diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleChart.tsx b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleChart.tsx
index 9367e63e..10e4e22c 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleChart.tsx
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleChart.tsx
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ export interface SquiggleChartProps {
   maxX?: number;
   /** Whether to show vega actions to the user, so they can copy the chart spec */
   distributionChartActions?: boolean;
+  enableLocalSettings?: boolean;
 }
 
 const defaultOnChange = () => {};
@@ -76,6 +77,7 @@ export const SquiggleChart: React.FC<SquiggleChartProps> = React.memo(
     color,
     title,
     distributionChartActions,
+    enableLocalSettings = false,
   }) => {
     const result = useSquiggle({
       code,
@@ -111,6 +113,7 @@ export const SquiggleChart: React.FC<SquiggleChartProps> = React.memo(
         distributionPlotSettings={distributionPlotSettings}
         chartSettings={chartSettings}
         environment={environment ?? defaultEnvironment}
+        enableLocalSettings={enableLocalSettings}
       />
     );
   }
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleContainer.tsx b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleContainer.tsx
index 63dbb54a..bb3f1db4 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleContainer.tsx
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleContainer.tsx
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ const SquiggleContext = React.createContext<SquiggleContextShape>({
 
 export const SquiggleContainer: React.FC<Props> = ({ children }) => {
   const context = useContext(SquiggleContext);
+
   if (context.containerized) {
     return <>{children}</>;
   } else {
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/SquigglePlayground.tsx b/packages/components/src/components/SquigglePlayground.tsx
index 18e6a4c7..d333985a 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/SquigglePlayground.tsx
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/SquigglePlayground.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
-import React, { FC, useState, useEffect, useMemo } from "react";
+import React, {
+  FC,
+  useState,
+  useEffect,
+  useMemo,
+  useRef,
+  useCallback,
+} from "react";
 import { useForm, UseFormRegister, useWatch } from "react-hook-form";
 import * as yup from "yup";
 import { useMaybeControlledValue } from "../lib/hooks";
@@ -229,6 +236,13 @@ const useRunnerState = (code: string) => {
   };
 };
 
+type PlaygroundContextShape = {
+  getLeftPanelElement: () => HTMLDivElement | undefined;
+};
+export const PlaygroundContext = React.createContext<PlaygroundContextShape>({
+  getLeftPanelElement: () => undefined,
+});
+
 export const SquigglePlayground: FC<PlaygroundProps> = ({
   defaultCode = "",
   height = 500,
@@ -301,6 +315,7 @@ export const SquigglePlayground: FC<PlaygroundProps> = ({
       {...vars}
       bindings={defaultBindings}
       jsImports={imports}
+      enableLocalSettings={true}
     />
   );
 
@@ -345,40 +360,54 @@ export const SquigglePlayground: FC<PlaygroundProps> = ({
     </StyledTab.Panels>
   );
 
+  const leftPanelRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
+
   const withEditor = (
     <div className="flex mt-2">
-      <div className="w-1/2">{tabs}</div>
+      <div
+        className="w-1/2 relative"
+        style={{ minHeight: height }}
+        ref={leftPanelRef}
+      >
+        {tabs}
+      </div>
       <div className="w-1/2 p-2 pl-4">{squiggleChart}</div>
     </div>
   );
 
   const withoutEditor = <div className="mt-3">{tabs}</div>;
 
+  const getLeftPanelElement = useCallback(() => {
+    return leftPanelRef.current ?? undefined;
+  }, []);
+
   return (
     <SquiggleContainer>
-      <StyledTab.Group>
-        <div className="pb-4">
-          <div className="flex justify-between items-center">
-            <StyledTab.List>
-              <StyledTab
-                name={vars.showEditor ? "Code" : "Display"}
-                icon={vars.showEditor ? CodeIcon : EyeIcon}
+      <PlaygroundContext.Provider value={{ getLeftPanelElement }}>
+        <StyledTab.Group>
+          <div className="pb-4">
+            <div className="flex justify-between items-center">
+              <StyledTab.List>
+                <StyledTab
+                  name={vars.showEditor ? "Code" : "Display"}
+                  icon={vars.showEditor ? CodeIcon : EyeIcon}
+                />
+                <StyledTab name="Sampling Settings" icon={CogIcon} />
+                <StyledTab name="View Settings" icon={ChartSquareBarIcon} />
+                <StyledTab name="Input Variables" icon={CurrencyDollarIcon} />
+              </StyledTab.List>
+              <RunControls
+                autorunMode={autorunMode}
+                isStale={renderedCode !== code}
+                run={run}
+                isRunning={isRunning}
+                onAutorunModeChange={setAutorunMode}
               />
-              <StyledTab name="Sampling Settings" icon={CogIcon} />
-              <StyledTab name="View Settings" icon={ChartSquareBarIcon} />
-              <StyledTab name="Input Variables" icon={CurrencyDollarIcon} />
-            </StyledTab.List>
-            <RunControls
-              autorunMode={autorunMode}
-              isStale={renderedCode !== code}
-              run={run}
-              isRunning={isRunning}
-              onAutorunModeChange={setAutorunMode}
-            />
+            </div>
+            {vars.showEditor ? withEditor : withoutEditor}
           </div>
-          {vars.showEditor ? withEditor : withoutEditor}
-        </div>
-      </StyledTab.Group>
+        </StyledTab.Group>
+      </PlaygroundContext.Provider>
     </SquiggleContainer>
   );
 };
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/ItemSettingsMenu.tsx b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/ItemSettingsMenu.tsx
index 39f14988..c4c226d8 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/ItemSettingsMenu.tsx
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/ItemSettingsMenu.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { CogIcon } from "@heroicons/react/solid";
-import React, { useContext, useState } from "react";
+import React, { useContext, useRef, useState, useEffect } from "react";
 import { useForm } from "react-hook-form";
 import { yupResolver } from "@hookform/resolvers/yup";
 import { Modal } from "../ui/Modal";
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
   defaultColor,
   defaultTickFormat,
 } from "../../lib/distributionSpecBuilder";
+import { PlaygroundContext } from "../SquigglePlayground";
 
 type Props = {
   path: Path;
@@ -18,12 +19,15 @@ type Props = {
   withFunctionSettings: boolean;
 };
 
-const ItemSettingsModal: React.FC<Props & { close: () => void }> = ({
+const ItemSettingsModal: React.FC<
+  Props & { close: () => void; resetScroll: () => void }
+> = ({
   path,
   onChange,
   disableLogX,
   withFunctionSettings,
   close,
+  resetScroll,
 }) => {
   const { setSettings, getSettings, getMergedSettings } =
     useContext(ViewerContext);
@@ -51,7 +55,7 @@ const ItemSettingsModal: React.FC<Props & { close: () => void }> = ({
       diagramCount: mergedSettings.chartSettings.count,
     },
   });
-  React.useEffect(() => {
+  useEffect(() => {
     const subscription = watch((vars) => {
       const settings = getSettings(path); // get the latest version
       setSettings(path, {
@@ -78,10 +82,26 @@ const ItemSettingsModal: React.FC<Props & { close: () => void }> = ({
     return () => subscription.unsubscribe();
   }, [getSettings, setSettings, onChange, path, watch]);
 
+  const { getLeftPanelElement } = useContext(PlaygroundContext);
+
   return (
-    <Modal>
-      <Modal.Header close={close}>
-        Chart settings{path.length ? " for " + pathAsString(path) : ""}
+    <Modal container={getLeftPanelElement()} close={close}>
+      <Modal.Header>
+        Chart settings
+        {path.length ? (
+          <>
+            {" for "}
+            <span
+              title="Scroll to item"
+              className="cursor-pointer"
+              onClick={resetScroll}
+            >
+              {pathAsString(path)}
+            </span>{" "}
+          </>
+        ) : (
+          ""
+        )}
       </Modal.Header>
       <Modal.Body>
         <ViewSettings
@@ -97,11 +117,25 @@ const ItemSettingsModal: React.FC<Props & { close: () => void }> = ({
 
 export const ItemSettingsMenu: React.FC<Props> = (props) => {
   const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);
-  const { setSettings, getSettings } = useContext(ViewerContext);
+  const { enableLocalSettings, setSettings, getSettings } =
+    useContext(ViewerContext);
+
+  const ref = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
+
+  if (!enableLocalSettings) {
+    return null;
+  }
   const settings = getSettings(props.path);
 
+  const resetScroll = () => {
+    if (!ref.current) return;
+    window.scroll({
+      top: ref.current.getBoundingClientRect().y + window.scrollY,
+    });
+  };
+
   return (
-    <div className="flex gap-2">
+    <div className="flex gap-2" ref={ref}>
       <CogIcon
         className="h-5 w-5 cursor-pointer text-slate-400 hover:text-slate-500"
         onClick={() => setIsOpen(!isOpen)}
@@ -122,7 +156,11 @@ export const ItemSettingsMenu: React.FC<Props> = (props) => {
         </button>
       ) : null}
       {isOpen ? (
-        <ItemSettingsModal {...props} close={() => setIsOpen(false)} />
+        <ItemSettingsModal
+          {...props}
+          close={() => setIsOpen(false)}
+          resetScroll={resetScroll}
+        />
       ) : null}
     </div>
   );
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/ViewerContext.ts b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/ViewerContext.ts
index 58270a90..0769f3b1 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/ViewerContext.ts
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/ViewerContext.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ type ViewerContextShape = {
   getSettings(path: Path): LocalItemSettings;
   getMergedSettings(path: Path): MergedItemSettings;
   setSettings(path: Path, value: LocalItemSettings): void;
+  enableLocalSettings: boolean; // show local settings icon in the UI
 };
 
 export const ViewerContext = React.createContext<ViewerContextShape>({
@@ -30,4 +31,5 @@ export const ViewerContext = React.createContext<ViewerContextShape>({
     height: 150,
   }),
   setSettings() {},
+  enableLocalSettings: false,
 });
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/index.tsx b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/index.tsx
index 0c6a20dd..6feb3cad 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/SquiggleViewer/index.tsx
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ type Props = {
   chartSettings: FunctionChartSettings;
   /** Environment for further function executions */
   environment: environment;
+  enableLocalSettings?: boolean;
 };
 
 type Settings = {
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ export const SquiggleViewer: React.FC<Props> = ({
   distributionPlotSettings,
   chartSettings,
   environment,
+  enableLocalSettings = false,
 }) => {
   // can't store settings in the state because we don't want to rerender the entire tree on every change
   const settingsRef = useRef<Settings>({});
@@ -85,6 +87,7 @@ export const SquiggleViewer: React.FC<Props> = ({
         getSettings,
         setSettings,
         getMergedSettings,
+        enableLocalSettings,
       }}
     >
       {result.tag === "Ok" ? (
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/ui/Modal.tsx b/packages/components/src/components/ui/Modal.tsx
index d0565ddc..31f3e914 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/ui/Modal.tsx
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/ui/Modal.tsx
@@ -1,20 +1,35 @@
 import { motion } from "framer-motion";
-import * as React from "react";
+import React, { useContext } from "react";
 import * as ReactDOM from "react-dom";
 import { XIcon } from "@heroicons/react/solid";
+import { SquiggleContainer } from "../SquiggleContainer";
+import clsx from "clsx";
+import { useWindowScroll, useWindowSize } from "react-use";
+import { rectToClientRect } from "@floating-ui/core";
 
-const Overlay: React.FC = () => (
-  <motion.div
-    className="absolute inset-0 -z-10 bg-black"
-    initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
-    animate={{ opacity: 0.3 }}
-  />
-);
+type ModalContextShape = {
+  close: () => void;
+};
+const ModalContext = React.createContext<ModalContextShape>({
+  close: () => undefined,
+});
+
+const Overlay: React.FC = () => {
+  const { close } = useContext(ModalContext);
+  return (
+    <motion.div
+      className="absolute inset-0 -z-10 bg-black"
+      initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
+      animate={{ opacity: 0.1 }}
+      onClick={close}
+    />
+  );
+};
 
 const ModalHeader: React.FC<{
-  close: () => void;
   children: React.ReactNode;
-}> = ({ children, close }) => {
+}> = ({ children }) => {
+  const { close } = useContext(ModalContext);
   return (
     <header className="px-5 py-3 border-b border-gray-200 font-bold flex items-center justify-between">
       <div>{children}</div>
@@ -41,22 +56,92 @@ const ModalFooter: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> = ({ children }) => (
   <div className="px-5 py-3 border-t border-gray-200">{children}</div>
 );
 
-const ModalWindow: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> = ({ children }) => (
-  <div
-    className="bg-white rounded shadow-toast overflow-auto flex flex-col mx-2 w-96"
-    style={{ maxHeight: "calc(100% - 20px)", maxWidth: "calc(100% - 20px)" }}
-  >
-    {children}
-  </div>
-);
+const ModalWindow: React.FC<{
+  children: React.ReactNode;
+  container?: HTMLElement;
+}> = ({ children, container }) => {
+  // This component works in two possible modes:
+  // 1. container mode - the modal is rendered inside a container element
+  // 2. centered mode - the modal is rendered in the middle of the screen
+  // The mode is determined by the presence of the `container` prop and by whether the available space is large enough to fit the modal.
 
-type ModalType = React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> & {
+  // Necessary for container mode - need to reposition the modal on scroll and resize events.
+  useWindowSize();
+  useWindowScroll();
+
+  let position:
+    | {
+        left: number;
+        top: number;
+        maxWidth: number;
+        maxHeight: number;
+        transform: string;
+      }
+    | undefined;
+
+  const { clientWidth: screenWidth, clientHeight: screenHeight } =
+    document.documentElement;
+  if (container) {
+    const rect = container?.getBoundingClientRect();
+
+    // If available space in `visibleRect` is smaller than these, fallback to positioning in the middle of the screen.
+    const minWidth = 384; // matches the w-96 below
+    const minHeight = 300;
+    const offset = 8;
+
+    const visibleRect = {
+      left: Math.max(rect.left, 0),
+      right: Math.min(rect.right, screenWidth),
+      top: Math.max(rect.top, 0),
+      bottom: Math.min(rect.bottom, screenHeight),
+    };
+    const maxWidth = visibleRect.right - visibleRect.left - 2 * offset;
+    const maxHeight = visibleRect.bottom - visibleRect.top - 2 * offset;
+
+    const center = {
+      left: visibleRect.left + (visibleRect.right - visibleRect.left) / 2,
+      top: visibleRect.top + (visibleRect.bottom - visibleRect.top) / 2,
+    };
+    position = {
+      left: center.left,
+      top: center.top,
+      transform: "translate(-50%, -50%)",
+      maxWidth,
+      maxHeight,
+    };
+    if (maxWidth < minWidth || maxHeight < minHeight) {
+      position = undefined; // modal is hard to fit in the container, fallback to positioning it in the middle of the screen
+    }
+  }
+  return (
+    <div
+      className={clsx(
+        "bg-white rounded-md shadow-toast flex flex-col overflow-auto border w-96",
+        position ? "fixed" : null
+      )}
+      style={
+        position ?? {
+          maxHeight: "calc(100% - 20px)",
+          maxWidth: "calc(100% - 20px)",
+        }
+      }
+    >
+      {children}
+    </div>
+  );
+};
+
+type ModalType = React.FC<{
+  children: React.ReactNode;
+  container?: HTMLElement; // if specified, modal will be positioned over the visible part of the container, if it's not too small
+  close: () => void;
+}> & {
   Body: typeof ModalBody;
   Footer: typeof ModalFooter;
   Header: typeof ModalHeader;
 };
 
-export const Modal: ModalType = ({ children }) => {
+export const Modal: ModalType = ({ children, container, close }) => {
   const [el] = React.useState(() => document.createElement("div"));
 
   React.useEffect(() => {
@@ -68,15 +153,19 @@ export const Modal: ModalType = ({ children }) => {
   }, [el]);
 
   const modal = (
-    <div className="squiggle">
-      <div className="fixed inset-0 z-40 flex justify-center items-center">
-        <Overlay />
-        <ModalWindow>{children}</ModalWindow>
-      </div>
-    </div>
+    <SquiggleContainer>
+      <ModalContext.Provider value={{ close }}>
+        <div className="squiggle">
+          <div className="fixed inset-0 z-40 flex justify-center items-center">
+            <Overlay />
+            <ModalWindow container={container}>{children}</ModalWindow>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </ModalContext.Provider>
+    </SquiggleContainer>
   );
 
-  return ReactDOM.createPortal(modal, el);
+  return ReactDOM.createPortal(modal, container || el);
 };
 
 Modal.Body = ModalBody;
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index cb466cc6..1ede77ac 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -4825,7 +4825,7 @@
   dependencies:
     "@types/react" "*"
 
-"@types/react@*", "@types/react@^18.0.9":
+"@types/react@*", "@types/react@^18.0.1", "@types/react@^18.0.9":
   version "18.0.15"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/react/-/react-18.0.15.tgz#d355644c26832dc27f3e6cbf0c4f4603fc4ab7fe"
   integrity sha512-iz3BtLuIYH1uWdsv6wXYdhozhqj20oD4/Hk2DNXIn1kFsmp9x8d9QB6FnPhfkbhd2PgEONt9Q1x/ebkwjfFLow==
@@ -15261,7 +15261,7 @@ react-vega@^7.6.0:
     prop-types "^15.8.1"
     vega-embed "^6.5.1"
 
-react@^18.1.0:
+react@^18.0.0, react@^18.1.0:
   version "18.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/react/-/react-18.2.0.tgz#555bd98592883255fa00de14f1151a917b5d77d5"
   integrity sha512-/3IjMdb2L9QbBdWiW5e3P2/npwMBaU9mHCSCUzNln0ZCYbcfTsGbTJrU/kGemdH2IWmB2ioZ+zkxtmq6g09fGQ==