Is there a Word processing software built for inline annotations, references and line count?

Question

I think this is a tall order for Libreoffice, my regular processor. The goal is a column of narrative with annotations in one margin when needed and references on the other. The appearance of 5, 10, 15, 20 for line counting would be a welcomed perk.

I'll want the font to change and formatting to change artistically so the features have to be dynamic, not baked in. Columns in Libreoffice just accept overflow from the previous column instead of the same type of column from the previous page - so THIS is the basis of my search. I can do this on only ONE page in Libreoffice.

Answer 1

There are two ways to do this in LibreOffice. The first is to create a single table with one row and three columns. I found this to be the easiest to work with.

However, line numbering does not work for tables. So you may want the second way instead, which is to create 3 frames with Insert -> Frame. Specify to anchor As Character. Then go to Tools -> Line Numbering and mark Lines in text frames.

A related question is at https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/55855/how-can-i-get-two-separate-columns-of-text-in-librewriter/.