Command/setupinitial

\setupinitial

Summary

Initials (also known as drop caps, dropped caps, or versals) can be made in ConTeXt using the \placeinitial command.

The command \setupinitial is used to customize this decorative or ornate first letter(s) to prose at the start of chapters, sections, paragraphs, and so forth.

Settings

\setupinitial[...,...][...=...,...]
[...,...]	name
n	number
m	number
before	command
distance	dimension
hoffset	dimension
voffset	line dimension
style	style command
color	color
font	font
text	text
location	margin text
method	first last auto none

Option	Explanation
n	the number of lines in the paragraph that the initial should occupy. It defaults to 3. Another description can be "line where footline of dropcapital"
m	number of letters to capitalize
before	contains any commands that you would like to do prior to placing the initial. This parameter is empty by default. For example, to insert 2 big space before placement of the initial, before={\blank[2*big]}]
distance	is the horizontal distance which initial line(s) of the paragraph should be indented beyond the space needed for the letter. It defaults to 0pt, and it can be negative. Another description can be "offsets the following text", or "distance to the following text"
hoffset	is the distance to the left (into the left margin) that the initial should be shifted from its default position. This defaults to 0pt. Another description can be "shift the initial horizontally, on the left (positive value) or on the right (negative value)"
voffset	is the distance downward from its default position that the initial should be shifted. This defaults to 0pt. Another description can be "shift the initial vertically, down (positive value) or up (negative value). Value 0pt gives a "top" alignment.
style	style of the initial, for example style=\tex{bfd} for large bold
color	which defaults to the current color, for example color=darkred
font	font specification which defaults to boldface scaled to the number of text lines that the initial occupies, for example font=Bold at 32pt
text	the text specified will be used as initial, instead of the letter following the \placeinitial command.
location	default is text, but initial can be placed in the margin with location=margin
method	no idea...

Description

Because the space carved out for the initial is rectangular, initials work best with a font with rectangular ornaments around the letter.

Examples

color, distance, before + variations on n, m , location

The following example produces an awful-looking initial, but it illustrates how some of these parameters work.

\definepapersize[sheet][width=120mm,height=200mm]
\setuppapersize[sheet]
\setuppagenumbering[location=]
\setuplayout[width=100mm,backspace=15mm,topspace=0mm,header=0mm,headerdistance=0mm,footer=0mm,footerdistance=0mm]

\starttext

\setupinitial
  [color=darkred,
   distance=10mm,
   before={\blank[big]\hairline\blank[big]}]

\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[color=darkred,distance=10mm,before={\blank[big]\hairline\blank[big]}]}

and

\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[n=2, m=2]}

\setupinitial[n=2, m=2]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]

or \type[option=context]{\setupinitial[n=3, m=4]}

\setupinitial[n=3, m=4]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]

or \type[option=context]{\setupinitial[location=margin,n=3, m=1,distance=5mm]}

\setupinitial[location=margin,n=3, m=1,distance=5mm]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\stoptext

hoffset

\definepapersize[sheet][width=120mm,height=200mm]
\setuppapersize[sheet]
\setuppagenumbering[location=]
\setuplayout[width=100mm,backspace=15mm,topspace=0mm,header=0mm,headerdistance=0mm,footer=0mm,footerdistance=0mm]

\starttext

Here is some text 1.

\setupinitial[color=darkred]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]
\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[hoffset=0mm]}

\setupinitial[hoffset=0mm]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]
\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[hoffset=5mm]}

\setupinitial[hoffset=5mm]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]
\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[hoffset=-5mm]}

\setupinitial[hoffset=-5mm]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\stoptext

voffset

\definepapersize[sheet][width=120mm,height=200mm]
\setuppapersize[sheet]
\setuppagenumbering[location=]
\setuplayout[width=100mm,backspace=15mm,topspace=0mm,header=0mm,headerdistance=0mm,footer=0mm,footerdistance=0mm]

\starttext

Here is some text 1.

\setupinitial[color=darkred]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]
\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[voffset=0mm]}

\setupinitial[voffset=0mm]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]
\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[voffset=5mm]}

\setupinitial[voffset=5mm]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]
\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[voffset=-5mm]}

\setupinitial[voffset=-5mm]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\stoptext

font

\definepapersize[sheet][width=120mm,height=150mm]
\setuppapersize[sheet]
\setuppagenumbering[location=]
\setuplayout[width=100mm,backspace=15mm,topspace=0mm,header=0mm,headerdistance=0mm,footer=0mm,footerdistance=0mm]

\starttext

Here is some text 1.

\setupinitial[color=darkred]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]
\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[font=Bold at 45pt]}

\setupinitial[font=Bold at 45pt]
\placeinitial
\input knuth

\blank[big]
\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[font=SansBold at 45pt]}

\setupinitial[font=SansBold at 45pt]

\placeinitial
\input knuth

\stoptext

text

\definepapersize[sheet][width=120mm,height=80mm]
\setuppapersize[sheet]
\setuppagenumbering[location=]
\setuplayout[width=100mm,backspace=15mm,topspace=0mm,header=0mm,headerdistance=0mm,footer=0mm,footerdistance=0mm]

\starttext

\type[option=context]{\setupinitial[text=Here]}

\setupinitial[color=darkred,text=Here]
\placeinitial
\input knuth


\stoptext

See also

• \defineinitial placeinitial
• typo-drp.mkiv
• \placeinitial placeinitial

Help from ConTeXt-Mailinglist/Forum

All issues with:

• \setupinitial on the mailing list (all results)
• \setupinitial on the mailing list (subject only)
• \setupinitial on stack exchange
• \setupinitial in ConTeXt's source