Editing Footnote Comment Spacing

You can modify the spacing for the footnote comment text. This includes the ability to change the spacing above or below the comment text, the white space between words or characters, or the indentation before the number and text. This can be done through styles or by using local formatting. Using styles is usually recommended because the setting is automatically applied to any content using that style throughout the project, whereas local formatting affects only the particular content that you are working on.

When using styles, you can do so in either the Advanced or Simplified view in the Stylesheet Editor. However, most settings can be applied only by using the Advanced view.

How to Use a Style to Edit Footnote Comment Spacing (Simplified View)

  1. From the Content Explorer, open the stylesheet that you want to modify.
  2. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays Simplified View button (which means that the Simplified view is currently shown in the editor). If the button displays Advanced View button instead, then click it.
  3. In the upper-left corner of the editor, click in the drop-down field and select .

  4. Select the appropriate style to be used for the footnote comment. If you used the default style when inserting the footnotes, then select MadCap|footnote. Otherwise, if you have used a class of that style (e.g., MadCap|footnote.BeginnersManual) that you created previously, then select it instead.

  5. In the local toolbar of the Stylesheet Editor, click Display properties for the selected item.. The Properties dialog opens.
  6. Select the Advanced tab.

  7. Complete Letter Spacing and/or Word Spacing sections. For either section, you can select Expanded or Condensed and enter a number in the field below. Watch the preview area at the bottom to see how the settings affect the spacing.

  8. Click OK.
  9. Click Save the active file. to save your work.

How to Use a Style to Edit Footnote Comment Spacing (Advanced View)

  1. From the Content Explorer, open the stylesheet that you want to modify.

  2. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays Advanced View button. If the button displays Simplified View button instead, then click it.

  3. In the upper-left corner of the editor, click in the drop-down field and select .

  4. On the left side of the editor, select the appropriate style to be used for the footnote comment. If you used the default style when inserting the footnotes, then select MadCap|footnote. Otherwise, if you have used a class of that style (e.g., MadCap|footnote.BeginnersManual) that you created previously, then select it instead.

  5. From the Show drop-down list on the upper-right side of the editor, select Show drop-down set to display all properties in styles..
  6. (Optional) You can use the toggle button in the local toolbar to show properties below in a group view Stylesheet local toolbar button to show properties in a group view. or an alphabetical view Stylesheet local toolbar button to show properties in an alphabetical view..

  7. Do any of the following:

    To Add Space (Indentation) in Front of Comment Number and Text

    1. If you are using the group view, expand the Box (for indenting all lines in the comment) or Block (for indenting the first line in the comment) group.
    2. Click Display more options. to the right of margin-left in the "Box" group (for indenting all lines in the comment), or text-indent in the "Block" group (for indenting the first line in the comment).
    3. In the popup, enter a number and a unit of measurement, and click OK.

    To Adjust Space Above and/or Below Comment

    1. If you are using the group view, expand the Box group. 
    2. To the right of margin-bottom and margin-top (for setting the space below or the space above, respectively), click Display more options., enter a number and a unit of measurement, and click OK.

    To Adjust Space Between Characters or Words in Comment

    1. If you are using the grouped view, expand the Block group. 
    2. To the right of letter-spacing and word-spacing (for setting the space between characters or words, respectively), click Display more options., enter a number and a unit of measurement, and click OK.
  8. Click Save the active file. to save your work.

How to Use Local Formatting to Edit Footnote Comment Spacing

  1. Open the content file.
  2. Make sure markers are turned on. To turn markers on, click the down arrow next to the Show tags button Show Tags button in the XML Editor. Then select Show Markers.

  3. Right-click on the footnote marker icon where it is inserted in the topic. From the menu select Edit Footnote (if you want to change the indentation or space above/below the comment), or select Footnote Properties (if you want to change the space between characters or words).

    If you selected "Edit Footnote," the cursor moves to the footnote comment text at the end of the page or topic.

    If you selected "Footnote Properties," the Footnote Properties dialog opens.

  4. Do any of the following:

    To Add Space (Indentation) in Front of Comment Number and Text

    1. Place your cursor anywhere on the footnote text.
    2. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:
      • Ribbon Select Home > Opens more options. (at the bottom of the Paragraph section).
      • Keyboard Shortcut Press CTRL+ALT+B on your keyboard.

      The Paragraph Properties dialog opens.

    3. Select the Paragraph tab.
    4. Complete any of the fields in the Indentation section. Watch the preview area at the bottom to see how the settings affect the spacing.
    5. Click OK.

    To Adjust Space Above and/or Below Comment

    1. Place your cursor anywhere on the footnote text.
    2. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:
      • Ribbon Select Home > Opens more options. (at the bottom of the Paragraph section).
      • Keyboard Shortcut Press CTRL+ALT+B on your keyboard.

      The Paragraph Properties dialog opens.

    3. Select the Paragraph tab.
    4. Complete any of the fields in the Spacing section. Watch the preview area at the bottom to see how the settings affect the spacing.
    5. Click OK.

    To Adjust Space Between Characters or Words in Comment

    1. Select the footnote, right click on it and from the context menu, select Footnote Properties.
    2. In the Footnote Properties dialog, select the Advanced tab.
    3. Complete Letter Spacing and/or Word Spacing sections. For either section, you can select Expanded or Condensed and enter a number in the field below. Watch the preview area at the bottom to see how the settings affect the spacing.
    4. Click OK.
  5. Click Save the active file. to save your work.

What’s Noteworthy?

Note If you want to adjust the spacing between the number and text in the footnote comment, you can do so by modifying the number format. See Editing Footnote Number Formats.