Microsoft has confirmed the Surface Mini is in the works (or at least was), by accidentally leaving numerous references to the tablet throughout its Surface Pro 3 user guide. Yes, we're serious.

Eagle-eye observers, such as Supersite's Paul Thurrott, today discovered the name Surface Mini, a much-rumored tablet, appears multiple times in the online version of the Surface Pro 3 user guide. The Surface Mini mostly showed up in the the user guide's section about the Surface Pen, a stylus-type tool that comes with the Surface Pro 3. According to the user guide, the Surface Pen will also come with the Surface Mini:

"Click the top button to open OneNote, even if your Surface is locked. Bluetooth technology links your Surface Pen to your Surface Mini or Surface Pro 3, so when you click the button, your Surface responds instantly," stated the user guide in just one instance.

READ: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 vs Microsoft Surface Pro 2

Last month, Microsoft sent invitations to a Microsoft Surface event in New York City. It invited the press to join Microsoft for a small gathering, leading to much speculation about Microsoft planning to introduce a small Surface tablet. However the company reportedly cancelled those plans. It has also never confirmed the existence of a smaller tablet, despite several leaks.

The Surface Mini was assumed to be a 7-inch or 8-inch tablet, much like Surface 2. One report even claimed the Surface Mini would feature a 7.5-inch 1440x1080-pixel resolution display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. It would also allegedly boast a Qualcomm processor and possibly Windows RT.

The Surface Pro 3 user guide can be viewed at Microsoft's website (download PDF).

UPDATE: The download link appears to no longer be live. Pocket-lint contacted Microsoft for a comment on the Surface Mini references, and we’ll update if we learn any more information.