Headers, Footers & Page Numbers

Professional reports, legal filings, and financial statements require consistent running headers and footers across pages. ComposeIt provides a dedicated header/footer engine that operates directly within page margin boundaries, supporting multi-column layouts, dynamic data variables, and page numbering tokens.

Anatomy of Running Headers and Footers

In ComposeIt, running headers and footers reside inside the page margin box at the top and bottom of each page:

The Margin Box Model

• Top Margin: Defines the vertical height allocated to the running header. If your header is 15 mm high, your section's Top Margin should be configured to at least 20 mm to prevent overlap with the document body content.
• Bottom Margin: Defines the vertical height allocated to the running footer. Ensure sufficient bottom margin padding for page numbers, legal disclaimers, and barcodes.

Multi-Column Header Layouts

Headers and footers can be organized into flexible columns (Left, Center, Right):

Running Header
├── Left Column:    [Company Logo] or [Document Title]
├── Center Column:  [Confidentiality Notice / Category]
└── Right Column:   [Dynamic Date] or [Document Reference ID]

To adjust the columns:

• Click Insert Column (Left / Right) to add additional cells.
• Drag column borders to adjust proportional width splits (e.g. 50% left, 25% center, 25% right).
• Set column alignment: (Left), (Center), or (Right).

Dynamic Page Numbers ("Page X of Y")

Dynamic page numbering is handled via the dedicated Page Number component.

Inserting Page Numbers

1. Insert the Page Number component from the Blocks panel into any header or footer column.
2. In the Traits Inspector, choose the Number Type:
   • Current Page (current): Outputs the 1-based page index of the active page.
   • Total Pages (total): Outputs the total page count of the compiled document (or section).

Composing "Page X of Y" Labels

To create a standard corporate page indicator:

1. Insert a text container or paragraph block in your footer column.
2. Enter your label prefix: Page .
3. Insert a Page Number component with numberType: "current" by typing @current.
4. Add separator text: of.
5. Insert a second Page Number component with numberType: "total" by typing @total.

Binding Dynamic Data in Headers & Footers

Running headers and footers can display dynamic data from your root payload, including client names, project codes, and issue dates:

Styling & Typography Best Practices

1. Subtle Hierarchy: Keep header and footer text smaller than body text (typically 8pt - 9.5pt) with muted colors (#64748B or #94A3B8) so it doesn't distract from the primary content.
2. Dividers & Rules: Add a subtle 1px solid #E2E8F0 bottom border to running headers and a top border to footers for crisp visual separation.
3. Safety Margins: Maintain at least 4mm of breathing room between the bottom of your header and the top of your body text.

Next Steps

• Explore variable paper formats and orientations: Variable Sections
• Embed mathematical formulas and charts: Charts, Formulas & LaTeX
• Learn dynamic collection iteration: Data Access & Collections