Suppressing Endnotes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 21, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


1

Marty created a Word document with endnotes. After that, he wanted to create another version for a newspaper without the endnotes. So he displayed the Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box and clicked on the Suppress Endnotes check box. Problem is, nothing happened; the endnotes remained and the document remained unchanged. Marty wonders how to really suppress endnotes.

The short answer is that if you want to suppress endnotes (not have them print) you need to actually delete them. (More on that in a moment.) This might lead you to question what the purpose is for the Suppress Endnotes check box; it is plainly visible in the Layout dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

This check box isn't used to turn off the display of all your endnotes. Instead, it is used to suppress the display of endnotes within specific sections of a document, pushing them forward to the next section. This concept will take a bit of explanation.

You see, you can instruct Word to place endnotes at the end of each section of a document instead of at the end of the entire document. This is handy if you use a separate section for each chapter in an overall document and you want endnotes at the end of each chapter.

If you direct Word to place endnotes at the end of each section, you may run across a section where you want the endnotes suppressed. That is what the check box is for—to suppress the endnotes that would normally be displayed at the end of that particular section. Word dutifully does that, moving those endnotes to the end of the following section, unless they are suppressed there, as well. If you suppress the endnotes in every section of your document, then they are still printed at the very end of the document.

Note that the endnotes are not hidden or removed; they are simply suppressed for that particular section. This entire concept of controlling placement of endnotes across sections (and using the Suppress Endnotes check box) is covered in a different WordTip:

https://wordribbon.tips.net/T009694

Now, back to how you create a version of your document that doesn't include endnotes. As mentioned, the short answer is that you need to actually delete them. Follow these steps:

  1. Make sure you save your document so that you don't actually lose your endnotes.
  2. Press Ctrl+H. Word displays the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (See Figure 2.)
  3. Figure 2. The Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

  4. In the Find What box, enter ^e (that's a caret and a lowercase e).
  5. In the Replace With box, clear anything that may be there. (The box should be empty.)
  6. Click on Replace All.
  7. Close the Find and Replace dialog box.

That's it; your endnotes should now be removed and you have the desired "clean" copy. You can print it out or save it under a different name. (Don't save it under the same name. That would overwrite the copy you saved in step 1 and your endnotes would be permanently gone.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8835) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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

Sorting by Colors

Need to sort your data based on the color of the cell? Excel doesn't include this capability, but you can still do the ...

Discover More

Printing Documents in a Folder

If you want to print a group of documents at the same time there are a couple of ways you can accomplish the task. Here ...

Discover More

Single-Character Fractions

Some fractions Word automatically converts to single characters, some it doesn't. Here's why that happens and what you ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Selectively Changing Endnotes to Footnotes

Want to turn some (but not all) of your endnotes into footnotes. Rather than do it manually, you can apply the shortcut ...

Discover More

Converting Endnotes to Regular Text

If you have a document with lots of endnotes, you may need them converted to regular text so that they can be used ...

Discover More

Making Endnotes Part of the Footnotes

In a document that contains both footnotes and endnotes, you may want to convert your endnotes to footnotes. This tip ...

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 3 + 3?

2025-04-24 15:38:41

Sarah Bilhardt

If you are looking for a clean print or a pdf, simple put a page break after the last end note and then only select the pages you want to print / export to pdf.


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.