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Shortcut WP:NFN

This page in a 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 <ref></ref> 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 of July 2015.

Instructions on this page may not work with VisualEditor. If you have opted in, you can use either VisualEditor or classic editing through wiki markup (wikitext) to edit most pages. The directions on this page, especially about what codes to type to produce formatting effects, are predominantly geared toward wikitext editing. For instructions on editing with VisualEditor, see Wikipedia:VisualEditor/User guide.

Footnotes: reminder

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: ^{[1] [a] [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. ((reflist)), ((reflist|group=...)) or ((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:

1. 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?
2. If the subnote is a reference, should it appear within the main numbered list of references, or in a separate list?
3. If the subnote appears in a separate list, where should that list be placed among the different lists of footnotes?
4. Should the subnote marker be - numeric,^[1] a roman numeral,^[i] alphabetic,^[a] or user-defined?^{[subnote 1]} Could it be confusing to use the same system in different footnote lists? Bear in mind also that roman numeral^[i] is identical with alphabetic.^[i]

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

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

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 </ref> tag.

2. Using a ((refn)) template within <ref>...</ref> tags

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

3. Using a ((efn)) template within <ref>...</ref> tags

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

4. Using a ((r)) template within <ref>...</ref> tags

This section is retained only for historical reference. Reason: The ((R)) template has been deprecated by community RfC since 2010 (its use "suspended" unless three conditions were met, which were not met). For a modern solution to citing different pages in a single source, which can be used inside an existing <ref> for another source, see ((harvp)).

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

5. List-defined references

Due to a long-standing bug (see phab:T22707), list-defined references do not work correctly when references are nested.

A workaround is available via ((sfnlink)).

To nest a footnote within another, one or both footnotes should be enclosed within the ((r)), ((refn)) or ((efn)) templates. You may also use #tag:ref – this is just a less user-friendly equivalent of ((refn)).

((r)) and ((refn)) use a very similar calling syntax (with ((r)) supporting all named parameters of ((refn))), but ((r)) also supports shorter parameter aliases and is generally more flexible and powerful: ((refn|group=groupname|name=name|Contents of the footnote)) ((r|g=groupname|n=name|r=Contents of the footnote))

((efn)) is equivalent to ((refn|group=lower-alpha)) (or ((r|g=lower-alpha))), and the corresponding ((notelist)) is equivalent to ((reflist|group=lower-alpha)). Likewise, ((efn-lr)) is equivalent to ((refn|group=lower-roman)) (or ((r|g=lower-roman))), and the corresponding ((notelist-lr)) is equivalent to ((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 ((refn))

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))

Using ((efn))

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))

Using ((r))

Mary((r|r=Bloggs, 1981.)) had a little lamb.((r|g=lower-alpha|r=Mary's possessions are on record.((r|r=Book, 1949.))))  Its fleece was white as snow.((r|r=Scroggs, 1983.))

====Notes====
((reflist|group=lower-alpha))

====References====
((reflist))

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.

Using ((refn))

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))

Using ((r))

Mary((r|r=Bloggs, 1981.)) had a little lamb.((r|g=lower-alpha|r=Mary's possessions are on record.((r|g=lower-alpha|r=They have been itemised by Book((r|r=Book, 1949.)) and others.)) )) Its fleece was white as snow.((r|r=Scroggs, 1983.))

====Notes====
((reflist|group=lower-alpha))

====References====
((reflist))

(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. ^[b] or ^[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 here.

Using ((refn))

Note the use of ((refn)) rather than <ref>...</ref> for both main note and subnote, so that the reference doubly nested within the subnote will display correctly.

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))

Using ((efn))

Note the use of ((efn)) rather than <ref>...</ref> for both main note and subnote, so that the reference doubly nested within the subnote will display correctly.

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))

Using ((r))

Note the use of ((r)) rather than <ref>...</ref> for both main note and subnote, so that the reference doubly nested within the subnote will display correctly.

Mary((r|r=Bloggs, 1981.)) had a little lamb.((r|g=lower-alpha|r=Mary's possessions are on record.((r|g=lower-roman|r=They have been itemised by Book((r|r=Book, 1949.)) and others.)) )) Its fleece was white as snow.((r|r=Scroggs, 1983.))

====Notes====
((reflist|group=lower-alpha))

''Subnotes''
((reflist|group=lower-roman))

====References====
((reflist))

(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. ^{[Subnote 3]}, ^{[n 3]} or ^{[nb 3]}.

Using ((refn))

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 ((refn)).

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))

Using ((r))

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 ((r)).

Mary((r|r=Bloggs, 1981.)) had a little lamb.((r|g=main note|r=Mary's possessions are on record.((r|g=subnote|r=They have been itemised by Book((r|r=Book, 1949.)) and others.)) )) Its fleece was white as snow.((r|r=Scroggs, 1983.))

====Main notes====
((reflist|group=main note))

''Subnotes''
((reflist|group=subnote))

====References====
((reflist))

Subnote within reference

(1) Non-numeric marker

Using ((refn))

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

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))

Using ((r))

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

Mary((r|r=Bloggs, 1981.)) had a little lamb.((r|r=Book, 1949.((r|g=lower-alpha|r=The relevant chapter does not appear in the paperback edition of 1955.)) )) Its fleece was white as snow.((r|r=Scroggs, 1983.))

====References====
((reflist))

''Notes on the references''
((reflist|group=lower-alpha))

(2) Numeric marker with character string

Using ((refn))

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))

Using ((r))

Mary((r|r=Bloggs, 1981.)) had a little lamb.((r|r=Book, 1949.((r|g=Note|r=The relevant chapter does not appear in the paperback edition of 1955.)) )) Its fleece was white as snow.((r|r=Scroggs, 1983.))

====References====
((reflist))

''Notes on the references''
((reflist|group=Note))

• Template:Harvard citation#Using CITEREF directly and ((sfnref)) and ((citeref))
• 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.