# Header titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Scrivener for macOS\ **Tags:** support\ **Created:** [September 7, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/header-titles/19404 "2012-09-07T12:51:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidk](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@davidk](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/davidk)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/header-titles/19404/1 "2012-09-07T12:51:54Z")
Is there a way to generate header titles from content? Preferably for all selected documents (or all documents in a folder) Similarly, can synopses be generated from content for all selected documents (or all documents in a folder) ? ---
**Author:** ![brookter](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/brookter/32/16095_2.png) [@brookter](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/brookter)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/header-titles/19404/2 "2012-09-07T14:33:14Z")
Have a look at the Placeholder Tags List in the Help Menu. It contains the following text about headers and footers… > [@](#): > > Headers and Footers > > Not all tags are supported in headers and footers. In addition to the special header and footer tags specified below (which can only be used in headers and footers), only the tags listed under the sections Page Numbers, Current Date and Time, and User and Project Information are supported in headers and footers. > > \<$sectiontitle\> > Gets replaced with the title of the document that first comes after the page break most recently preceding the header or footer in which it occurs. In practice, this is useful for placing chapter titles in headers or footers. For instance, if you have a chapter in a single text document starting on a new page, then that document’s title will replace “\<$sectiontitle\>”; if your chapters are broken down into smaller sections placed inside folders, and the folders mark the start of each new chapter, then the folder’s title will replace “\<$sectiontitle\>” throughout the chapter headers and footers. > > Note that if the section title cannot be calculated for any reason (for instance, because there is no text in the section associated with any documents), \<$sectiontitle\> may fall back on using the abbrevated project title (working the same as “\<$abbr\_projecttitle\>” - see User and Project Information for details on where the abbreviated project title is drawn from). I’m not sure that you can do this just for selected documents though - I think it’s a Project wide setting. You can auto-generate synopses for selected documents by selecting them in the binder and choosing Documents \> Auto-generate Synopses. The synopsis is taken from the first 500 characters of the text. HTH David ---
**Author:** ![davidk](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@davidk](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/davidk)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/header-titles/19404/3 "2012-09-07T14:38:15Z")
It did help, thanks- though it seems the part you quoted is talking about headers and footers when final document is compiled? I’m asking about the grey bar- or, maybe a little more clearly, the name of the document in the binder… i.e. if that can somehow be named (hopefully as a batch selection) by the contents, similar to how you’d generate the synopsis (thanks for that part too!) Gotta head out- won’t be back on for a day or so. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![brookter](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/brookter/32/16095_2.png) [@brookter](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/brookter)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/header-titles/19404/4 "2012-09-07T14:51:34Z")
Sorry – thought you were after compile headings. You can set a selection of text to be the document title (Format \> Set Selection as Title cmd-opt-shift-T), but I don’t think you can do it on a batch basis, although I may be wrong… ---
**Author:** ![AmberV](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/amberv/32/13021_2.png) [@AmberV](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/AmberV)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/header-titles/19404/5 "2012-09-07T21:13:23Z")
There is no batch command for that, correct. The closest would be the “Automatically name untitled text documents upon save”, but naturally that only works for items you’ve created after setting it. ---
**Author:** ![MimeticMouton](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/mimeticmouton/32/34_2.png) [@MimeticMouton](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/MimeticMouton)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/header-titles/19404/6 "2012-09-08T15:46:45Z")
> [@AmberV](#): > > that only works for items you’ve created after setting it. Strictly speaking, it will rename a document called “Untitled” when there are changes saved to the document. So you _could_ strip down the outliner to just show the “Title”, then zip through that with the Tab key and Cmd+V to paste “Untitled” as the title for everything, switch to Scrivenings mode, Select All, and then change some minor aspect of formatting that you chan easily change back again–e.g. the font or the first-line indent on the ruler. (Obviously, pick something that you don’t mind adjusting again for all documents, so nothing that has a specific setting for a particular chunk of your text. You should be able to just use Edit \> Undo to restore the previous state, but better safe than sorry!) All the documents will save with that adjustment and will generate new titles, and then you can just undo the change. “Automatically name untitled text documents upon save” is an option in the General tab of Scrivener \> Preferences, in case we didn’t say that. ---
**Author:** ![davidk](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@davidk](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/davidk)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/header-titles/19404/7 "2012-09-10T05:52:04Z")
Thanks everyone, great tips all around