Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: Changing the Footnote Continuation Separator.

Changing the Footnote Continuation Separator

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated October 22, 2016)

If you have a very long footnote that won't entirely fit in the space allocated for footnotes on the current page, Word automatically continues the footnote on the following page. In these cases, you can specify that Word use a different footnote separator to indicate that the footnotes are a continuation from the previous page. To change the continuation separator, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure you are viewing your document in Draft view. (Display the View tab of the ribbon and click Draft in the Views group.)
  2. Display the References tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click Show Notes.
  4. If you have both footnotes and endnotes defined in your document, Word displays the Show Notes dialog box. (In some versions of Word it may be called the View Notes or View Footnotes dialog box.) (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Show Notes dialog box.

  5. Click on the View Footnote Area radio button.
  6. Click on OK.
  7. Using the Footnotes drop-down list at the top of the Footnotes window, choose Footnote Continuation Separator. The current separator appears in the window.
  8. Change or delete the separator, as desired.
  9. When you are satisfied with the appearance of the separator, click on Close.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11775) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing the Footnote Continuation Separator.

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

Copying Character Formatting

If you are applying character formatting directly to text rather than using a character style you can copy it from one ...

Discover More

Rotating a Drawing Object

Add a new shape or drawing object to your worksheet, and there it sits—ram-rod straight and ready to enhance your ...

Discover More

Searching for Floating Graphics

Graphics can be added to a document so that they are either inline with the text or floating over the text. You can use ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Positioning the Footnote Separator

The Footnote Separator, as its name implies, separates the footnotes on each page from the text on that page. If the ...

Discover More

Adding Footnotes to Endnotes

Word does footnotes. Word does endnotes. Word doesn't do footnotes within endnotes. Here's a discussion as to why and ...

Discover More

Inserting Footnotes

Footnotes appear at the bottom (or foot) of each page. It is an easy task to insert a footnote at any point you desire, ...

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.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

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}] 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 eight minus 7?

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.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.