Footnotes in Word and Endnotes in Word

This tutorial on Footnotes in Word and Endnotes in Word is suitable for users of Word 2010/2013/2016/2019 and Microsoft 365. 

Objective 

Include footnotes and endnotes in your document to provide additional information about something mentioned in the document. 

Video Tutorial 

Footnotes and Endnotes Explained 

Footnotes and Endnotes can be used in a Word document to explain, provide references to or comment on something you have mentioned in the document. They help provide additional information that does not necessarily need to go in the main body of the document but is important to know.  

Footnotes usually appear at the bottom of the page, and endnotes come at the end of the document or section.  

Insert a Footnote 

In this example, we are going to add a footnote at the bottom of the page.  

1. Click where you want to add a footnote 

2. Click the References tab 

3. From the Footnotes group, select Insert Footnote 

Word inserts a reference mark in the text and adds a footnote mark at the bottom of the page. As this is the first footnote, it has a number 1 next to it. Type in the additional information you would like to include.  

To return to your place in the document, double-click on the footnote mark.  

Continue through the document adding footnotes where necessary.  

To be able to see the footnote when you hover over the reference, turn on Show Notes.

To navigate around the document by the footnotes, click the Next Footnote drop-down arrow and select an option.  

Insert an Endnote 

In this example, we are going to insert an endnote at the end of the document.  

1. Click where you want to add an endnote 

2. Click the References tab 

3. From the Footnotes group, select Insert Endnote 

Word inserts a reference mark in the text and adds an endnote mark at the end of the document.  

Customize Footnotes and Endnotes 

1. Click the References tab 

2. In the Footnotes group, click the diagonal arrow  

The footnotes and endnotes dialog box will open. From here, you can change the location of the footnotes and endnotes, change the layout, change the number formatting, specify which number to start at and if you want the numbering to be continuous or restart with each section.  

Printing Footnotes and Endnotes 

By default, when you send a document to the printer, the footnotes and endnotes do not print off. You can change this so that footnotes and endnotes print on their relevant pages.  

1. Click the View tab 

2. From the Views group, click Draft 

3. Click the References tab 

4. From the Footnotes group, click Show Notes 

5. Select if you want to view footnotes or endnotes 

The Notes Pane will open at the bottom of the screen. This pane can be adjusted simply by dragging the diving border up or down.  

6. Click the File tab 

7. Click Print 

The footnotes will now appear on the Print Preview.  

For more information about footnotes and endnotes in Word, please check out the following links: 

Groovy Post – How to Insert Footnotes and Endnotes in Word 

Microsoft – Refer to the same footnote or endnote more than once 

If you are interested in learning more about Microsoft Word. Then take a look at the following free resources:

• Working with Page Breaks in Microsoft Word
• How to Create and Print Envelopes in Word
• How to Create a Contents Page in Word
• How to Mail Merge in Word
• How to Print Labels in Word

To really learn Microsoft Word, take a look at the Microsoft Word courses we available from Simon Sez IT.