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: Jumping to a Relative Footnote.

Jumping to a Relative Footnote

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 7, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


If you are using footnotes in your document, you may have a need to jump from one footnote to another. Word makes it easy to jump to a footnote relative to the footnote at which you are currently located. You do this in the following manner:

  1. Press F5. Word displays the Go To tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  2. Figure 1. The Go To tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

  3. In the left side of the dialog box, choose Footnote. This informs Word what you want to go to. The Enter Page Number box is relabeled as the Enter Footnote Number box.
  4. In the Enter Footnote Number box, enter a plus or minus sign followed by the number of footnotes you want to jump. Plus is forward; minus is backward. For instance, you could jump forward four footnotes by entering +4. Word changes the Next button to a Go To button.
  5. Click on the Go To button.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11325) 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: Jumping to a Relative Footnote.

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

Getting the Expected Space Before a Heading

If your heading styles are designed to add extra space before the heading, you may be surprised when that extra space is ...

Discover More

Adding One More Line

It always seems to happen—you print a document and then discover that you should have included one more line of ...

Discover More

Automatically Printing an Envelope

When you create a letter, you may want to have Word print a single envelope for that letter. You can do so by following ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Removing Spaces before Footnote References

If you need to remove a space before a footnote reference, doing so may seem an impossible task. However, you can use two ...

Discover More

Controlling Footnote Placement

Footnotes are normally placed at the bottom of the page on which the footnote is referenced. However, Word provides some ...

Discover More

Converting Individual Endnotes and Footnotes

Word makes it easy to convert all your footnotes to endnotes and vice versa. You may want to only convert a couple of ...

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 7 + 9?

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.

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.