Turns footnotes into sidenotes, magically aligning each note in the sidebar next to its corresponding reference in the text.
Side Matter turns footnotes into sidenotes, magically aligning each note in the sidebar next to its corresponding reference in the text. Unlike hyperlinked footnotes, sidenotes don’t require jumping down the page to follow up on each reference; instead, they perch humbly and accessibly beside the material to which they refer.
To use, place the Side Matter widget in your sidebar, then enclose sidenote text in a page or post using the [ref]
shortcode, like so:
Here's the text to annotate.[ref]Note text goes here.[/ref]
To change default settings, use the Side Matter options page linked under the Appearance menu on your admin screen.
Changing the appearance of Side Matter elements—for example, editing your notes’ typeface or indentation—requires using CSS. The simplest way to go about this is to install a custom CSS plugin that will preserve your rules even when Side Matter or your theme is updated. (Simple Custom CSS is a good example.)
Side Matter comes with a set of built-in class selectors. As an example, all sidenote and reference elements may be styled at once using the class side-matter
. The following CSS will render all Side Matter elements in blue serif text:
.side-matter { color: blue; font-family: serif; }
Notes and figures may be formatted with greater precision using element-specific class selectors. For example, the following CSS will render reference and list numerals in green and sidenote text in black:
a.side-matter-ref, ol.side-matter-list { color: green; } div.side-matter-text { color: black; }
Here is a full list of Side Matter class selectors and their uses:
a.side-matter-ref
selects the link elements that enclose in-text reference numerals. Use this class to modify the links’ colors, underline, etc.sup.side-matter-sup
selects the sup
(superscript) elements that enclose in-text reference numerals. Use this class to modify the numerals’ typographic properties, such as size, offset, and font..widget_side_matter
(note the underscores) selects the widget container element, which may be an aside
or a div
.ol.side-matter-list
selects the ol
(ordered list) element that encloses notes in the sidebar, including list numerals.li.side-matter-note
selects sidenote li
(list item) elements, including each note’s numeral.div.side-matter-text
selects the div
elements that enclose sidenote text, but not sidenote list numerals. Use this to style sidenote text separately from numerals.Each paragraph within a note is further wrapped in a p
tag. However, as they’re generated outside the plugin, these p
elements cannot be selected directly using the side-matter
class. Instead, select them indirectly, e.g. div.side-matter-text > p
.
Side Matter sets a few rules by default in the included stylesheet side-matter.css
. These rules will generally defer to your theme stylesheet in the event of a conflict.
The first rule removes underlines from reference numeral links:
a.side-matter:link, a.side-matter:visited, a.side-matter:hover, a.side-matter:active { text-decoration: none; }
The second rule specifies a consistent cross-browser, cross-theme format for superscript figures:
sup.side-matter-sup { position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0; }
side-matter
directory to /wp-content/plugins
.[ref]
shortcode to generate notes in posts and pages, like so: [ref]Note text goes here.[/ref]
To change default settings, use the Side Matter options page linked under the Appearance menu on your admin screen.
For information on changing the appearance of Side Matter elements with CSS, see Other Notes.
As of version 1.4, the Side Matter options menu has its own settings page. It can be accessed from the Side Matter link under the Appearance menu on your admin screen.
Many themes are one-column by design and do not include a sidebar. Without a sidebar, Side Matter has no place to put your notes. Make sure that your theme includes a sidebar and that you’ve placed the Side Matter widget within that sidebar.
This usually happens because of a conflict with your theme or another plugin. Caching/minification plugins are a common culprit; try adding /wp-content/side-matter/js/side-matter.js
to your caching plugin’s exclusion list if it’s interfering with sidenote display.
Theme conflicts can be difficult to pin down, but are most often caused by some idiosyncratic bit of theme CSS or JS. (For example, the theme Twenty Eleven can be made to work with Side Matter by adding a few lines of CSS.)
Not all themes are built to incorporate a plugin like Side Matter. It works well with most base themes that include a sidebar, but it isn’t guaranteed to display notes perfectly under all themes. A little tinkering with note offset or CSS will fix most problems; in other cases, consult your theme’s developer.
Some themes mysteriously cause sidenotes to appear at an offset from their corresponding references in the text. As a workaround for this problem, Side Matter’s options menu includes a field for arbitrarily adjusting your notes’ vertical offset.
Yes. Use the custom action side_matter_list_notes
in your sidebar template, as seen below:
<?php do_action( 'side_matter_list_notes' ); ?>
[ref]
shortcode, such as [video]
or [gallery]
.ol
element on pages without notes.div.side-matter-widget
CSS class selector; use .widget_side_matter
instead.[ref]
quicktag button to the post editor.title
attribute has been improved.id
conflicts between notes.title
attributes and list numerals.a
tags have been given a title
attribute for accessibility.side-matter-ol
and side-matter-li
. Numbered classes, e.g. side-matter-sup-6
, are now deprecated.side-matter.css
, allowing them to be more easily superseded by user CSS.a
anchor elements within sidenotes to correct a stubborn layout issue. Reference numerals now link to sidenotes via li id
.p
tags by WordPress.span
tags with div
tags to correct a display problem in some browsers.side-matter.php
, simplifying and consolidating code for future development.