How does one place content relative to the page margin?

Andrew · May 30, 2025, 4:32am

Hello. This seems kind of complicated without use case context (for labels). Sounds like "Real" absolute option for `place` (or alternative function) · Issue #5233 · typst/typst · GitHub.

To get consistent positioning, you need the global scope, which can only be achieved with a wrapper. Because of https://typst.app/docs/reference/layout/place/#effect-on-other-elements, I had to save the start Y position first and then place the marker there. It probably won’t work when the bottom of the quote goes to the new page.

#set page(margin: 2.5cm)
#place(rect(width: 100%, height: 100%))

#let QI(label, ..args) = {
  let qi = counter("qi")
  qi.step()
  context [#metadata(here())<pos>]
  [#metadata("qi")#label]
  quote(..args)
  context {
    let count-marker = text(0.8em, red, weight: "semibold", qi.display())
    let pos = query(selector(<pos>).before(here())).last().value.position()
    place(right + top, dx: 15mm, dy: -page.margin + pos.y, count-marker)
  }
}

Synesius wrote (as translated by Robert Burton): #QI(<RB2>)[It is a greater offence to ſteale dead mens labours, than their clothes.]

#QI(<NOGOOD>, block: true, attribution: [Synesius of Cyrene (_circa_ 370--_circa_ 413) in modernized Greek])[
  ἡγοῦμαι δὲ ἀσεβέστερον ἀποθανόντων λόγους κλέπτειν ἢ θοἰμάτια, ὃ καλεῖται τυμβωρυχεῖν.
]

I guess you can move out this completely to a different place, that is not bounded by the margins, however, since you need it to be relative to the margin, then you need to use it anyway:

#let qi = counter("qi")
#let QI(label, ..args) = {
  qi.step()
  context [#metadata(here())<pos>]
  quote(..args)
  [#metadata("qi")#label]
}

#set page(margin: 2.5cm, background: context {
  let positions = query(<pos>)
    .map(x => x.value)
    .filter(x => x.page() == here().page())
  for pos in positions {
    let num = qi.at(pos).first()
    let body = text(0.8em, red, weight: "semibold")[#num]
    place(right + top, dx: -page.margin + 15mm, dy: pos.position().y, body)
  }
})

#place(rect(width: 100%, height: 100%))

Synesius wrote (as translated by Robert Burton): #QI(<RB2>)[It is a greater offence to ſteale dead mens labours, than their clothes.]

#QI(<NOGOOD>, block: true, attribution: [Synesius of Cyrene (_circa_ 370--_circa_ 413) in modernized Greek])[
  ἡγοῦμαι δὲ ἀσεβέστερον ἀποθανόντων λόγους κλέπτειν ἢ θοἰμάτια, ὃ καλεῖται τυμβωρυχεῖν.
]

There is a slight Y shift that I don’t know how to easily fix.