# Cross-Page Footnotes After OCR: Check Continuations and Reference Targets

Review notes that continue across PDF pages, numbering restarts, marker placement, and chapter boundaries before relying on an EPUB or Markdown conversion.

A footnote can begin on one printed page and finish on the next. After OCR and reflow, it may be split into two notes, merged with a neighboring reference, or inserted into the body. The first line can look correct while the important qualification at the end is missing.

For these cases, check neighboring pages together. A single-page view does not contain enough evidence to establish the complete relationship.

## Follow the continuation before following the number

Start with the body passage and its marker. Find the note's beginning in the source PDF, then read until the note actually ends. Inspect the next page's small text and any continuation indication before deciding that a new block is a new note.

Compare the end of the first page and the beginning of the next. Does a sentence continue naturally? Is a new number present? Has the layout changed columns or introduced a new chapter? Use the source evidence rather than guessing from the converted paragraph alone.

Check that the output contains the entire note in the intended reading relationship. A correct opening and closing sentence are useful checkpoints, but also look for missing lines between them.

## Understand numbering restarts and repeated markers

Some books number notes continuously; others restart by page, chapter, or section. The same printed number may therefore appear in many places without identifying the same note.

After conversion, inspect a boundary where numbering restarts. Confirm that the first note in the new section does not link back to an earlier note with the same label. Check a later repeated number too.

Do not change the author's numbering merely to make a quick visual sequence look continuous. If an external editing workflow renumbers notes, the underlying references and destinations still need to remain correct. Numbers are labels; the attached source passage establishes the meaning.

## Locate the marker in the correct body passage

A marker at the end of a sentence may qualify the whole sentence, a quotation, or a specific phrase. Compare its actual source position. A link to the correct note can still be misleading if it moved into the following paragraph.

On two-column pages, inspect the column sequence and the location of the note block. At a page turn, check whether a paragraph continues or ends before the note. Page numbers and running headings can be inserted accidentally and make the sequence appear more coherent than it is.

Use a small review record:

| Location       | Evidence to keep                                   |
| -------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Body marker    | Chapter, original page, and nearby phrase          |
| Note beginning | Label and first words                              |
| Continuation   | Next-page location and connecting sentence         |
| Note ending    | Final words before the next note or section        |
| Output target  | Where the reference leads and whether return works |

Record both printed and PDF viewer page numbers when they differ. Reflowable EPUB page numbers vary with the reader and font, so do not rely on them alone.

## Compare chapter boundaries and adjacent pages

Choose a three-page window around a difficult location: preceding, current, and following pages. Read the body sequence and note sequence separately, then check their links. That prevents a continuation from being accepted merely because it is adjacent in the converted output.

At a chapter boundary, inspect the final notes of the old chapter and the first note of the new one. Look for notes that were orphaned, carried into the wrong section, or attached through a repeated label.

The [general footnote guide](https://pdfcraft.ai/en/blog/scanned-book-footnotes/) covers ordinary marker and note checks. The [JEV engineering case](https://pdfcraft.ai/en/blog/jev-footnote-review/) describes why internal processing sometimes needs neighboring context. Neither replaces checking an important passage in your own source.

## Review the downloaded output in its intended use

In EPUB, follow the reference and return to the body. In Markdown, inspect the note representation in the file and the rendered behavior in your editor. A link that works technically does not certify completeness or correct association.

If translation is also involved, first confirm the recovered source relationship, then inspect meaning. The [OCR and translation guide](https://pdfcraft.ai/en/blog/ocr-and-translate-workflow/) separates those responsibilities. For papers, the [arXiv PDF workflow](https://pdfcraft.ai/en/blog/translate-arxiv-paper-pdf/) adds formula and citation review.

Use the [PDF workspace](https://pdfcraft.ai/en/pdf-craft/) to choose the output and translation settings. Processing is charged by usage; see [Pricing](https://pdfcraft.ai/en/pricing/) for current rates. Keep the original and downloaded result together, and retain unresolved note locations for closer review rather than treating a completed task as proof that every cross-page relationship is correct.