Navigation Pattern

Section Marker Header

A quiet top-left section label that tells readers which part of the deck they are in.

section-marker-header

Use Case

Strategy, research, and annual planning decks with several major sections.

When to Use

Use when each slide should retain section context after being exported, printed, or excerpted.

When to Avoid

Avoid when section names are long enough to compete with the slide title.

OPF Config Options

Slide numbers: Enabled
Slide number text: {{slide.number}}
Date format: Not used
Logo position: Not used
Legal line: Not used
Classification line: Not used
Header content: {{slide.section}}
Footer content: Not used
Hide on title slide: Yes

Zone width and inset

The left, center and right zones of design.header and design.footer sit on the content inset: the slide's padding, the same left and right edge as the body, so a footer lines up with the content above it. They are three columns separated by a small gutter (2% of the slide width).

A zone with no content (no image, text, socials or date) lends its column to its neighbours. A lone zone spans the whole content width, so a long source line stays on one line; left and right together share the free centre; a center zone stays centred on the slide and only widens symmetrically. Right-to-left decks mirror the zones.

Zone text that still wraps past two lines is reported by the opf/furniture-wraps validation warning: shorten it, or move sources to a caption or the speaker notes.

Core 0.22.0 behavior.

Best Practices

Use section labels, not full agenda paths.

Align the label to the title grid so it feels intentional.

Change the label only at section boundaries.

OPF Config

headers-footers:section-marker-header

OPF JSON

{
  "$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf/v1",
  "name": "PPTX.gallery — headers-footers/section-marker-header",
  "tags": [
    "gallery:headers-footers/section-marker-header"
  ],
  "design": {
    "header": {
      "left": {
        "text": "{{slide.section}}"
      }
    },
    "footer": {
      "right": {
        "text": "{{slide.number}}"
      }
    }
  },
  "slides": [
    {
      "id": "gallery-hf-title",
      "layout": "text",
      "title": "Quarterly Operating Review",
      "subtitle": "Header/footer pattern \"section-marker-header\".",
      "section": "Introduction",
      "design": {
        "header": false,
        "footer": false
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gallery-hf-content",
      "layout": "list",
      "title": "Header & footer preview",
      "items": [
        "Repeated furniture stays outside the content grid",
        "Slide numbers renumber in PowerPoint"
      ],
      "section": "Market Analysis"
    }
  ],
  "catalogs": {
    "default": {
      "source": "https://www.pptx.gallery",
      "layouts": {
        "text": {
          "name": "Text",
          "summary": "Prose. Several blocks sit side by side when short and stack when long.",
          "tags": [
            "Text"
          ],
          "direction": "column",
          "regions": [
            {
              "name": "title"
            },
            {
              "name": "body",
              "accepts": [
                "text",
                "list",
                "quote",
                "code",
                "group"
              ],
              "role": "primary",
              "flow": "auto"
            }
          ],
          "description": "Explain one idea in continuous prose. Use paragraphs or flowing blocks for detail that needs to be read in sequence.",
          "preview": {
            "vectorSrc": "https://www.pptx.gallery/layout-previews/text.svg"
          }
        },
        "list": {
          "name": "List",
          "summary": "Bulleted or numbered points; one long list flows into columns.",
          "tags": [
            "Text"
          ],
          "direction": "column",
          "regions": [
            {
              "name": "title"
            },
            {
              "name": "body",
              "accepts": [
                "list",
                "text",
                "group"
              ],
              "role": "primary",
              "flow": "auto",
              "listColumns": "auto"
            }
          ],
          "description": "Present several related points in a clear sequence. Use bullets for independent points or numbered items for an ordered list.",
          "preview": {
            "vectorSrc": "https://www.pptx.gallery/layout-previews/list.svg"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Open in visual editor Open in Inspector

Load this config in the gallery's visual editor, or in the Inspector at pptx.dev.

Playground deep link: config=headers-footers:section-marker-header

Section Marker Header