Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Formatting Endnote Reference Marks.

Formatting Endnote Reference Marks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 13, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Whenever you insert an endnote in your document, Word puts endnote reference marks in two places: at the location in your document where you indicated, and at the beginning of the endnote itself.

Endnote reference marks can be formatted in the same way that you format regular text. If you have a large number of endnotes in your text, however, it could get tedious to manually format every reference mark. Instead, consider changing the style that Word automatically applies to endnote reference marks.

When you add your first endnote to a document, Word automatically creates a style called Endnote Reference. You can change this style the same as you would change any other style in your document. (Exactly how to change styles has been covered in other issues of WordTips.) Changing the style affects the appearance of all endnote reference marks in your document.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (3580) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Formatting Endnote Reference Marks.

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. ...

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