Vellum Help
Using Multiple Heading Backgrounds
In some books, you may wish to include different heading backgrounds across your elements.
You can accomplish this by using a custom Heading Background in Use Mutiple Backgrounds mode. The following two examples provide an overview of how to use this feature.
Note: Heading Backgrounds are only used in your print edition.
Title Page and Chapter Backgrounds
In this example, our book will use one background for Chapters and another for the Title Page.
The first Heading Background will apply to All Chapters in the book:
Adding the Title Page Background
To add another heading background for the Title Page, press Use Multiple Backgrounds. Vellum will show the Add Background dialog:
Make sure In front or back matter is selected, then press Add Background.
Once you’ve configured your background image, give it a descriptive name.
You can use the button bar at the top of the editor to switch between backgrounds.
Assigning to the Title Page
To assign your new background to your Title Page, select the Title Page in Vellum’s Navigator, and click on its gear menu in the Text Editor:
Use the Heading Background menu to choose an available background.
Now, your Title Page will use one background, and all of your Chapters will use another.
Alternating Chapter Backgrounds
You may want to use multiple heading backgrounds in your Chapters. For instance, if you write books featuring multiple POVs, you could use a heading background that corresponds to each character.
In this example, we’ll switch between two characters: a cowboy and a city slicker.
Start by adding a custom Heading Background for your first character:
Adding the Second Background
Press Use Multiple Backgrounds to add your next background:
Select As an alternate Chapter background and press Add Background.
Since you already have a background that applies to All Chapters, Vellum will:
- Change your first background to apply to Individual Elements
- Assign that first background to each Chapter element
Add and configure the second Chapter image. Once you’ve named both backgrounds, you can toggle between them using the buttons at the top:
Assigning to Chapters
You are ready to assign your second background to the appropriate chapters. In Vellum’s Navigator, select the first Chapter you want to change, then hold down the Command key (⌘) and click on other Chapters to select them.
Use the Heading Background item located in the Chapter main menu to change the background for each selected element.
And that’s it! You now have heading background images for each POV.
