Find out how to add margin notes to a LibreOffice doc

I exploit LibreOffice Writer on Linux to write down my documentation, together with shopper proposals, coaching supplies, and books. Sometimes after I work on a really technical doc, I would want so as to add a margin observe to a doc, to offer further context or to make another observe concerning the textual content.

LibreOffice Writer does not have a “margin note” characteristic however as an alternative implements margin notes as frames. Here is how I add margin notes as frames in a LibreOffice doc.

Set web page margins accordingly

If you wish to use margin notes in a doc, you may want a wider margin than the usual 1-inch on the left and proper sides of the web page. This will accommodate putting the body utterly within the margin, so it turns into a real margin observe. In my paperwork, I do not need the margin to change into too broad, so I often enhance the left and proper web page margins to one thing like 1.25″ after I want to make use of margin notes.

You can set the web page margin through the use of the Styles pop-out choice field. If you do not see the Styles choice field, you may activate it through the use of View → Style within the menus. The default keyboard shortcut for that is F11.

Select the Page model, and right-click on the Default Page Style entry to switch it.

You can use this dialog field to alter the web page dimension and the margins. Where you may usually set a 1-inch margin on the left, proper, high, and backside in your paperwork, as an alternative set the margins to 1.25″ on the left and proper, and 1-inch on the highest and backside. The further area on the left and proper will present a little bit further room for the web page margins with out including an excessive amount of clean area.

When I’m writing a print version of a e book, I would like to organize the doc for double-sided printing, with Left and Right pages. That means my supplies want to make use of the Left Page and Right Page types for the physique pages, and the First Page model for the duvet web page. So after I modify the doc’s default web page model, I have to do the identical for the First Page, Left Page, and Right Page types. The first time you edit these web page types, they are going to inherit the web page dimension from the default, so that you solely want to switch the web page margins to your most popular model. For paperwork with Left and Right pages, you may as an alternative present the 1.25″ margin only on the “outdoors” margins: the appropriate facet for Right pages, and the left facet for Left pages.

Add a observe in a body

Wherever that you must add a margin observe, insert a body utilizing the Insert → Frame → Frame… menu motion. This brings up a dialog field the place you may edit the settings of the body.

Set the width of the body to the width of the skin web page margin, which you earlier set to 1.25″. Click the field for Mirror on even pages then set the horizontal place to Outside for the Entire web page. Change the anchor to the character, which is able to lock the margin observe to the place it seems within the doc, then set the vertical place to Top for the Character, which is able to begin the margin observe on the identical line as the place you insert the body. I additionally choose Keep inside textual content boundaries so my body stays throughout the printed web page.

Under the Wrap tab, set the spacing to zero on the left, proper, high, and backside.

Finally, choose the Borders tab and take away the border by clicking the No Borders preset. Unselect the Synchronize test field, and set the left and proper padding to .25″, and the highest and backside padding to zero. The left and proper padding is vital. This supplies some further white area round your margin observe so it is not jammed proper up in opposition to the textual content physique, and it is not too near the web page edge.

Click Ok so as to add the empty body to your doc, anchored to the character place the place you inserted the body.

The body padding adjustments the efficient width of the margin observe. In this instance, you set the skin web page margin and body width to 1.25″ and .25″ for left and proper padding throughout the body. That leaves .75″ for the margin note itself. This narrow space could be too tight for very long margin notes, depending on what text you need to write here. If you find you need more room for your margin notes, you might instead set the outside page margin and frame width to 1.5″ which provides 1-inch margin notes.

Once you have added the body, you may click on contained in the body to sort your margin observe.

Change the look with Styles

When you utilize frames so as to add margin notes, LibreOffice makes use of the Frame Contents paragraph model in your textual content. You can modify this model to alter how margin notes are displayed.

By default, the Frame Contents model makes use of the identical font, font model, and font dimension as your Default Paragraph Style. To change simply the traits of the margin observe, right-click on the Frame Contents model within the Style Selection choice field, and click on Modify. This brings up a brand new dialog field the place you may change the model of the margin notes.

In my printed paperwork, I exploit Crimson Pro at 12-point dimension as my default paragraph font. For my margin notes, I desire to scale back the font dimension to 10-point and alter the model to italics. This makes the margin observe stand aside from the remainder of the textual content, but stays simple to learn in print.

Copy and paste to create new frames

Inserting a body as a margin observe includes a number of steps, and it may be a ache to repeat every of them each time I have to create a brand new margin observe. I save a number of steps by copying an current margin observe body, and pasting it into my doc at a brand new place. Updating the margin observe requires choosing the textual content throughout the body and typing a brand new observe.

Because you arrange the margin observe to seem on the skin of the web page space, the copied and pasted margin observe will appropriately seem within the left margin on Left pages, and in the appropriate margin on Right pages.

Adding margin notes in a doc is simple with LibreOffice. With margin notes, you may present notes in your reader, resembling further context, errata, or tips to different materials. Used sparingly, margin notes could be a welcome addition to your paperwork.