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Internal references let you create clickable links to headings, images, charts, and tables within your document. References are automatically resolved with correct numbering at render time.

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Defining anchors

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Heading anchors

Add {#anchor-id} at the end of a heading: 
# Introduction {#intro}
## Methods {#methods}
### Data Analysis {#data-analysis}

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Image anchors

Add an anchor attribute to an image: 
![Diagram](image.png){anchor=fig-diagram caption="System Architecture"}

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Chart anchors

Add an anchor attribute to a chart directive: 
:::chart{type="bar" anchor="chart-sales" caption="Sales 2024"}
labels: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4
dataset: Sales | 100, 150, 200, 175 | #3b82f6
:::

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Table anchors

Add an anchor attribute to a table directive: 
:::table{caption="Fee Schedule" anchor="tab-fees"}
| Service | Monthly | Annual |
|---------|---------|--------|
| Basic   | €10     | €100   |
| Pro     | €25     | €250   |
:::

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Anchor ID rules

  • Must start with a letter (a–z, A–Z)
  • Can contain letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens
  • Must be unique within the document
  • Examples: intro, fig-1, section_2, data-analysis

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Referencing anchors

There are three display modes for internal references:

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Auto mode

Use empty brackets [] to automatically show the target’s numbered prefix and title: 
See [](#intro) for more details.
Renders as: See Section 1 Introduction for more details.

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Template mode

Include {num} in the link text — it gets replaced with the target’s number: 
As shown in [Figure {num}](#fig-diagram), the architecture...
Refer to [Table {num}](#table-data) for the full dataset.
See [Section {num}](#methods) for methodology.
Renders as:
  • As shown in Figure 1, the architecture…
  • Refer to Table 2 for the full dataset.
  • See Section 2 for methodology.

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Custom mode

Provide any text without {num} — it’s displayed as-is: 
For sales data, refer to [the chart below](#chart-sales).
As discussed [earlier](#intro), the results are clear.
Renders as:
  • For sales data, refer to the chart below.
  • As discussed earlier, the results are clear.

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Summary

SyntaxModeDescriptionExample Output
[](#anchor)AutoNumbered prefix + title”Section 2.1 Introduction”
[Text {num}](#anchor)TemplateReplaces {num} with number”Figure 1”
[Custom Text](#anchor)CustomShows your text as-is”Custom Text”

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Validation

Autype validates references at render time:
  • Duplicate anchors — two elements with the same anchor ID will cause a validation error
  • Broken references — references to non-existent anchors will cause a validation error
Use descriptive anchor IDs like fig-architecture or sec-methodology to make your document source readable and avoid accidental duplicates.