Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

Edit: Split from Sidenotes for questions from new person

hi Hanya. I was directed to your sidenotes Macro by Rory OF.

I am not experienced with Macros or extensions, and I had some troubles with my setup (I think connected with Mac and Java - my comp crashes if I try and run a macro) but now your document is now working with the Macros enabled.

I have 2 questions.
1. Very basic - how do I change the parameters of the document so that when I use the 'insert sidenote' function which you have written, I don't have to amend the field and character style each time. (see attached document for a screenshot of how my document looks).
2. Currently, the numbering system does not re-order itself automatically in the way the footnotes do. What I mean by this - if I reorder my text so that the sentence which refers to footnote 4 is actually before footnote 3, then typically the footnote numbers would re-adjust accordingly. Is there a way to amend this.

Many thanks,
Sam

Hanya's macro allows one to enter the notes using the standard OpenOffice /Insert /Footnote method, which automatically numbers footnotes, and, if a footnote is inserted in the text, will number that note and renumber the other accordingly. Then the macro will take the footnotes and position them as sidenotes.

Thanks Rory, much appreciated.

Could you also give me guidance on question 1,sorry if its a really basic question..

sam mlami - this may be a silly question... but you do know OO has its own sidenotes now (this is a very old thread)... Insert Menu/Comment ?

hi JeJe - thanks for the pointer, but what I need is a bit different. Essentially I'm looking for footnote functionality, but at the side of the page, not at the bottom of the page (the reason for this is that i am writing a text in which the footnotes are more like a parallel text to the body text, rather than a set of references).

My current workaround is ok (see attached image above) except for the numbering (as i move a sentence around in the body text i need to then renumber the footnote manually)

Do you happen to know if there is a way to cross-reference a list, so that if you update the numbers in one list, the numbers in the cross-referenced list will update automatically?

A quick update from my side - I've found a work around, although it is not very elegant:

1. I made a footnote for the relevant sections of the body text via the usual Footnotes function, but formatted the footnotes so that they are at the end of the text (Tools>Footnotes and Endnotes). This Footnote is a kind of placeholder and I only placed a keyword in each footnote.
2. I then used my Sidenote in the Frame on the right hand side of the page to place a Cross-reference to this Footnote. Doing this means that if I re-order the body text the Sidenotes automatically re-order their numbering too (although not their position)

It's not perfect, but i think it'll work

It doesn't help you with the ordering problem and there's no code here... but I notice that in the original sidenotes document the tooltip leading to the sidenote just says "sidenote" and there's no way back provided as there is in normal footnotes.

If you made the sidenotes in a style with an outline level you can set a number field to the paragraph/heading and the tooltip will be the number and the paragraph text. In the attached document I've also added a reference field next to the number field (eg p1.1 for the first one) and a cross reference to return to it.

Like I say, no code though, just a mock up.

sam mlami wrote:
I have 2 questions.
1. Very basic - how do I change the parameters of the document so that when I use the 'insert sidenote' function which you have written, I don't have to amend the field and character style each time. (see attached document for a screenshot of how my document looks).
2. Currently, the numbering system does not re-order itself automatically in the way the footnotes do. What I mean by this - if I reorder my text so that the sentence which refers to footnote 4 is actually before footnote 3, then typically the footnote numbers would re-adjust accordingly. Is there a way to amend this.

Many thanks,
Sam

It looks like you want a Tufte style layout and I doubt if you will find anything really satisfactory in a normal word-processor.

What you want to do is simple in a LaTeX-based document processor. I used LyX and the tufte-hanout template to create the attached PDF. Footnote numbering, etc., is handled automatically.

If you are going to be using this layout regularly or if you are writing a book I'd suggest checking out LyX. If it is a small one-off project it's probably not worth the trauma of switching to something like Lyx.

Thanks @JeJe and @jrkrideau for your suggestions

@jrkrideau - Thanks so much for the LyX tip - As I am writing a book, I think it makes sense to invest some time and get my head around it. I had heard about Latek, but didn't know about LyX as a document processor. Also I had no idea that there is a precedence (Edward Tufte) for the style of writing that I am interested in. Although, I am interested in the side notes almost as a parallel text, not so much marginalia.

The LyX documentation seems pretty good/clear, but if there are any other online resources (particularly to implementing/amending Tufte handouts) that you can point me to I would be very grateful.

I am not sure what exactly is available but PM me with an e-mail address and I will see what I can dig up. BTW, the Tufte handout is just that, for handouts . What you will want is the Tufte Book document class.

Just a tip:
Tufte handout in LibreOffice by usage right (After text) indent and Frames.