Callout

For the song, see Call Out.

In publishing, a callout or call-out is a short string of text connected by a line, arrow, or similar graphic to a feature of an illustration or technical drawing and giving information about that feature. The term is also used to describe a short piece of text set in larger type than the rest of the page and intended to attract attention. In documents that require translation, a neutral callout is often used. By using numbers or letters as callouts in combination with an image caption, translation becomes more efficient, as the same graphic can be used in all languages.

A similar device in word processing is a special text box with or without a small "tail" that can be pointed to different locations on a document.^[1]

In the utility industry, a callout is an instruction to report for emergency or special work at an unusual time or place.^[2]

Gallery

• 
  The callouts in this illustration give information about a solar array rotary joint of the International Space Station.
• 
  Description callout panel in NeoOffice Writer's draw toolbar.
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  Callout using numbers for efficient translation.
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  Callout using letters for distinction.
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  Three callouts, one custom (through a CSS snippet), used in word-processing, rendered in Obsidian.^[3]

Detailed look on Gallery, Image 5 (Obsidian screenshot)

Callout Name	Description	Availability
Cherry	The cherry callout may or may not have an deliberately helpful purpose, otherwise for botanical purposes. It may also be used in joke articles.	Custom, through CSS snippet or file
Info	The Info callout (otherwise known as the Information or Informative callout) is used to inform the reader of information regarding the page or body of text.	Default
Caution	The caution callout (or cautionary callout) is commonly used in pages, articles, or sections regarding sensitive topics, trigger warnings, and more, to inform the reader to proceed with caution.	Default

Arts

In music, call-out hooks are small portions of a song, usually seven to ten seconds of a song's hook used by radio stations "in market research to assist in gauging the popularity of a song by the recognizability of its hook"

See also

• Call-out culture
• Pull-quote
• Speech balloon

References

1. "Using callouts". Allen Wyatt's Word Tips. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
2. Call-out. Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
3. "Callouts - Obsidian Help". help.obsidian.md. Retrieved 2025-06-26.

External links

• The dictionary definition of call-out at Wiktionary