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: Inserting Footnotes Using Custom Footnote Marks.

Inserting Footnotes Using Custom Footnote Marks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 15, 2023)

Footnotes are used to provide printed annotations or references for a document. Word makes it very easy to insert automatic footnotes in your documents. What if you want to insert a custom footnote, however? Fortunately, it is just as easy:

Position the insertion point where you want the custom footnote mark located.
Display the References tab of the ribbon.
Click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Footnotes group. Word displays the Footnote and Endnote dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Footnote and Endnote dialog box.

In the Custom Mark box, enter the character (or characters) you want used for the custom footnote mark. If you want a special symbol in the footnote mark, click on Symbol and select the one you want.
Click on Insert. Your custom footnote mark appears in your document and the insertion point moves to the bottom of the page where the footnote will appear.
Enter your footnote, formatting it as you would any other text in your document.
Click someplace within the body of 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 (8382) 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: Inserting Footnotes Using Custom Footnote 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. Learn more about Allen...

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