Adding Custom Page Numbering in Pagedown

Introduction

When creating reports or documents using R’s pagedown package, it can be beneficial to have custom page numbering. This allows you to tailor the layout and design of your report according to your needs. In this article, we will explore how to add custom page numbering in a pagedown document.

Background

The pagedown package is part of RStudio’s suite of tools for creating reports and documents. It provides various options for customizing the appearance and layout of your document, including support for multiple columns, headers, footers, and more. The package relies on CSS styles to achieve these effects.

One of the key features of pagedown is its support for generated content, such as counters and page numbers. This allows you to create dynamic content that adapts to the number of pages in your document.

Understanding Generated Content

Generated content refers to the HTML elements that are inserted into a document at runtime. In the context of pagedown, these elements can include counters, page numbers, and other dynamic content.

The @page rule is used to define the styles for generated content, such as page numbers. This rule allows you to specify the layout and positioning of the content on different pages.

Creating a Custom Page Numbering Style

To create a custom page numbering style, we will modify the default CSS file provided by pagedown. Specifically, we will edit the default-page.css file.

@page :left {
    @bottom-left {
        content: 'Page ' counter(page) ' of ' counter(pages);
    }
}
@page :right {
    @bottom-right {
        content: 'Page ' counter(page) ' of ' counter(pages);
    }
}

In this example, we have added two rules to the default-page.css file. The first rule applies to left-aligned pages and inserts a page number with the format “Page X of Y”. The second rule applies to right-aligned pages and also inserts a page number.

You can adjust the layout and formatting of the page numbers by modifying this code.

Adding Custom CSS Styles

To apply our custom styles, we need to create a new file called custom-page.css in the same directory as our RMarkdown script. We will copy the default content of default-page.css into this file and make the necessary changes.

@page :left {
    @bottom-left {
        content: 'Page ' counter(page) ' of ' counter(pages);
    }
}
@page :right {
    @bottom-right {
        content: 'Page ' counter(page) ' of ' counter(pages);
    }
}

However, you should note that the code from default-page.css will be different in this example. We will be using the same layout and formatting as before.

Adding Custom CSS to RMarkdown Script

To apply our custom styles, we need to add a new element to the YAML header of our RMarkdown script.

---
title: "My Title"
author: "Martin Schmelzer"
date: "`r Sys.Date()`"
output:
  pagedown::html_paged:
    css:
      - default-fonts
      - custom-page.css
      - default
---

In this example, we have added our custom-page.css file to the list of CSS files that will be applied to our document.

Conclusion

Adding custom page numbering in a pagedown document is a straightforward process. By modifying the default CSS files and adding custom styles, you can create a unique and professional-looking report.

This article has provided an overview of how to achieve this effect using generated content and counters. It also included examples and explanations for each step of the process.

Additional Considerations

There are several other options available when it comes to customizing your pagedown document. Some of these include:

• Custom Headers: You can use CSS styles to create a unique header for your report.
• Multiple Columns: The pagedown package supports multiple columns, which allows you to format your content in different ways.
• Footers: Footers are another feature that allows you to add custom content to the bottom of each page.

By exploring these options and customizing your document accordingly, you can create a report that meets your specific needs.

Last modified on 2023-11-14