Maximum Footnote Area, LibreOffice Writer

In LibreOffice Writer, there is an option for defining how much space a footnote can occupy on a page…but it is an option in theory only. In actuality, the function is quirky and The Document Foundation has, to my knowledge, never come up with a reason for the problem, not to mention a fix for it.

The scenario (see images above)
Let's say that you have a fairly long document and you want your footnotes to be numbered consecutively for the entire document, and you want your footnotes to appear at the end of each page. So far, so good. You have discovered how to make that happen by going to Tools, Footnotes and Endnotes, and doing the set-up there. But how do you make sure that your footnotes do not break across pages? Do this:
  • Click on Format, Page Style, Footnote. In "Footnote Area" click on "Not Larger Than Page Area," then click on Okay.

The problem

Following the instruction above works under special circumstances only, which are defined on the LibreOffice Help page as "depending on the number of footnotes."  If you click on the link, you will see the full context of the "mystery requirement" under the topic header "Not Larger Than Page Area."

Now, by playing around with that mystery requirement ("depending on the number of footnotes") here is what I have discovered thus far.

The Fix—What "depending on the number of footnotes" means:

Quite literally it means that the only way a footnote can occupy the full page (or any amount of the page approaching "full") is to make sure that at least TWO footnotes appear on the same page. Try it. If you have a footnote that breaks across pages, insert another footnote AFTER the existing footnote (an odious quirk in and of itself, it works only if you insert a new footnote after an existing footnote, but not if if you insert a new footnote before your original footnote).  Your new footnote (and all subsequent footnotes for that page) will be on the same page together, occupying the entire page if you have enough footnotes on that page to occupy that much footnote space. 

CORRECTION TO ABOVE "FIX"

The other way to fix an existing footnote that breaks across a page is to cut the text only of the existing footnote, then delete the footnote. Next, insert a new footnote somewhere BEFORE (ABOVE) the original footnote anchor spot (the anchor position of the footnote you just cut and deleted). Next re-create the original footnote by inserting a footnote and pasting the text you just cut. The end result will likely be that your new footnote will occupy one page, and the next footnote (the one that formerly broke across pages) will appear in its entirety on the next page.

Caveat(s)

As best as I can tell at this point, The Fix works only if your Footnotes are set up as "Entire Document" and "At the End of the Page." I tried the Fix above under other Footnotes configurations and could not prevent the footnotes from breaking across pages.

Assurances, but No Guarantee 

As with all "fixes," I have tried this fix and it worked for me as advertised.

The Standard Plea

If you can refine this Fix or know of a better one, please feel free to do so and explain in a comment to this post. Also, if you know how to get this request to The Document Foundation or one of the contributors to LibreOffice programming, feel free to send them this link. As stated previously, this problem has been around for at least five years, and maybe TDF does not consider it a problem because they simply have not communicated properly and sufficiently in the Help files. 

The Standard Disclaimer

I try to steer clear of official Help Forums of all sorts in order to protect and promote my personal mental well-being.  I suggest you bookmark this blog and come here if you have been to the forums and found no answers. We don't post fixes here unless we have tried them and they worked for us. And we don't respond in technical or programming language; we don't speculate; and we don't try to impress you with our brilliance. 

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