How to use superscript, subscript, and footnotes in Datawrapper

Superscripts are characters set  above the normal line of type (e.g., in 2ⁿᵈ) and subscripts are characters set below (e.g., in Cᵥₑₓ). There are many reasons to use them in charts — for example, in footnotes or for chemical and physical formulas. Or maybe you just find them pretty!

Here's an example of how subscripts and superscripts look in a Datawrapper chart:

How to display subscripts and superscripts

In Datawrapper, you can use subscripts and superscripts with  Unicode characters that you copy and paste into your data. To translate text into Unicode characters, use the Tiny Text Generator (external link) or copy the characters from the tables below.

The Tiny Text Generator. Here, the word "vex" is translated into superscript and subscript. To use them in Datawrapper, copy them and then paste them in your data. 

Here's a list of Unicode characters that you can copy and paste directly into your data:

Numbers

It's most likely you'll want to use numbers when using subscript or superscript. Here are the Unicode subscript and superscript numbers for you to copy:

Letters

Besides numbers, there are also Unicode  superscript letters: 

• lowercase alphabet but without a q:  ᵃ ᵇ ᶜ ᵈ ᵉ ᶠ ᵍ ʰ ⁱ ʲ ᵏ ˡ ᵐ ⁿ ᵒ ᵖ ʳ ˢ ᵗ ᵘ ᵛ ʷ ˣ ʸ ᶻ 
• uppercase alphabet but without C, F, Q, S, X, Y, and Z:  ᴬ ᴮ ᴰ ᴱ ᴳ ᴴ ᴵ ᴶ ᴷ ᴸ ᴹ ᴺ ᴼ ᴾ ᴿ ᵀ ᵁ ⱽ ᵂ
• a few letters from the Greek alphabet: ᵅ ᵝ ᵞ ᵟ ᵋ ᶿ ᶥ ᶲ ᵠ ᵡ 

There are also Unicode  subscript letters:

• a few letters from the lowercase alphabet: ₐ ₑ ₕ ᵢ ₖ ₗ ₘ ₙ ₒ ₚ ᵣ ₛ ₜ ᵤ ᵥ ₓ
• a few letters from the Greek alphabet: ᵦ ᵧ ᵨ ᵩ ᵪ

Trademark and copyright symbols

It's possible to use superscript letters to form the trademark symbol (like so: companyᵀᴹ). But the trademark symbol also has its own Unicode symbol, which we recommend using instead to make sure it looks the same everywhere:  company™. Here are other Unicode symbols that you can copy to your chart:

Footnotes

You might want to explain where certain data points come from or make notes about them (e.g. "Measured between 2000-2011, not 1999-2010 like the rest of the data" or "Source: UN Data"). To do so, we recommend placing footnote symbols next to your labels and then explaining them in the Notes section below the chart. 

Here are some common footnote symbols:

• the most common one is the asterisk, like so: label*
• after "using up" the asterisk, many people use crosses for footnotes: label†, label‡
• it's also common to indicate footnotes with superscript characters: label¹, label², label³ (to do so, copy the Unicode numbers from the table above)
• ...or with letters: labelᵃ, labelᵇ, labelᶜ.