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Margin Notes

Setup

drafting exists in the official typst package repository, so the recommended approach is to import it from the preview namespace:

#import "@preview/drafting:0.2.1"

Margin notes cannot lay themselves out correctly until they know your page size and margins. By default, they occupy nearly the entirety of the left or right margin, but you can provide explicit left/right bounds if desired:

// Example:
// Default margin in typst is 2.5cm, but we want to use 2cm
// On the left
#set-page-properties(margin-left: 2cm)

The basics

#lorem(20)
#margin-note(side: left)[Hello, world!]
#lorem(10)
#margin-note[Hello from the other side]
#margin-note[When notes are about to overlap, they're automatically shifted]
#margin-note(stroke: aqua + 3pt)[To avoid collision]
#lorem(25)
#margin-note(stroke: green, side: left)[You can provide two positional arguments if you want to highlight a phrase associated with your note.][The first is text which should be inline-noted, and the second is the standard margin note.]

#let caution-rect = rect.with(inset: 1em, radius: 0.5em, fill: orange.lighten(80%))
#inline-note(rect: caution-rect)[
  Be aware that `typst` will complain when 4 notes overlap, and stop automatically avoiding collisions when 5 or more notes
  overlap. This is because the compiler stops attempting to reposition notes after a few attempts
  (initial layout + adjustment for each note).

  You can manually adjust the position of notes with `dy` to silence the warning.
]

Example 1

Adjusting the default style

All function defaults are customizable through updating the module state:

#lorem(14) #margin-note[Default style]
#lorem(10)
#set-margin-note-defaults(stroke: orange, side: left)
#margin-note[Updated style]
#lorem(10)

Example 2

Even deeper customization is possible by overriding the default rect:

#import "@preview/colorful-boxes:1.1.0": stickybox

#let default-rect(stroke: none, fill: none, width: 0pt, content) = {
  set text(0.9em)
  stickybox(rotation: 30deg, width: width/1.5, content)
}
#set-margin-note-defaults(rect: default-rect, stroke: none, side: right)

#lorem(20)
#margin-note(dy: -5em)[Why not use sticky notes in the margin?]

// Undo changes from this example
#set-margin-note-defaults(rect: rect, stroke: red)

Example 3

Multiple document reviewers

#let reviewer-a = margin-note.with(stroke: blue)
#let reviewer-b = margin-note.with(stroke: purple)
#lorem(10)
#reviewer-a[Comment from reviewer A]
#lorem(5)
#reviewer-b(side: left)[Reviewer B comment]
#lorem(10)

Example 4

Inline Notes

#lorem(10)
#inline-note[The default inline note will split the paragraph at its location]
#lorem(10)
#inline-note(par-break: false, stroke: (paint: orange, dash: "dashed"))[
  But you can specify `par-break: false` to prevent this
]
#lorem(10)

Example 5

Hiding notes for print preview

#set-margin-note-defaults(hidden: true)

#lorem(20)
#margin-note[This will respect the global "hidden" state]
#margin-note(hidden: false, dy: -2.5em)[This note will never be hidden]
// Undo these changes
#set-margin-note-defaults(hidden: false)

Example 6

Positioning

Precise placement: rule grid

Need to measure space for fine-tuned positioning? You can use rule-grid to cross-hatch the page with rule lines:

#rule-grid(width: 10cm, height: 3cm, spacing: 20pt)
#place(
  dx: 180pt,
  dy: 40pt,
  rect(fill: white, stroke: red, width: 1in, "This will originate at (180pt, 40pt)")
)

// Optionally specify divisions of the smallest dimension to automatically calculate
// spacing
#rule-grid(dx: 10cm + 3em, width: 3cm, height: 1.2cm, divisions: 5, square: true,  stroke: green)

// The rule grid doesn't take up space, so add it explicitly
#v(3cm + 1em)

Example 7

Absolute positioning

What about absolutely positioning something regardless of margin and relative location? absolute-place is your friend. You can put content anywhere:

#context {
  let (dx, dy) = (here().position().x, here().position().y)
  let content-str = (
    "This absolutely-placed box will originate at (" + repr(dx) + ", " + repr(dy) + ")"
    + " in page coordinates"
  )
  absolute-place(
    dx: dx, dy: dy,
    rect(
      fill: green.lighten(60%),
      radius: 0.5em,
      width: 2.5in,
      height: 0.5in,
      [#align(center + horizon, content-str)]
    )
  )
}
#v(0.5in)

Example 8

The “rule-grid” also supports absolute placement at the top-left of the page by passing relative: false. This is helpful for “rule“-ing the whole page.