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: Copying and Moving Footnotes and Endnotes.

Copying and Moving Footnotes and Endnotes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 12, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Word implements a full-featured footnote and endnote system that allows you total control over where and how notes are printed. If you have previously inserted footnotes or endnotes into your document, and you want to duplicate a note or move one, you can use techniques you already know for editing regular text. To copy or move a footnote or endnote, follow these steps:

Select the footnote or endnote reference mark in your document. (This is within the document itself, not within the actual footnote or endnote.)
If you are copying the note, press Ctrl+C. The footnote or endnote reference mark and the associated note are copied to the Clipboard.
If you are moving the note, press Ctrl+X. The reference mark and the associated footnote or endnote are deleted and moved to the Clipboard. If you are using auto-numbered footnotes or endnotes, all the footnotes or endnotes in your document are renumbered.
Position the insertion point at the location where you want to copy the footnote or endnote.
Press Ctrl+V. The footnote or endnote reference mark is inserted in your document, and the associated note is added to the appropriate notes section. If you are using auto-numbered footnotes or endnotes, all the footnotes or endnotes in your document are renumbered.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10605) 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: Copying and Moving Footnotes and Endnotes.

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Passing Parameters to Functions

Functions can be used to perform repetitive tasks and return values to your main program. You can also pass values to a ...

Discover More

ExcelTips: The Macros (Special Offer)

ExcelTips: The Macros is the definitive reference on how to use macros in Excel. You can stay at the top of your ...

Discover More

Turning Off Track Changes without Unsharing

The Track Changes tool in Excel can be helpful, but it can also be aggravating because it doesn't allow you to use it on ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Brackets around Footnote References

When you insert footnotes in a document, Word allows you to modify the formatting applied to the footnote references. ...

Discover More

Changing Space between the Footnote Separator and Footnotes

When you add footnotes to a document, Word separates those footnotes from the document body with a separator line. Here's ...

Discover More

Restarting Footnote Numbering after Page Breaks

Footnotes can be handled many different ways in a document. If you want to restart the numbering of your footnotes every ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two less than 6?

2022-11-12 10:37:36

Jean RLachaud

Hi:

I would like to copy a Word text, INCLUDING footnotes, to an Outlook message.

Copy & Paste fails to copy the footnotes. Attempts to copy/paste the footnote marks does not work either.

Do you conform that is to be expected, or am I missing something?

TIA

J L

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.