and print size combinations

It is convenient to define paper-size/print-paper-size combination for later reuse. These are also defined using \definepapersize. For example, suppose you want to define two paper-size/print-paper-size combinations: A4 paper on A4 print paper for normal work flow, and A4 paper on A3 print paper for the final proofs. For that, use the following:

\definepapersize[regular][A4][A4]
\definepapersize[proof]  [A4][A3]

You can then combine these paper sizes with Modes:

\setuppapersize[regular]
\doifmode{proof}{\setuppapersize[proof]}

Then, when you compile the document in the normal manner, you will get A4 paper on A4 print paper; if you compile the document with --mode=proof, then you will get a A4 paper on A3 print paper.

Fitting pages to their content

ConTeXt has three commands that create a page that is exactly large enough to fit its contents.

• \startTEXpage — start a page that fits its contents exactly. Or has some extra space around the edges, if you specify offset.
• \startpagefigure — start a page just large enough to fit a figure, possibly with some text underneath
• \startMPpage — start a page just large enough to fit its MetaPost contents