Running Head Previewer
Head content
verso (even)
Body text of the verso page. The running head sits above the text block, its baseline on the top margin, and is separated from the text by the margin itself rather than by a rule.
Head size 16px (12pt) at weight 400 — typically 1–2px smaller than the body size, and often small-caps or letterspaced rather than bold.
recto (odd)
Body text of the recto page. The running head sits above the text block, its baseline on the top margin, and is separated from the text by the margin itself rather than by a rule.
Head size 16px (12pt) at weight 400 — typically 1–2px smaller than the body size, and often small-caps or letterspaced rather than bold.
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The running head previewer renders the small line at the top of a book page and alternates it across a two-page spread. You set the book title for the recto, the chapter for the verso, the page layout, the head face, the head size, the outside margin and the head weight, and the tool draws both pages so the folio's position on the outer edge is visible rather than described.
What is Running Head Previewer?
The running head previewer is a print mock rather than a code generator. It takes the two texts a two-sided book needs, the layout mode, the head face, the head size in pixels, the outside margin in millimetres and a head weight, then draws the pages with a head line, a body block and a footer that echoes the margin. In two-sided mode two panels are rendered, and the alternation between the chapter head and the book head is the point of the exercise.
- Page layouts: two-sided, with recto and verso alternation, or single-sided with one head.
- Head size from 8px to 20px, defaulting to 16px, with the point equivalent reported.
- Outside margin from 2mm to 40mm, defaulting to 12mm, with the inch equivalent reported.
- Head weight from 300 to 700 in hundred-unit steps, defaulting to 400.
- In two-sided mode the verso page 42 carries the chapter head with the folio on the left, and the recto page 43 carries the book title with the folio on the right, so the number always falls on the outer edge.
- The head face comes from the shared catalogue, defaulting to Source Serif 4.
- A footer line on each panel states the outer margin value and repeats the folio.
The arithmetic is the part a print specification keeps. The head size is set in pixels and reported in points by multiplying by 0.75, and the outside margin is converted from millimetres to inches by dividing by 25.4, which is what happens when type is chosen on screen but the page is specified on paper. The head sits above a rule and the body copy begins below it, separated by the margin rather than by another rule, which is the convention these panels demonstrate. At the default 16px the head line converts to 12pt, a common size for a book head, and the default 12mm margin is just under half an inch. Each page panel also prints an explanation of the head's size and weight in the context of the body copy, so the comparison does not have to be held in memory.
- The page numbers are fixed at 42 and 43; nothing here paginates a real document.
- The tool previews only. It exports no CSS, no paged-media markup and no print stylesheet.
- Single-sided mode drops the chapter alternation, so the verso head cannot be judged from it.
- The weight control moves in hundred-unit steps and assumes the chosen face carries those weights.
- Nothing enforces a minimum clearance between the head line and the text block; the margin is a value, not a constraint.
Use it to settle the two decisions a running head always raises: which text goes where, and where the folio falls on the outer edge. Judge the head size against the body copy and keep the head lighter than the chapter title below it, since a bold running head competes with the page's own hierarchy. The planning side of the same problem, what each page carries and how sections alternate, belongs to the running head planner, and the numbers chosen here are recorded for production in the print type specification sheet.
How to use Running Head Previewer
- Enter the book title for the recto head and the chapter for the verso head.
- Choose the two-sided or single-sided layout and the face for the head line.
- Set the head size, the outside margin and the head weight, then read the point and inch conversions.
- Check both pages in the preview to confirm the folio falls on the outer edge before recording the specification.
When to use Running Head Previewer vs related tools
Use it before a book interior is specified, when the placement of the head and the folio still has to be agreed. The preview answers the two-page question visually, which is faster than reading a description of recto and verso rules. The surrounding page plan, including what each section carries, is the running head planner's job, and the full specification of head size, margin and weight belongs in the print type specification sheet. The book-level layout this head sits in is previewed by the book interior layout preview.
Privacy & Security
This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data ever leaves your device. There is no server round-trip, no upload, no logging, and no account required. Your input is processed locally using client-side JavaScript and is never stored, transmitted, or accessible to anyone else. When you close the tab, everything disappears.