Place chapter heading in margin

Question

I'm using the memoir class.

I would like the \chapter{xxx} command to place the chapter heading in the margin instead of above the text. Like this:

Chapter heading in margin

This question is somewhat similar, but in that question the person wanted the chapter title in the margin of every page. My request is simpler (I hope). I want the chapter title in the margin of the first page instead of above the text.

Do I need to use a similar complex mechanism, or is there a simpler way to achieve what I want?

Will a new chapter always begin at the top of a page? Another way of asking this is "what document class are you intending to use?" — Steven B. Segletes, Jun 18 '14 at 13:47
Yes, a chapter always starts a new page. (The default for the memoir class, I believe.) — oz1cz, Jun 18 '14 at 13:48
Will the title always be short? From your example, it does not take much before it runs out of space. — daleif, Jun 18 '14 at 13:58
@daleif, In my case, there will always be room for the title on a single (vertical) line. — oz1cz, Jun 18 '14 at 14:00
is the width of the text block the same on all pages, or is it narrowed for the first page of a chapter to accommodate the title? — barbara beeton, Jun 18 '14 at 14:16

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 18 '14 at 14:23

Here is something that might be used as a building block so see it as a proof of concept.

\documentclass[a4paper]{memoir}
\usepackage{kantlipsum,graphicx}

% picture syntax with std units
\usepackage{picture,calc,xcolor}

\usepackage{eso-pic}


\makeatletter

\makechapterstyle{hmm}{%
  \renewcommand\chapterheadstart{}
  \renewcommand\printchaptername{}
  \renewcommand\printchapternum{}
  \renewcommand\afterchapternum{}
  \renewcommand\printchapternonum{}
  \renewcommand\chaptitlefont{\normalfont\Large\bfseries\sffamily}
  \renewcommand\printchaptertitle[1]{%
    \begingroup%
    \AddToShipoutPicture*{%
      \put(\paperwidth-\foremargin+15mm,
      \paperheight-\textheight-\uppermargin
      ){\rotatebox{90}{\parbox[t]{\textheight}{%
            \makebox[\textheight-\topsep][l]{\hfill 
              \chaptitlefont
              \@chapapp~\thechapter\ --
              ##1}
          }%
        }%
      }%
    }%
    \endgroup%
  }
  \renewcommand\afterchaptertitle{}
}
\chapterstyle{hmm}
\makeatother

\begin{document}

\chapter{Lorem Ipsum}

\kant

\end{document}

That looks very promising, @daleif. I can probably get this to work with my document. (I'll just wait a few hours before I acknowledge this as an answer.) — oz1cz, Jun 18 '14 at 14:37
I successfully got this to work with my document. Wonderful. Thank you very much. — oz1cz, Jun 18 '14 at 15:43

Place chapter heading in margin

1 Answers1