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: Selectively Changing Endnotes to Footnotes.

Selectively Changing Endnotes to Footnotes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 13, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Don knows how to convert all of his endnotes to footnotes. He doesn't want to change them all, however; he only wants to change some of them. He wonders if there is a way to "step through" endnotes and decide, on a note-by-note basis, if it should be changed to a footnote.

There is no feature in Word that works as described, but there is a different approach you can use to selectively make the changes. Follow these steps:

Make sure you can see the document's endnotes on the screen. (You want to display the actual endnotes, not the endnote reference marks in the main section of the document.)
Right-click on an endnote that you want to change to a footnote. Word displays a Context menu.
Select the Convert to Footnote option. Word immediately changes the endnote to a footnote.

Interestingly enough, this is one instance in which Word is consistent—you can follow the same procedure to also convert individual footnotes to endnotes.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11199) 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: Selectively Changing Endnotes to Footnotes.

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

Pasting Clean Text

One of the most helpful tools in Word is the ability to paste straight text into a document. This is used so much on my ...

Discover More

Using the Organizer to Manage Styles

One of the things that the Organizer is great at doing is managing styles. You can use it to move them between templates ...

Discover More

Transposing Two Characters

If you have two characters in the wrong order, you might be interested in a shortcut you can use to switch their order. ...

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)

Getting Rid of Hard Returns before Endnotes

Are there unexplained (and unwanted) paragraph marks before your endnotes? Here's how to get rid of them so they don't ...

Discover More

Putting Your Index after Your Endnotes

Endnotes are supposed to be at the end of your document, right? Not necessarily. You may want something else at the end, ...

Discover More

Changing the Way Endnotes Are Numbered

Word is flexible on how it numbers your endnotes. This tip shows how easy it is to make the changes to the numbering system.

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 7 + 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.