Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Changing the Way Footnotes Are Numbered.

Changing the Way Footnotes Are Numbered

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 2, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


4

In Word, footnotes can be automatically numbered from 1 through the number of footnotes in the document. Thus, if your document contains 14 footnotes, they will be numbered 1 through 14. You can change the way footnotes are numbered, however. Word allows you to specify both a starting footnote number and whether the numbering starts over with each new section in your document.

Word allows you to change how it handles footnote numbering by following these steps:

  1. Make sure the References tab is selected on the ribbon.
  2. Click the small downward-pointing arrow at the lower-right corner 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. Make sure the Footnotes radio button is selected.
  5. Change the Start At value to reflect where you want Word to start numbering.
  6. Change the Numbering drop-down list to reflect how you want Word to count your footnotes.
  7. Click on Apply and then Cancel; otherwise click Insert to add a footnote mark at the current document location.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5973) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing the Way Footnotes Are Numbered.

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

Printing Shortcut Key Assignments

Shortcut keys are great timesavers when you don't want to remove your hands from the keyboard to mess with the mouse. ...

Discover More

Figuring Out the Low-Score Winner

Need to figure out the lowest score in a range of scores? Here's the formulas to get the information you need.

Discover More

Moving Table Rows Quickly

One of the most esoteric shortcuts available in Word is one that allows you to move table rows, either within a table or ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Using Cross-References in Footnotes

Need to make a cross-reference from one footnote to another footnote? You can do it if you throw bookmarks into the mix, ...

Discover More

Footnote Numbers Missing on Printout

When you add footnotes to a document, you expect the footnote reference numbers to be visible when you print the ...

Discover More

Problems Using the Footnote Pane

When working with footnotes in Draft view, you rely on the use of the footnote pane. However, the pane doesn't work ...

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 2 + 0?

2023-10-01 08:09:38

Adam

Do you know how to do it in Word Online? It seems there is no any little arrowin Footnote group.


2023-02-26 14:21:55

Attila

"Click the small downward-pointing arrow at the lower-right corner of the Footnotes group."
I can't see any "Footnote group" in Word, Office 365 for Mac when the "References" tab is selected.
Hence, i can't find "the small downward-pointing arrow at the lower-right corner of the Footnotes group".

Any suggestion to solve this problem, please?


2023-02-14 17:08:30

Michael Cooper

This info is apparently not applicable to Mac. This should've been specified at the head of the article so as not to waste Mac users' time.


2022-04-10 18:58:58

Ahmed Atia

many thanks for the information
was really helpful


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.