Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Inserting Footnotes.

Inserting Footnotes

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated May 9, 2015)

4

Footnotes are used to provide printed annotations or references for a document. If you want to insert a footnote in your document, follow these steps:

  1. Position the insertion point where you want the footnote mark to be located.
  2. Display the References tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click the Insert Footnote tool, in the Footnotes group.
  4. A footnote mark appears in your document and the insertion point moves to the bottom of the page where the footnote will appear.
  5. Enter your footnote, formatting it as you would any other text in your document.
  6. Click somewhere in your main document when you are done typing your footnote.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (750) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting Footnotes.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Where is Toolbar Customization Information Stored?

When you make a change to one of Excel's toolbars, do you know where that change is stored? This tip explains the name ...

Discover More

Deleting Multiple Building Blocks

Building Blocks can be a powerful timesaver when developing your documents. Being able to delete multiple Building Blocks ...

Discover More

Printing Summary Information from a Macro

Part of the information that Word maintains about each of your documents is a summary statement, which you can define in ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Converting Hyperlinks to Footnotes

If you have a document that contains a lot of active hyperlinks, you can use a macro to convert those hyperlinks to ...

Discover More

Printing without Footnotes

Want to print your document without all those footnotes included? It's not quite as easy as you might think, as this tip ...

Discover More

Changing Space between the Footnote Separator and Footnotes

When you add footnotes to a document, Word separates those footnotes from the document body with a separator line. Here's ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven more than 1?

2015-05-12 20:27:54

David B

Or you can press CTRL + ALT + F to insert a footnote or CTRL + ALT + D to insert an endnote.

2015-05-11 09:27:35

Jennifer Thomas

Sorry, Stanley - your only options for numbering ENDNOTES are 'Continuous' or 'Restart at each section'. If you use FOOTNOTES, however, you have the additional option of 'Restart each page', so consider using that method instead. FYI, to get to those options, click the dialog launcher in the Footnotes group.

2015-05-09 08:56:24

Stanley Knill

I would like to be able to start endnotes numbering on each page of a document (book)rather than each section (chapter). Is there a way rather than starting each page as a section?

2015-05-09 04:54:22

sarma

Frequent users of footnotes will find it convenient to drag the "Insert footnote" onto the Quick Access Toolbar.

Right click ribbon, Click "Customize Quick Access Toolbar", click Down arrow of the "Choose commands from" box, select "References Tab"; select the "Insert footnote" and "Add" it to the ribbon. It'll be very easy from then on.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.