Many printed Bibles use “Extra material” (small bits of explanatory information) in cross-references and footnotes to make them more helpful for the reader. Some examples of these are LXX, Septuagint, Original text, Greek version, See, See note in verse, Compare, and Verse. Many more are possible. Paratext has a way to help you be consistent in your use of these small bits of information. For instance, you would want to use either LXX or Septuagint as a cross reference label in your project, but not both. Paratext calls these small bits of explanatory information “Extra material.” In this article, we will talk more about Extra Material, including how to reference it properly in Paratext.
Examples of Extra Material in a Printed Copy of a Text
Example #1 (With Septuagint)
Example #2 (With LXX)
Example #3 (With See Psalm 110.1)
Extra Material and Scripture Reference Checks
If extra material is defined correctly in the Scripture Reference Settings then they will pass Paratext’s Scripture reference checks. This is important because if your cross-references all pass then your extra material is consistent.
In the case below, the extra material LXX has not been added to the Scripture Reference settings.
Paratext has marked the book name in red and underlined the entire reference in red because it did not recognize (LXX) as a valid part of a cross-reference.
In the next case See and (Septuagint) are not marked in red, but are underlined in blue-grey showing that they are valid cross- reference labels.
This is because See and (Septuagint) have been listed as valid Extra Material. See below for steps to enter all the words and characters you want to be able to use in a valid cross reference:
Scripture Reference Settings
Extra material is defined in the Scripture reference settings, so you have to open these settings.
- Go to the main menu of your project and click on it.
- Go to Project settings → Scripture reference settings
3. Click on Scripture reference settings.
4. Type “See<space>|<space>(Septuagint)” in the Extra Material box
Note: Each thing you want for extra material has to be separated by a vertical bar.
Note: The spaces after “See” and before “(Septuagint)” are important. You should always look at the grey box under the Extra Material box. It will show you what your cross-references or footnotes with extra material will look like. If you do not like the appearance of the examples, then adjust the spaces in the Extra Material box until the examples look correct.
More Help with Extra Material
If you need more help with getting extra material to display correctly look at the guide for the Scripture Reference settings dialogue.
For even more information type “Extra Material” in the Paratext Help box.
Conclusion
Paratext has many ways to help you to make your footnotes and cross-references both helpful for your readers and consistent. Now you have seen the extra material feature, think about how it might help you to make the published version of your Bible that much better.
