Title: Subscript instead of Superscript
Last modified: December 14, 2020

---

# Subscript instead of Superscript

 *  Resolved [kacraig](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kacraig/)
 * (@kacraig)
 * [5 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/subscript-instead-of-superscript/)
 * Have been using Footnotes on my family-history website for a couple of years,
   and really like it. However, a small problem has developed in the last couple
   of weeks: the footnote number in the text is showing in a subscript position 
   rather than superscript one. I’ve made no changes to settings, and when I check,
   they look as they should. Any clues as to why this is happening?
 * Other than the position, the pop-up on hover-over is working fine.
 * WP5.6
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fsubscript-instead-of-superscript%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  Plugin Contributor [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/)
 * (@pewgeuges)
 * [5 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/subscript-instead-of-superscript/#post-13786495)
 * [@kacraig](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kacraig/)
 * Sorry please for the late reply, further delayed by an urgent bufix release (
   2.2.1) needed to keep your Custom CSS data safe.
 * First the fix for your website: Thankfully it only takes deleting this rule in
   the Custom CSS of your Footnotes instance:
 *     ```
       .footnote_plugin_tooltip_text {
           top: 0.5em !important;
       }
       ```
   
 * You only need to delete the line `top: 0.5em !important;`. All other rules are
   okay.
 * We have a problem with the UI of Footnotes’ dashboard. Data structure constraints
   are preventing certain changes needed for the UI overhaul released with v2.2.0.
   Therefore, in our current 2.2.1 bugfix version just released in urgency, the 
   Custom CSS text area is duplicate under two tabs, so if the instance under the
   labeled tab “Priority and CSS” is empty, please open the “Referrers and tooltips”
   tab, where the Custom CSS text area is filled from its legacy database row. Then
   you may wish to copy-paste its content into the other instance in the new, more
   consistent location under the “Priority and CSS” tab, corresponding to Advanced
   settings.
 *       
 * An alternative solution is to add a minus sign in front of `0.5em`. That has 
   exactly the same effect. But safest is probably to just remove the rule.
 * Yet another fix is to leave everything as-is and add this rule:
 *     ```
       .footnote_plugin_tooltip_text {
           vertical-align: top;
       }
       ```
   
 * But again, I’d suggest to not use any of these rules, because they are not cross-
   theme and cross-browser compatible. They were in Footnotes public style sheet
   until v2.0.5 and have been deleted for v2.0.6:
 *     ```
       .footnote_plugin_tooltip_text {
           vertical-align: top !important;
           position: relative !important;
           top: 0.6em !important;
       }
       ```
   
 * Beside `position: relative`, that seems to be ineffective, these rules were intended
   to fine-tune the referrers’ vertical alignment. After they were officially dropped,
   some or all of them remained in embedded CSS of several websites and caused the
   exact same issue that you are experiencing since a couple of weeks. Each time,
   deleting them from the inline CSS fixed it.
 * We really couldn’t leave them. I don’t know why they are so unequally supported
   by browsers, nor why they cause issues in some themes and not in others.
 * The removal of this set of rules in Footnotes’ public.css was the reason why 
   your website started having subscript referrers, because the rule present in 
   your Custom CSS was not completed any longer by the other rule that public.css
   provided alongside.
 *    
 * Please allow me to post this response in urgency and let’s see if your website
   can be fixed along these lines.
 * Best regards.
 *  Thread Starter [kacraig](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kacraig/)
 * (@kacraig)
 * [5 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/subscript-instead-of-superscript/#post-13788857)
 * Many thanks pewgeuges.
 * I’m not very confident with all this css stuff, but I have fixed the problem 
   using your suggestion of removing the line **top:0.5em !important;**
 * Note, I wasn’t able to remove that line under the “Priority and CSS” tab (it 
   just kept re-appearing); however, when I removed the line under the “Referrers
   and tooltips” tab, all was fixed!
 * Happy now!
 * 🙂
 *  Plugin Contributor [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/)
 * (@pewgeuges)
 * [5 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/subscript-instead-of-superscript/#post-13789620)
 * [@kacraig](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kacraig/)
 * Thank you very much for your feedback! I’m glad that it fixed your website. I
   apologize for the inconvenience with the unresponsive text area in its new location.
   It took a long research with editing the database of my live sandbox to understand
   how it works and that once a setting is registered under a given tab, it can 
   by no means be moved to another tab unless the DB is edited.
 * Based on your feedback, and by lack of knowing how to write a script editing 
   the DB (i’m not the plugin’s author and only joined in to help with maintenance,
   but the Forum refuses to correct my label), a complicated workaround may eventually
   be designed to move Custom CSS to a dedicated dashboard tab again while keeping
   your data safe. When Custom CSS was added for 1.3.0, it was under a new tab, 
   per the changelog (“new settings tab for custom CSS settings”). Hopefully that
   will be in an oncoming bugfix 2.2.2.
 * I’m sorry for these frequent releases again. I must confess that the reordered
   UI was released just alongside the support for the reference container custom
   position shortcode.
 * Thank you so much for helping improve the plugin!
    -  This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/).

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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 * 3 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/)
 * Last activity: [5 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/subscript-instead-of-superscript/#post-13789620)
 * Status: resolved