View source for HandWiki:Nesting footnotes

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{{Wikipedia how to}}

{{nutshell|Footnotes placed within footnotes may appear in the same list as the containing footnotes, or in a separate list. There are various choices in layout and formatting. In some cases, markup using <nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki> tags will cause an error message.}}

This page explains how to "nest" footnotes (references or notes) in Wikipedia articles, i.e. how to create a footnote within a footnote. It reflects the way the [[MediaWiki]] software operates as at July 2015.

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Overview==
{{VE documentation|style=width: 25%; font-size: 87%; float:right}}

===Footnotes: reminder===
[[Help:Footnotes|Footnotes]] are used most commonly to provide:
* '''References''' to reliable sources, published in print or online
* '''Notes''' containing supplementary content.

The Footnotes system shows two elements on the page:
* A '''Footnote marker''' is displayed in the article's content as a bracketed, superscripted number, letter, or word. Examples shown respectively are: {{dummy ref}} {{dummy ref|a}} {{dummy ref|Note 1}}. This footnote label is linked to the full footnote.  
* A '''Footnote''' displays the full note or reference. The footnotes are displayed in an ordered list wherever the reference list markup (e.g. {{tlx|reflist}}, {{tlx|reflist|2=group=...}} or {{tlx|notelist}}) is placed. Each entry begins with the footnote label in plain text.

===Nesting footnotes===
Sometimes, an editor wishes to insert (nest) a footnote within a footnote. We will call the inserted footnote a '''"subnote"'''. Cases may include:

<center>
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! Type of nesting !! Example 
|-
| Reference within a note || Lorem ipsum dolor<ref>Book 1, 1923.</ref> sit amet.{{efn|This has been disputed by later scholars.<ref>Nested reference, 2003.</ref>}} Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<ref>Book 2, 1968.</ref>

====Notes====
{{notelist}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
|-
| Note within a note || Lorem ipsum dolor<ref>Book 1, 1923.</ref> sit amet.{{efn|This has been disputed by later scholars{{efn-lr|For example, writing in 2003, Nested argued strongly for rejecting the source as a forgery.<ref>Nested reference, 2003.</ref>}} on the grounds of unsound evidence.}} Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<ref>Book 2, 1968.</ref>

====Notes====
{{notelist}}

''Subnotes''
{{notelist-lr}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
|-
| Note on a reference || Lorem ipsum dolor{{refn|Book 1, 1923.{{refn|group=subnote|The 1952 paperback edition of Book 1 does not contain the relevant passage.}} }} sit amet. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<ref>Book 2, 1968.</ref>

====References====
{{reflist}} 

''Notes on references''
{{reflist|group=subnote}}
|}
</center>

==Things to consider==
# Is your subnote really necessary? Especially if the subnote is a short one, would it be more straightforward for the reader - as well as for you - to keep it as part of the main note, perhaps in brackets?
# If the subnote is a reference, should it appear within the main numbered list of references, or in a separate list?
# If the subnote appears in a separate list, where should that list be placed among the different lists of footnotes?
# Should the subnote marker be - numeric {{dummy ref}}, a roman numeral {{dummy ref|i}}, alphabetic {{dummy ref|a}}, or user-defined {{dummy ref|subnote 1}}? Could it be confusing to use the same system in different footnote lists? Bear in mind also that roman numeral {{dummy ref|i}} is identical with alphabetic {{dummy ref|i}}.

==What does not work==

'''You cannot nest a footnote within a footnote that uses <nowiki><ref>...</ref></nowiki> tags''', even if the footnotes belong to different groups.

===1. Using <nowiki><ref>...</ref> tags within <ref>...</ref> tags</nowiki>===

Neither the subnote nor the preceding part of the main footnote is displayed. An error message is displayed in red font. The following part of the main footnote (if any) appears in the article text, with an unwanted <nowiki></ref></nowiki> tag.

<center>
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! Case 1: Error message and missing text, using nested <nowiki><ref>...</ref></nowiki> tags
|-
|Lorem ipsum dolor<ref>Book 1, 1923.</ref> sit amet.<ref group=upper-alpha>This has been disputed by later scholars. ''This part of the main footnote does not appear!''<ref>Nested reference, 2003. ''This subnote does not appear!''</ref>This is the latter part of the main footnote.</ref> Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<ref>Book 2, 1968.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
|}
</center>

===2. Using a {{tlx|refn}} template within <nowiki><ref>...</ref></nowiki> tags===

The subnote is not displayed. An error message is displayed in red font. 

