Training module (SI): Footnotes

In this module, you will learn how to insert and edit footnotes in your document.

Tutorial

Inserting footnotes

Lawmaker allows you to add footnotes in your document.

To insert a footnote, place your cursor in the location in the document where you want the footnote and do one of the following:

Select Insert > Insert footnote from the upper toolbar;
Right-click > Insert footnote; or
Keyboard shortcut Alt + F.

The footnote will appear as an asterisk.

Click on this asterisk to expand the footnote. You will then be able to add text in the ‘Text’ placeholder.

In the Editor view, the footnote will appear inline, and can be expanded or collapsed.

When you generate a PDF, the footnote will be numbered and appear at the bottom of the page as expected.

NB: in the PDF, footnotes will be numbered (a), (b), (c) etc., restarting on each page of the PDF. This is expected and cannot be changed in Lawmaker. See Footnote numbering in Managing footnotes for more detail.

Deleting footnotes

To delete a footnote, do the following:

Expand the footnote by clicking on it (if it is not already expanded);
Place your cursor in the footnote;
Select Footnote from the breadcrumb (see screenshot below) - this should highlight the footnote;
Press backspace.

Insert citation footnotes

Lawmaker has a useful function to generate citation footnotes for references to external legislation.

You need to have a tagged external reference to do this. If you are not familiar with tagging references in Lawmaker, please complete Training module (SI): References or see References | How-to-“tag”-references in the User Manual.

When you have a tagged external reference, you can insert a citation footnote by:

Right-click > Insert citation footnote,
Clicking on the tagged reference then Tools menu>Insert citation footnote, or
Clicking on the tagged reference then Alt+Shift+f.

Note that you should check the citation footnote as sometimes it will not be able to obtain all relevant information from http://legislation.gov.uk . (It will say if so.)

Video

Please review Inserting footnotes (7:53) and Generating citation footnotes (9:13) in the video linked below.

The rest of the content is covered elsewhere, in Training module (SI): References.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIHao6mLIeI&t=473s

Further information

Managing footnotes - in particular see Table notes for information on having notes in tables.
References - detailed information for creating references, a prerequisite for using Lawmaker’s Insert citation footnote function.

Exercises

Getting started

Before you start the exercises, you will need a document ready and open in the Editor.

If you already have a document ready, you can move on to the exercises below.

If you don’t have a document ready, follow the steps below.

How to create a new project

Log in to the Lawmaker Training environment (link here).
From the Dashboard, create a new project. (See Creating a new project for details.)
Select the document type that you are most likely to work with. For Sub-type, select Regulations (for convenience).
Give it a memorable title such as[Your name] - Training project.
From the Project tab for your new document, select Document Actions > Import from legislation.gov.uk. (See Import legislation from www.legislation.gov.uk for details.)
Give the document a clear Version Description, e.g., the name of this Training module.
Import one of the following documents, depending on your document type:
- Northern Ireland Statutory Rules: The Horticulture Pilot Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025
- Welsh Statutory Instruments: The Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) (Maintained Primary Schools) (Wales) Regulations 2025
- Scottish Statutory Instruments: The Sheep Carcase (Classification and Price Reporting) (Scotland) Regulations 2025
- (UK) Statutory Instruments: The Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) Regulations 2025
Open the new document in the Editor.

Exercise 1 - Insert a footnote

Add a footnote to a provision in your document, and fill it in with some text. (E.g. “This is an example footnote.”) View it in a PDF.

Instructions to add a footnote

Find the location (of your choice) at which you want to add a footnote, and place your cursor there;
Press Alt + F;
1. Alternatively, select Insert > Insert footnote from the upper toolbar, or Right-click > Insert footnote;
Click on the asterisk that appears. It should expand to show a ‘Text’ placeholder;
Place your cursor in the ‘Text’ placeholder and type your desired text;
To generate a PDF, click Document > Generate PDF.
Click Generate in the new window.
Once the PDF is generated, click View PDF in the green pop-up toastie.

Exercise 2 - Delete a footnote

Delete the footnote created in Exercise 1.

Instructions to delete a footnote

Find the footnote created in Exercise 1.
Expand the footnote by clicking on the asterisk (if it is not already expanded);
Place your cursor in the footnote;
Select Footnote from the breadcrumb - this should highlight the footnote;
Press backspace.