How to typeset a reference to a footnote?

Question

I want to enter in a footnote a reference to another footnote (in this case it's on the same page above).

I found out how I can create the reference, so that it is formatted like a "normal" footnote number (How can I use \footnotemark with a \ref argument?), but how should I typeset it?

Is it ok like in the picture below (in english "see footnote" with a spacebetween the word "footnote" and the footnotemark?

Or how could that be done better?

• Maybe without the space?
• .. or even not as a footnotemark, but as a normal number (in normalsize)?

Answer 1

In my opinion, you should use full-size numbers -- not only for references to footnotes, but also for the actual notes.

Quoting Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style, p. 69:

4.3.3 Use superscripts in the text but full-size numbers in the notes themselves

In the main text, superscript numbers are used to indicate notes because superscript numbers minimize interruption. They are typographic asides: small because that is an expression of their relative importance, and raised for two reasons: to keep them out of the flow of the main text, and to make them easier to find. In the note itself, the number is not an aside but a target. Therefore the number in the note should be full size.

EDIT: Here's an example using the scrextend package which is part of KOMA-script:

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{scrextend}
\deffootnote{2em}{1.6em}{\thefootnotemark\hspace{0.7em}}

\usepackage[english]{babel}
\usepackage{blindtext}

\begin{document}

\blindtext\footnote{\blindtext}

\end{document}

Answer 2

Use the \deffootnote command as was given by Lockstep to change the footnote display. Regarding your question about the reference to a different footnote inside a footnote you can use the following \reffnmark command. Note that the * version gives the original mark and can be also be used to point intext footnotes to the same footnote (repeated footnote). I prefer the normal sized number to refere to a footnote, e.g. footnote (10).

\documentclass{article}

\makeatletter
\newcommand\reffnmark{%
    \@ifstar{\@reffnmarks}{\@reffnmark}}
\newcommand{\@reffnmarks}[1]{%
    \begingroup
        \unrestored@protected@xdef\@thefnmark{\ref{#1}}%
    \endgroup
    \@footnotemark}
\newcommand{\@reffnmark}[1]{(\ref{#1})}
\makeatother

\begin{document}

This is a footnote test\footnote{first footnote\label{fn:first}}\par
Footnote\reffnmark*{fn:first} pointing to same footnote\par
Footnote\footnote{In footnote \reffnmark{fn:first} ...} with ref to first\par

\end{document}