<center>
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! Case 2: Error message and missing text, using {{tlx|refn}} within <nowiki><ref>...</ref></nowiki> tags
|-
|Lorem ipsum dolor<ref>Book 1, 1923.</ref> sit amet.<ref group=upper-alpha>This has been disputed by later scholars. ''Subnote inserted here''{{refn|Nested reference, 2003. ''This subnote does not appear!''}} This is the latter part of the main footnote.</ref> Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<ref>Book 2, 1968.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
|}
</center>

===3. Using a {{tlx|efn}} template within <nowiki><ref>...</ref></nowiki> tags===

The subnote is not displayed. An error message is displayed in red font. 
<center>
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! Case 3: Error message and missing text, using {{tlx|efn}} within <nowiki><ref>...</ref></nowiki> tags
|-
|Lorem ipsum dolor<ref>Book 1, 1923.</ref> sit amet.<ref group=upper-alpha>This has been disputed by later scholars. ''Subnote inserted here''{{efn|Nested reference, 2003. ''This subnote does not appear!''}} This is the latter part of the main footnote.</ref> Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<ref>Book 2, 1968.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

====Subnotes====
{{notelist}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
|}
</center>

===4. List-defined references===
Due to a long-standing bug (see [[phab:T22707]]), [[WP:list-defined references|list-defined references]] do not work correctly when references are nested.
<center>
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! Case 4: Error message and missing reference using list-defined references
|-
|Lorem ipsum dolor{{refn|name=first}} sit amet.{{refn|name=second}}

====References====
{{reflist|refs=
{{refn|name=first|This is Reference 1, with Reference 3 inside it.<ref>Reference 3</ref>}}
{{refn|name=second|This is Reference 2, with Reference 4 inside it.<ref>Reference 4</ref>}}
}}
|}
</center>

==Use of templates for nesting footnotes==

To nest a footnote within another, '''one or both footnotes should be enclosed within the {{tlx|refn}} template or the {{tlx|efn}} template'''. You may also use <code><nowiki>#tag:ref</nowiki></code>{{Snd}} this is just a less user-friendly equivalent of {{tlx|refn}}.

{{tlx|efn}} is equivalent to {{tlx|refn|group{{=}}lower-alpha}}, and the corresponding {{tlx|notelist}} is equivalent to {{tlx|reflist|group{{=}}lower-alpha}}. Likewise, {{tlx|efn-lr}} is equivalent to {{tlx|refn|group{{=}}lower-roman}}, and the corresponding {{tlx|notelist-lr}} is equivalent to {{tlx|reflist|group{{=}}lower-roman}}; similarly for the other variants.

The following are some examples of correct use of these templates for nesting footnotes. Other permutations are possible and will yield similar results.

===Reference within note===
The reference appears within the main list of numbered references, and the reference marker is a simple numeral. 

====Using {{tlx|refn}}====
<center>
{{markup|width=90%
|<nowiki>Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Mary's possessions are on record.<ref>Book, 1949.</ref>}}  Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
</nowiki>
|Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Mary's possessions are on record.<ref>Book, 1949.</ref>}}  Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
}}
</center>

====Using {{tlx|efn}}====

<center>
{{markup|width=90%
|<nowiki>Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{efn|Mary's possessions are on record.<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{notelist}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
</nowiki>
|Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{efn|Mary's possessions are on record.<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{notelist}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
}}
</center>

===Subnote within note===

====(1) In same list====

A subnote may appear in the same list as the footnote in which it is nested, although the subnote will appear ''above'' the main note referring to it.

<center>
{{markup|width=90%
|<nowiki>Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Mary's possessions are on record.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|They have been itemised by Book<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> and others.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
</nowiki>
|Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Mary's possessions are on record.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|They have been itemised by Book<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> and others.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
}}
</center>

====(2) In separate list: non-numeric marker====

The subnote appears in a separate list, above or below the list in which the main note appears. The subnote is given a non-numeric marker - e.g. {{dummy ref|b}} or {{dummy ref|iv}}.

