Title: Footnotes for WordPress
Author: C. Johnson
Published: March 8, 2010
Last modified: December 30, 2016
---
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This plugin **hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress**.
It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when
used with more recent versions of WordPress.
# Footnotes for WordPress
By [C. Johnson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/radgeek/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/footnotes-for-wordpress.2016.1230.zip)
* [Details](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/footnotes-for-wordpress/#description)
* [Reviews](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/footnotes-for-wordpress/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/footnotes-for-wordpress/#installation)
* [Development](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/footnotes-for-wordpress/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/footnotes-for-wordpress/)
## Description
Footnotes for WordPress is a simple plugin designed with a simple aim in mind: to
make
it dead-easy to include decently-formatted footnotes in posts and pages on
your WordPress blog.
The syntax is roughly based on the common MediaWiki syntax for footnotes, but uses
the
WordPress shortcode conventions. So, to include a footnote with the text “Text,”
you use:
```
This is footnoted.[ref]Text[/ref]
```
And that’s all you need to do. When you add a footnote, Footnotes for WordPress
will
create a note marker at the point that the foonote appears in the text, and
includes the text of the footnote in a styled list of notes down the page. When
a reader clicks on the link in a JavaScript-enabled browser, a script included with
the plugin will create a small bubble inline in the text, which pops up over the
footnote marker for easy reading without losing their place. In non-JavaScript-enabled
contexts, clicking on the footnote marker jumps down the page to the text of the
note.
The jump is based on an unique anchor which the plugin can automatically generate
for
you. However, if you want to create a specific ID of your own for the footnote,
you can do so using the `name="..."` attribute:
```
This is footnoted.[ref name="my-unique-id-1"]Text[/ref]
```
If you define an ID for a footnote, you can also refer back to the same footnote
later on in the document, using the `[backref name="..."]` shortcode.
```
This is footnoted.[ref name="source1"]Source 1[/ref]
So is this.[ref name="source2"]Source[/ref]
And this one comes from the same source as the first.[backref name="source1"]
```
Footnotes are numbered, beginning at 1. However, you can change the numbering if
you
so desire using the `number="..."` attribute. For example, I often use this
when quoting from a book that contains footnotes or endnotes, in order to represent
the notes used by the original text.
```
This is footnoted, but footnotes begin at number 42.[ref number="42"]...[/ref]
```
You can change the text that is displayed in the note’s superscripted link from
the
note’s number to any text or symbol that you choose using the `superscript="..."`
attribute. For example, to use an asterisk instead of the note number:
```
This is footnoted with a good old asterisk.[ref superscript="*"]...[/ref]
```
By default, the list of footnotes appears at the bottom of the post. However, if
you
wish them to appear somewhere above the bottom of the post, for formatting
or other reasons, you can do so using the `[references/]` shortcode:
```
This is footnoted.[ref]Text[/ref]
As are some[ref]Text[/ref] other things.
[references/]
See also: Endnotes.
```
Which will cause the two footnotes to appear beneath the second paragraph but above
the “See also:” text.
### Usage
* To create a footnote, use `[ref]...[/ref]` to wrap the text of your note.
* Example: `This is footnoted.[ref]This is the text of the of the footnote.[/ref]`
* Normally footnotes use numbered superscripts to indicate the footnote, beginning
with 1. You can choose to use symbols instead, like *, **, †, etc. To use custom
text for a footnote’s superscript, use `[ref superscript="*"]...[/ref]`, and
replace the asterisk with whatever symbol or text you want to use.
* Normally footnotes begin at 1 and count up towards infinity. If you want to use
numbered subscripts but need to reset the number they count from, use the `number`
attribute. For example, if you want the current subscript to be numbered 128,
and for subsequent subscripts to be numbered 129, 130, etc., use: [ref number
=”128″]…[/ref].
* To create a footnote with a specific unique ID, instead of the one that the plugin
will automatically generate for you, use `[ref name="..."]...[/ref]`
* Example: `This is footnoted.[ref name="my-unique-id"]This is the note text.[/
ref]`
* If you define an ID for a footnote, you can also refer back to the same
footnote
later on in the document, using the `[backref name="..."]` shortcode.
* This is footnoted.[ref name=”source1″]Source 1[/ref]
* So is this.[ref name=”source2″]Source[/ref]
* And this one comes from the same source as the first.[backref name=”source1″]
* To force the plugin to display notes at a different location instead of at the
bottom
of the post, use `[references/]`
* Example:
* This is footnoted.[ref]Text[/ref]
* As are some[ref]Text[/ref] other things.
* [references/]
* See also: Endnotes.
* If you wish to change how footnotes are styled, you can alter them in your
WordPress
theme stylesheet, or using JavaScript. The default elements and classes are `