Inline Context – Footnotes, Tooltips & Glossary Notes

All three - they are the same feature with different settings. Inline mode reads as a sidenote, tooltip mode as a glossary pop-up, and without JavaScript every note is numbered as a footnote at the end of the post. Reusable notes give you a glossary you edit in one place, and the Glossary block puts that same set of notes on a page readers can browse.

Create a page, add the Glossary block, and publish. By default it lists your reusable notes grouped by first letter, with an A-Z jump bar. In the sidebar you can group by category instead, restrict it to chosen categories, include one-off notes, hide notes nothing links to yet, and show links to the posts each note explains. Those links go to the note's own place in the article, not the top of it, and the note opens as the reader arrives. If you would rather not use the block - in a widget, a template, or the Classic Editor - [inline_context_glossary] takes the same options: group_by="letter|category|none", categories="definition,source", only_reusable="true", show_usage="false", hide_unused="false", show_icons="true", show_jump_bar="true" and heading_level="2". Every term gets its own id, so you can link straight to one: /glossary/#glossary-your-term.

Not for writing the notes into your text. Attaching a note to a phrase is a Block Editor format, and it has no Classic Editor equivalent - that part needs Gutenberg. The rest does work. The Notes Library runs on a classic edit screen by design, so reusable notes can be written and organised there, and [inline_context_glossary] renders wherever a shortcode does, Classic Editor posts included. So a Classic Editor site can keep a glossary page; what it cannot do is anchor a note to a phrase mid-sentence.

Notes are created in the block editor, so you cannot insert one from a page builder's own editing screen. Notes already in your content display normally on the front end, whatever renders the page, and [inline_context_glossary] works in any builder that accepts shortcodes.

Yes. If notes jump to the bottom of the page instead of opening, you are on a version before 2.8.2, where a plugin that delayed or deferred JavaScript could stop the script running. Update, or exclude inline-context/build/frontend.js from JavaScript delay and defer.

Nothing is lost. The note text stays in the post and comes back when you reactivate. If you uninstall, the uninstaller can optionally strip the markup and leave your text clean.

Yes. Triggers are operable by keyboard with full ARIA state and Escape to close, and focus returns to where it started. If JavaScript does not run, the notes appear as a numbered endnote list at the foot of the post, each linking back to its place in the text.

No. A note's content is stored with the post, so showing one costs no extra database queries.

Yes. Notes accept rich text, links, and images from the Media Library. Images can be switched off under Settings if you want text-only notes.

Yes. Mark it reusable and edit it once - every post that uses it updates.

Yes. Pick one of five accessible colour presets, or set colours, spacing, borders and shadows yourself under Settings → Inline Context → Styling, with a live preview.

No. Create as many categories as your content structure requires.

Yes. You can type any Dashicon class name to use all 300+ icons.

On WordPress 7.1 and later the plugin ships a curated set of icons drawn as SVG instead of as glyphs from the Dashicons font. They sit correctly on the text baseline in any theme, and once no category uses a Dashicon the font is no longer loaded on the front end at all. Pick one from the grid on a category's screen. Existing categories keep their Dashicons until you choose to switch, and Settings offers to move over the ones that have an exact match.