If the main note is also indexed in the same way, to keep the lists separate the two sets of markers must be different, e.g. one set alphabetic with the other set roman numerals. The full range of possible markers can be seen [[WP:EXPLNOTE|here]].

=====Using {{tlx|refn}}=====
Note the use of {{tlx|refn}} rather than <nowiki><ref>...</ref></nowiki> for ''both'' main note ''and'' subnote, so that the reference doubly nested within the subnote will display correctly.

<center>
{{markup|width=90%
|<nowiki>Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Mary's possessions are on record.{{refn|group=lower-roman|They have been itemised by Book<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> and others.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

''Subnotes''
{{reflist|group=lower-roman}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
</nowiki>
|Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Mary's possessions are on record.{{refn|group=lower-roman|They have been itemised by Book<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> and others.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

''Subnotes''
{{reflist|group=lower-roman}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
}}
</center>

=====Using {{tlx|efn}}=====
Note the use of {{tlx|efn}} rather than <nowiki><ref>...</ref></nowiki> for ''both'' main note ''and'' subnote, so that the reference doubly nested within the subnote will display correctly.

<center>
{{markup|width=90%
|<nowiki>Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{efn|Mary's possessions are on record.{{efn-lr|They have been itemised by Book<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> and others.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{notelist}}

''Subnotes''
{{notelist-lr}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
</nowiki>
|Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{efn|Mary's possessions are on record.{{efn-lr|They have been itemised by Book<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> and others.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Notes====
{{notelist}}

''Subnotes''
{{notelist-lr}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
}}
</center>

====(3) In separate list: numeric marker with character string====

The subnote appears in a separate list, above or below the list in which the main note appears. The subnote is given a numeral preceded by a character string, e.g. {{dummy ref|Subnote 3}}, {{dummy ref|n 3}} or {{dummy ref|nb 3}}.

If the main note is also indexed in the same way, to keep the lists separate the two character strings must be different. The main note and subnote both use {{tlx|refn}}.

<center>
{{markup|width=90%
|<nowiki>Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|group=main note|Mary's possessions are on record.{{refn|group=subnote|They have been itemised by Book<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> and others.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Main notes====
{{reflist|group=main note}}

''Subnotes''
{{reflist|group=subnote}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
</nowiki>
|Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|group=main note|Mary's possessions are on record.{{refn|group=subnote|They have been itemised by Book<ref>Book, 1949.</ref> and others.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====Main notes====
{{reflist|group=main note}}

''Subnotes''
{{reflist|group=subnote}}

====References====
{{reflist}}
}}
</center>

===Subnote within reference===
The subnote appears in a separate list, below the main References list. The subnote uses {{tlx|refn}} with a predefined or user-defined group. Be aware that because nesting fails within <nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki> tags, the reference bearing the subnote also has to use {{tlx|refn}} (without a group), not the more usual <nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki>.

====(1) Non-numeric marker====

<center>
{{markup|width=90%
|<nowiki>Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|Book, 1949.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The relevant chapter does not appear in the paperback edition of 1955.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====References====
{{reflist}}

''Notes on the references''
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
</nowiki>
|Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|Book, 1949.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The relevant chapter does not appear in the paperback edition of 1955.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====References====
{{reflist}}

''Notes on the references''
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
}}
</center>

====(2) Numeric marker with character string====

<center>
{{markup|width=90%
|<nowiki>Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|Book, 1949.{{refn|group=Note|The relevant chapter does not appear in the paperback edition of 1955.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====References====
{{reflist}}

''Notes on the references''
{{reflist|group=Note}}
</nowiki>
|Mary<ref>Bloggs, 1981.</ref> had a little lamb.{{refn|Book, 1949.{{refn|group=Note|The relevant chapter does not appear in the paperback edition of 1955.}} }} Its fleece was white as snow.<ref>Scroggs, 1983.</ref>

====References====
{{reflist}}

''Notes on the references''
{{reflist|group=Note}}
}}
</center>

== See also ==
* [[Template:Harvard citation#Using CITEREF directly]] and {{tl|sfnref}}
* [[Wikipedia:Citing sources/Further considerations]]—a how-to article with some additional considerations for citing sources
* [[Wikipedia:Help desk]]—to ask questions about nesting footnotes in articles if you were not able to find the information you need on this help page.

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