Header, footer and overlay

Company logo, event name, “Confidential”, page number: instead of repeating them on every page, write them once with @header and @footer. Ribalta places that content in the same spot on every page, except the cover.

For things that should float on top of the content (a logo in a corner, a watermark, a “Draft” stamp), use the overlay, @overlay.

The basics

Write the block at the start of the document, next to @title and @theme, and close it with @end:

@title 2027 Plan
@theme paper

@footer
2027 Plan · Confidential
@end

# 2027 Plan

---
# Where we are

---
# Where we are going

The first page is the cover and has no footer. On the others, the footer sits at the bottom, inside the page margin.

The content between @footer and @end uses the same language as the pages: text, images, icons, styles, components and blocks such as ::: columns.

Left and right

To put one part on each side, use ::: columns. Each item becomes a column, so separate the items with a blank line:

@title Lumen Pitch
@theme ink

@header
::: columns {valign=center}
:: icon rocket {size=lg color=accent}

Lumen Analytics {align=right}
:::
@end

@footer
::: columns
Confidential

$page / $pages {align=right}
:::
@end

# Lumen Analytics

---
# Traction

Tip

Two consecutive lines without a blank line between them form a single paragraph with a line break. That is why they would stay together, in the same column.

Automatic fields

Inside @header, @footer and @overlay, these fields are filled in on each page:

Field	Becomes
$page	the page number (the cover counts as 1)
$pages	the total number of pages
$title	the document’s @title
$author	the document’s @author
$date	today’s date, in the viewer’s language

A misspelled field shows up as an error, with the closest match suggested: $pagina suggests $page.

Appearance

By default, header and footer use small text (size=sm) in the theme’s muted color. On a dark page, the color follows the page.

To change the default, put attributes on the @header or @footer line. They apply to the whole block:

@theme paper

@footer {align=center color=accent weight=bold}
Product Week 2026
@end

# Opening

---
# Agenda

Attributes inside the block still work as usual, such as {align=right} on a paragraph.

Overlay (@overlay)

@overlay works like the header and footer (written once, hidden on the cover), but it does not reserve a band: it is a page-sized layer on top of the content. Use it for a logo in a corner, a watermark or a “Draft” stamp.

@title Plan 2027
@theme paper

@overlay
Draft {x=1500 y=40 color=coral weight=bold uppercase}
@end

# Plan 2027

---
# Where we are

The stamp sits on top of the content, in the corner.

Inside the layer, a block with x and y is placed from the top-left corner of the page, ignoring the margin: x=0 y=0 is the exact corner.

Without x and y, the content stays inside the page margin. Use align and valign on the @overlay line to pick a corner without working out coordinates:

@theme ink

@overlay {align=right valign=bottom}
:: icon sparkles {size=2xl color=accent}
@end

# Opening

---
# Agenda

Unlike the header and footer, the overlay has no default look: text uses the page’s normal size and color. For a watermark, use opacity, as in {opacity=0.1}.

Cover and exceptions

The cover has no header, footer or overlay. By default, the cover is the first page. On each page’s --- line, you can change that:

On the --- line	Effect
{cover}	the page becomes a cover too, with no header, footer or overlay (good for section pages)
{cover=false}	the first page stops being a cover
{footer=off}	removes the footer from this page only
{header=off}	removes the header from this page only
{overlay=off}	removes the overlay from this page only
{footer=on}	shows the footer even on a cover

--- {cover}
# Part 2: Results

--- {footer=off}
![Team photo](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1522071820081-009f0129c71c?w=1600){fit=cover w=100% h=100%}

In the base theme

A @header, @footer or @overlay written in the base theme applies to every document that uses that theme. It is the place for the company’s standard footer.

• If a document has its own @footer, it replaces the theme’s.
• To remove the theme’s footer from one document, write @footer none. The same goes for @header none and @overlay none.

@title A document without the company footer
@footer none

Under the hood

Header and footer take a reserved band: page content never ends up underneath them. A one-line footer fits inside the theme’s margin and does not change the layout. If the block is taller, the content area shrinks. The overlay takes no space: the page layout is the same with or without it.

A few things do not apply inside @header, @footer and @overlay:

• Step-by-step reveal. These blocks are always shown in full; step and ::: steps are ignored, with a warning.
• Notes. ::: notes inside the block is ignored, with a warning. Write notes on the page itself.