How-to

How to Add Footnotes in LaTeX

The fix

To add a footnote in LaTeX, put \footnote{your note} immediately after the word to mark — LaTeX numbers and places it at the bottom of the page automatically. Footnotes inside tabular do not work directly; use \footnotemark in the cell with \footnotetext after the table, or the threeparttable package.

Example

This claim needs a source\footnote{Smith, 2020.}.

% Footnote inside a table:
\usepackage{threeparttable}
\begin{threeparttable}
  \begin{tabular}{l} Value\tnote{1} \end{tabular}
  \begin{tablenotes}\item[1] Note text.\end{tablenotes}
\end{threeparttable}

Frequently asked questions

Why does \footnote not work inside a table?

The tabular environment swallows footnotes. Use \footnotemark inside the cell and \footnotetext after the table, or the threeparttable package which is designed for table notes.

How do I change footnotes to symbols?

Use \renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}} to switch to symbols. Reset numbering with \setcounter{footnote}{0}.

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