Keith McKay schrieb am 05.03.2023 um 18:10:
>
> Thank you so much Wolfgang! I should have realised that. It's what I
> get for trying to write readable code.
>
You can use the = to align keys and values, e.g.

\setuplayout
   [backspace=2.5cm,
       margin=0.5cm,
        width=16cm,
       header=1cm,
       footer=1cm]

Another useful method is to put large settings into a setups-blocks and
pass the block to a setup-command.

\startsetups [apage]
\startMPcode
StartPage;
...
StopPage;
\stopMPcode
\stopsetups

\defineoverlay[apage][\directsetup{apage}]

Wolfgang