[IxDA Discuss] UI design for digital books with extensive footnotes

[Jeff Howard]

Jack Moffett wrote:
> If using two panes, they should be side-by-side,
> with the main text on the left, and the notes on
> the right. This would be easier than looking 
> down, as you say.

I've seen Bibles (printed editions) that use this strategy. I think
that Dake's annotated reference edition has four columns. The two
inner columns for the main text, and the two outer columns commenting
on their adjacent text. It's a shorter distance to jump than
footnotes (and by analogy a lower pane), though four columns are
probably a bit excessive for onscreen.

You could improve on printed conventions by using some visual
connection between the text and the reference. For instance, if you
click a bit of text, it could highlight while you're reading the
reference. That relationship could work back and forth.