Proper way to reuse footnotes in Latex

Question

I don't know how to word this, but if I want output like so

The Universe* is full of all universes+ even though the Universe* is the same size as any one of the universes+

*The Universe formed of all the stars and planets

+The alternate universes

I can try modifying \footnote{} commands to make this happen, as explained in this answer (Reference different places to the same footnote:spet). However, another answer in there cautions against it (Reference different places to the same footnote:spet).

How do authors usually tackle this situation? Specifically, these symbols need to be embedded in a table (which I have inside minipages), then the legend would need to be immediately below the table/minipage.

Minimal Working Example

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.9\textwidth}%
   \footnotesize
   \begin{center}
      \begin{tabular}{| l | l |}
         \hline
         Category & Value\\hline
         Bla & $60^{+}$\\hline
         Bla & $60^{}$\\hline
         Bla & $30^{+}$\\hline
         Bla & $90^{}$\
         \hline
      \end{tabular}
   \end{center}
\end{minipage}
\begin{itemize}
   \item[+] Rounded up
   \item[*] Rounded Down
\end{itemize}
\end{document}

A complete example would make it a lot easier to help. What does the table look like? I assume you mean you have a minipage inside a table. Or you don't mean a table. But actually code would be a lot easier to work with! — cfr, Sep 14 '15 at 01:13

jon · Answer 1 · 2015-09-15T00:56:43.267

3

There are likely many ways. Here are two -- which, in a way, abuses the longtable environment because, inside a minipage environment, you will surely not be building a table that is longer than one page. However, it does provide for a simpler syntax than some other solutions because longtable can handle footnotes normally. (Note that it is not always considered typographically sound to use "normal" footnotes with tables.)

The memoir class

\documentclass[12pt]{memoir}
\usepackage{longtable}
\begin{document}
The Universe%
\footnote{\label{uni}%
  The Universe formed of all the stars and planets} %
is full of all universes%
\footnote{\label{alt}%
  The alternate universes} %
even though the Universe\footref{uni} is the same size as any one of
the universes\footref{alt}

\noindent
\begin{minipage}{\textwidth}
\begin{longtable}{cc}
One\footnote{\label{a}1st} & Two\footnote{\label{b}2nd}\\
Three\footref{a}           & Four\footref{b}\\
\end{longtable}
\end{minipage}
\end{document}

The footmisc package

\documentclass[12pt]{article}
\usepackage{footmisc,longtable}
\begin{document}
The Universe%
\footnote{\label{uni}%
  The Universe formed of all the stars and planets} %
is full of all universes%
\footnote{\label{alt}%
  The alternate universes} %
even though the Universe\footref{uni} is the same size as any one of
the universes\footref{alt}

\noindent
\begin{minipage}{\textwidth}
\begin{longtable}{cc}
One\footnote{\label{a}1st} & Two\footnote{\label{b}2nd}\\
Three\footref{a}           & Four\footref{b}\\
\end{longtable}
\end{minipage}
\end{document}

You might note some similarities in syntax....

edited Sep 15 '15 at 00:56

answered Sep 14 '15 at 01:38

jon

22,325

1

What would be the point of a longtable in a minipage exactly? – cfr Sep 14 '15 at 02:32
@cfr -- Nice catch. I first didn't note that the OP was set on using minipages or tables, just on how to get a \footref. But the other reason is that longtable handles footnotes (and I am not a fan of threeparttable). Besides, as you'll note, the code involved is actually noticeably simpler when you put the longtable in a minipage when compared to minipage, threeparttable, and tabular. – jon Sep 14 '15 at 03:32
Ah, I see. (+1) but I'd recommend explaining that in the answer i.e. that the use of longtable (or similar) is important to your solution. I'm not keen on threeparttable. I just haven't found anything better. (I'm using it inside table.) But I do like having the notes within the table - I just don't like the non-automated bit. – cfr Sep 14 '15 at 10:20
@cfr -- True. Added a little more to my answer. – jon Sep 15 '15 at 00:58
However, I'm getting more enthusiastic about threeparttablex. I got it to automate table note numbering today, creating an unholy mixture by combining it with enumitem ;). – cfr Sep 15 '15 at 01:01
@cfr -- Ah, yes, the automation of the -x version does indeed look promising. – jon Sep 15 '15 at 01:05

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 14 '15 at 02:43

I would create the notes as part of the overall table structure using, for example, threeparttable:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{threeparttable}
\begin{document}
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.9\textwidth}%
   \footnotesize
   \begin{center}
     \begin{threeparttable}
      \begin{tabular}{| l | l |}
         \hline
         Category & Value\\\hline
         Bla & $60$\tnote{+}\\\hline
         Bla & $60$\tnote{*}\\\hline
         Bla & $30$\tnote{+}\\\hline
         Bla & $90$\tnote{*}\\
         \hline
      \end{tabular}
      \begin{tablenotes}
        \item[+]Rounded up
        \item[*]Rounded Down
      \end{tablenotes}
     \end{threeparttable}
   \end{center}
\end{minipage}
\end{document}

However, I would also recommend reading a bit about the typesetting of professional quality tables. The booktabs documentation is one good, if occasionally extreme, place to start.

Taking its advice to heart, I might use something like this:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{threeparttable,booktabs,array}
\begin{document}
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.9\textwidth}%
   \footnotesize
   \begin{center}
     \begin{threeparttable}
       \begin{tabular}{l>{$}l<{$}}
         \toprule
         Category & Value\\\midrule
         Bla & 60\tnote{+}\\
         Bla & 60\tnote{*}\\
         Bla & 30\tnote{+}\\
         Bla & 90\tnote{*}\\
         \bottomrule
      \end{tabular}
      \begin{tablenotes}
        \item[+]Rounded up
        \item[*]Rounded down
      \end{tablenotes}
     \end{threeparttable}
   \end{center}
\end{minipage}
\end{document}

I also wonder if you really need these to be in minipage environments. This looks like an overly complex structure. However, it is difficult to know for sure, of course, without more context.

Proper way to reuse footnotes in Latex

2 Answers2