Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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: Searching for Footnote and Endnote Marks.

Searching for Footnote and Endnote Marks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 3, 2025)

If you don't know where a footnote or endnote reference is located in your document, you can use Word's powerful searching capabilities to find automatic footnote references. To search for a footnote or endnote, follow these steps:

Press Ctrl+H to display the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
Make sure the Find tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Find tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

In the Find What box, enter the text for which you want to search. To search for a footnote mark, enter ^f. To search for an endnote mark, instead enter ^e.
If the More button is visible, click it to expand the dialog box.
Make sure the Use Wildcards check box is not selected.
Set other searching parameters, as desired.
Click on Find Next.

If you are using Word 2007, you can accomplish the first two steps by simply pressing Ctrl+F. If you use this shortcut in Word 2010 or later, Word displays the Navigation pane to the left of your document. You can still use ^f or ^e in the box at the top of the pane, and Word displays all instances of the footnote and endnote marks in your document. Personally, I find it easier to use the full Find and Replace dialog box, thus the seven simple steps I note above.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11162) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Searching for Footnote and Endnote 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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