If you’ve ever written a paper or a thesis, you know that inserting footnotes and endnotes is a key part of that process. It can also be a pain in the neck. Luckily, Word is here to save the day!

 

For the uninitiated, footnotes or endnotes can be used to tell the reader what source you used for a particular fact or quote. They can also be used to add a comment or a more detailed explanation that doesn’t quite fit in with the text. Rather than interrupt your document, a number is placed to refer the reader to a note at the end of the page, section, or document:

 

 

 

The only difference is that footnotes are placed at the end of a page and that endnotes are placed at the end of a document or section. (If a footnote is too long for one page, it will flow onto the next page.) Both are separated from body text by a small, grey, horizontal line. As well, the text of the footnote or endnote is in a smaller font than the body text. You can even use a combination of footnotes and endnotes in your document.

 

The main advantage to using Word to create footnotes or endnotes automatically is that like page numbers, footnotes and endnotes are numbered automatically and updated as you change them. For example, if you delete footnote number 5, the rest of the footnotes will be renumbered so that there is no gap.

 

To insert a footnote or endnote, first place your cursor where you want the reference number to appear. Then, click the Insert menu, choose Reference, and choose Footnote.

 

 

Then, the Footnote and Endnote dialog will appear; you can see it pictured below. The first set of options lets you choose the location for your reference: will this be a footnote or an endnote?

 

You can also choose the position of the element. For footnotes, you can choose at the bottom of the page or below the text; for endnotes you can choose the end of the document or the end of the section. You can also click the Convert button, which we’ll save for later.

 

The second section lets you choose the format for your footnote or endnote. You can choose the number format (Roman, Arabic, letters, special characters, or custom marks) for your reference marks that will appear in the text. You can also choose what number to start at, and if numbering should be continuous or restart at each section.

 

The last set of options allows you to apply changes to this section or the whole document.

 

To insert your footnote, click Insert. The dialog box will then close and you will be taken to the note’s text, like this:

 

 

You can now type your foot or end note just like normal text. Then, double click on the number of the foot or end note (in the sample above, the “i”) to go back to the reference mark in the text:

 

 

If you later want to edit the text of the note, you can scroll to its location in your document and edit it like normal text, or you can double-click on the reference mark to go directly to its note.

 

If you just want to see what text the foot or endnote contains, mouse over it to see a ScreenTip:

 

 

You can also move notes around by dragging and dropping the reference number around in the text:

 

 

You can also delete the actual note by deleting its reference number. This will of course delete all the text in the foot or end note.

 

If you want to change the format of your notes, you can go back to the Insert menu, choose Reference, and then click Footnote. You can change any settings (such as number format) and click Apply so that the settings take effect immediately.

 

If you click the Convert button in the Footnote and Endnote dialog, you’ll see the dialog box pictured to the right. These options allow you to convert all your footnotes to endnotes, all your endnotes to footnotes, or swap footnotes and endnotes.