Section 87. Inserting Footnotes

#87. Inserting Footnotes

If you need to insert footnotes in text, InDesign can automatically format the footnote reference number, place and format the footnote text, and update the footnotes as text changes and footnotes are added. You have complete control over the text formatting and layout, so you decide precisely how footnotes look. This takes working with footnotes from being a potentially tedious and time consuming task to an almost effortless process.

To insert a footnote:

1.	Click anywhere in text using the Type tool.
2.	Choose Type > Insert Footnote. A footnote reference number is automatically inserted, and the flashing text insertion bar is placed at the bottom of the column, ready for you to type the footnote text (Figure 87a). Figure 87a. A footnote is inserted next to "Krabloonik" in the second line of the paragraph. Then, for the footnote text, a definition of "Krabloonik" was typed in.
3.	Enter or paste the footnote text, and then choose Type > Go to Footnote Reference to return to the main text.

If text reflows, the footnote will move with its reference text as necessary.

Importing Footnotes from Word

If you import text from Microsoft Word that has footnotes, you can import and place the footnotes automatically. To do this, click Show Import Options in the Place dialog box, and then check Footnotes. The footnote reference numbers and text are imported from Word but formatted and placed according to settings in the Footnote Options dialog box.

Footnotes generally look the same throughout an entire document. Therefore, the controls for specifying the text formatting and placement of footnotes work for all the footnotes in a document, not for individual footnotes. You can change the formatting at any time, but to prevent a lot of text reflow, you may want to set up the footnote formatting before you start inserting footnotes. To format footnotes, choose Type > Document Footnote Options.

Use the Numbering and Formatting panel (Figure 87b) to specify how footnotes are numbered, the formatting of the footnote reference in text, and the formatting of the actual footnote text.

Figure 87b. In the Numbering and Formatting panel, you can select a character style for footnote reference numbers and a paragraph style for footnote text, among many other formatting options.

Use the Layout panel (Figure 87c) to control how footnotes are placed on the page, including the amount of space before and between footnotes, and how footnotes are handled if the text is too long. If you want to place a rule above footnotes, you can specify its usage and formatting.

Figure 87c. In the Layout panel, you can customize the rule above footnotes and how footnotes are placed on the page.