Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Continuous Formatting for Footnotes.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 5, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365
Aryeh has a document that has quite a few footnotes in it. Each footnote, of course, starts on a new line in the footnote area at the bottom of each page. Aryeh is wondering if it is possible to have the footnotes appear one right after the other, without each of them starting on a new line.
There is no way of doing this in Word. Footnotes are inserted in a document as entire paragraphs, and you cannot go into the footnote area of the document and start deleting the paragraph marks at the end of each footnote. (This would be required in order to get the footnotes into one long paragraph, so that they start one right after the other.) When you try to delete them, Word simply refuses to allow the edit.
One thing you can try is to hide the paragraph mark instead of trying to delete it. In the footnotes section of your document, simply select each paragraph mark and then format it as hidden text. When you print the document (provided you instruct Word not to print hidden text), the paragraphs used for the footnotes should all run together. Unfortunately, there is no way to make this hiding of the paragraph marks automatic; you must do it manually.
Of course, this may be for the best. While "closing up" all the footnotes in this way may save quite a bit of space over the course of an entire document, such formatting may not be in the best interest of readers; it definitely would make the footnotes more difficult to locate and read.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10731) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Continuous Formatting for Footnotes.
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!
Footnotes can be handled many different ways in a document. If you want to restart the numbering of your footnotes every ...
Discover MoreAutomatic footnotes are easy to insert in Word documents. The default settings are usually fine for most projects. ...
Discover MoreThe reference marks that appear for footnotes in a document are normally just superscripted digits. If you want to change ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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:
Comments