Q: Where should I put figure numbers in the manuscript?

I think the first comment means that you should provide a link to the data that you have in the figures within your manuscript. These days, many journals encourage authors to share their data. Usually, the data is stored in a repository and the link to the data is provided in the paper for greater transparency.

Regarding the second comment, most journals require figures to be added separately, either on a separate page at the end of the manuscript or as a separate document. These figures are added in the right places later, at the production stage, when the page proofs are created. For this, the production team needs to know where to insert the figures, so authors are expected to add a line in brackets saying “Insert fig 1 here” or “Insert fig 2 here,” etc. You should add this information in square brackets at the appropriate places within the manuscript. Thus, while your figures will be on a separate page, these figure numbers will mark the places where the figures have to be placed when the manuscript is finally printed.

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Common areas of author confusion regarding journal figure guidelines

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