Document 125

Using alternate footnote designations

Version: 2.5, 3.x, 4.x, 5.x - Scientific WorkPlace & Scientific Word

Footnotes are usually designated by numbers. You can change footnote numbering throughout your document to an alternate designation, such as symbols or letters, with the footmisc package (if you have Version 3.5 or later) or by adding commands to the document preamble (any version).

Using the footmisc package (Version 3.5 or later)

When you add the footmisc package to your document, you can use standard footnote symbols instead of numbers to designate up to nine footnotes. LaTeX uses the symbols in the order shown here:

1 asterisk *
2 dagger †
3 double dagger ‡
4 section symbol §
5 paragraph
6 parallel lines \\
7 two asterisks **
8 two daggers ††
9 two double daggers ‡‡

You can also create custom symbol sequences. See the package documentation for details. Follow these steps to use the footmisc package:

  1. Open your document.

  2. From the Package Options tab and choose Add.

  3. Select footmisc from the list of packages and choose OK.

  4. With the footmisc package selected, choose Modify.

  5. From the Category list, select Footnote mark.

  6. From the Options list, select Symbols.

  7. Choose OK to close the dialogs.

Using commands in the document preamble

By inserting commands in the document preamble, you can use symbols, letters, or Roman numerals instead of standard footnote numbering. Follow these steps:

  1. Open your document.

  2. Open the document preamble:

    • If using Version 3.0 or later,

      From the Typeset menu, choose Preamble.

    • If using Version 2.5,

      From the File menu, choose Document Info and then choose the Preamble tab.

  3. Move the insertion point to the end of the commands that may already be in the preamble and start a new line.

  4. If you want to use standard footnote symbols, as shown in the table above, type the command:

    \renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}

    or

    If you want to use letters or Roman numerals, type the command

    \renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}

    where \fnsymbol is a value from this list:

    \arabic Arabic numerals
    \roman Lower case roman numerals
    \Roman Upper case roman numerals
    \alph Lower case letters (counter cannot be higher than 26)
    \Alph Upper case letters (counter cannot be higher than 26)

  5. Choose OK to close the preamble.

Last revised 12/30/05

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