Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Sequentially Numbering Footnotes.
The footnote feature in Word is quite flexible, allowing you to set up your footnotes in the format that is best for your needs. Normally, footnotes are numbered sequentially, either within the document or within a section of the document. As you add or remove footnotes, Word automatically renumbers the remaining footnotes so they are sequential.
If you notice that the numbering on your footnotes is getting out of whack (no longer sequential) there could be a couple of different reasons. This problem can crop up if you have Track Changes turned on and you do quite a bit of copying and pasting in the document. In those instances, Word may not renumber the footnotes until you resolve all the outstanding changes by accepting them or rejecting them.
Another possibility is that you have somehow changed the properties of some of the footnotes so that their numbering is no longer continuous. Finding and correcting the properties of some wayward footnotes can be bothersome, but is made much easier through the use of a macro. The following macro will step through each footnote in a document and make sure that it is set for continuous numbering.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: 
Sub MakeFootnotesAuto()
Dim f As Footnote
For Each f In ActiveDocument.Footnotes
f.Range.FootnoteOptions.NumberingRule _
= wdRestartContinuous
Next f
End Sub
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12815) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Sequentially Numbering Footnotes.
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!
Adding footnotes to a document is essential for some types of writing. How you view those footnotes depends on the ...
Discover MoreMost footnotes in a document start numbering with the number 1 and proceed from there through the rest of your document. ...
Discover MoreDeleting either footnotes or endnotes is a simple process. Just select the reference mark and delete it. Assuming you are ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2018-03-28 13:49:41
Dbr
Thank you so much for this tip, Allen. Was incredibly frustrated with my footnote numbering but once I turned off Tracking Changes and then accepted and rejected all the changes that had been made (five people have "touched" this document) my footnotes automatically changed to what they're supposed to be. THANK YOU!!!
2014-12-16 13:15:49
At College
Ran the macro but footnotes are still not sequential. This document has been worked on a lot with track changes.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments