Making Endnotes Part of the Footnotes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 18, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365


1

Rhonda received a document that includes both footnotes and endnotes. She needs to change the document so that it includes only footnotes. The endnotes should not be deleted, but simply become part of the footnotes. She wonders if there is a way to do this easily in the document.

The short answer is yes, there is an easy way. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the References tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Footnotes group. Word displays the Footnote and Endnote dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Footnote and Endnote dialog box.

  4. Click the Convert button. Word displays the Convert Notes dialog box. (See Figure 2.)
  5. Figure 2. The Convert Notes dialog box.

  6. Make sure the Convert All Endnotes to Footnotes radio button is selected.
  7. Click OK to close the Convert Notes dialog box. (This is when the actual conversion occurs.)
  8. Click Cancel to close the Footnote and Endnote dialog box.

In the process of converting all your endnotes, Word renumbers all the footnotes properly to reflect the newly modified endnotes. As you can deduce from step 4, these steps assume that you want to change all your endnotes to footnotes. If you want to change only some of the endnotes to footnotes, then check out this WordTip:

https://tips.net/T11199

If you have Track Changes turned on in your document, understand that you may get some funky results on the conversion. Word renumbers everything, but it may appear that the numbering in the footnotes is messed up. It isn't, but you won't see the correct numbering until you resolve the changes that were tracked when you did the conversion.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5909) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365.

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

Searching for Breaks

Word allows you to insert different types of breaks in your text that help control how your document is paginated. If you ...

Discover More

Displaying ScreenTips

ScreenTips are those small, yellow boxes that appear when you hover over different objects in Word. You have complete ...

Discover More

Changing Your Name

One of the many pieces of information that Excel keeps track of is your name. If you want to change your name for Excel's ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Controlling Endnote Placement

Endnotes are often used in technical and scholarly documents. You can control exactly where the endnotes appear in your ...

Discover More

Endnotes by Chapter

Word allows you to easily add endnotes to your document. It even allows you to specify where those endnotes should appear ...

Discover More

Creating Unnumbered Endnotes

Endnotes are indispensable in some types of writing. You may want to create endnotes, however, that don't follow the ...

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.

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}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) 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 7 - 7?

2025-01-20 14:08:45

William

In my version of Word, once you convert the notes the Cancel button in the Footnote and Endnote dialog changes to Close (step 6 above).


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.

Videos
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.