How to Add a Footnote to Microsoft Word: Step-by-Step Guide

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Multiple easy-to-follow ways to add footnotes in Word

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: March 20, 2024 Fact Checked

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Microsoft 365/Word 2021/Word 2019 (Windows & Mac)

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Word 2011 (Mac)

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Word 2003 (Windows) or Word 2004/2008 (Mac)

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Q&A

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Tips

Footnotes allow you to cite sources or explain a concept in detail without sidetracking the main text. Word makes managing footnotes easy, as new footnotes are numbered automatically, and the footnotes area expands and shrinks dynamically based on the amount of text. Give your document a professional feel by strategically using footnotes to clarify information and credit your sources.

Quick Footnote Steps

Click the References tab.
Click the spot in your document where you want to add a footnote.
Click Insert Footnote.
Type your footnote.
Double-click the footnote mark to return to your spot in the document.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Microsoft 365/Word 2021/Word 2019 (Windows & Mac)

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1
Click the "References" tab. This is located at the top of the window, typically between "Page Layout" and "Mailings". This tab lets you insert various reference tools, such as a table of contents, footnotes and endnotes, citations, captions and more.^{[1]
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- Note that these steps will also work for Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016 for Windows.
By default, footnotes will be designated by increasing superscript numbers. Place the cursor where you want the number to appear.

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Click the "Insert Footnote" button. This is located in the "Footnotes" section of the "References" tab. The footnote number will be inserted, and a separator bar will be added to the bottom of the page. Your cursor will automatically be taken to the footnote at the bottom of the page so that you can fill it out.
- An endnote is like a footnote except the reference occurs at the end of the document. By default, endnotes are numbered with Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.).
- Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + Alt + F to create a footnote, or Ctrl + Alt + D to create an endnote.
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Change when your footnotes numbering resets. By default, your footnotes will increase in number throughout your whole document. You can change this so that the numbers restart every page or at section breaks in the document.^{[2]
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- Click the Menu button in the bottom-right corner of the "Footnotes" section. This will open the "Footnote and Endnote" window. In the "Format" section, use the "Numbering" drop-down menu to select when you want the footnote numbers to restart.
- You can insert section breaks into your document by clicking the "Page Layout" tab, clicking the "Breaks" button in the "Page Setup" section, and then selecting the type of break you'd like to insert. Besides changing the way footnotes are numbered, section breaks are great for making layout changes to specific portions of a document.
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Change your footnote formatting. If you'd rather have symbols instead of numbers, want the footnotes to appear below the text instead of at the bottom of the page, or want the numbering to start at a different number, you can change this from the "Footnote and Endnote" window. Click the Menu button in the bottom-right corner of the "Footnotes" section to open it.
- Click Symbol... to choose a symbol from the Symbol menu. You can choose any character from any font, though the "Symbols" font will open by default.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Word 2011 (Mac)

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Click View and select Print Layout.
Your footnote will appear at the cursor, so place the cursor at the end of the text that you want to create a footnote reference for.
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Insert the footnote. Click the "Document Elements" tab, and then click the "Footnote" button in the "Citations" section. A footnote will be inserted at your cursor and you will be taken to the footnote text section to enter the contents of the footnote. The footnote text will be at the bottom of the same page as the footnote, separated by a line.
- Alternatively, you can press Command + Option + F to create a footnote, or Command + Option + E to create an endnote.
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Click Insert > Footnote to change your footnote formatting. You can apply your formatting changes to just your selected text, the current section, or your entire document.
- Click Symbol... to choose a symbol from the Symbol menu to replace the footnote numbers in your document. You can choose any character from any font, though the "Symbols" font will open by default.
- By default, your footnotes will increase in number throughout your whole document. You can change this so that the numbers restart every page or at section breaks in the document. In the Format section, use the Numbering drop-down menu to select when you want the footnote numbers to restart.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Word 2003 (Windows) or Word 2004/2008 (Mac)

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Click View and select Print Layout.
Your footnote will appear at the cursor, so place the cursor at the end of the text that you want to create a footnote reference for.
3
Insert the footnote. Click Insert → Reference → Footnote... to open the "Footnote and Endnote" window. Select Footnote, and then choose your numbering option. You can have Word number your footnotes automatically, or you can choose a custom symbol to insert.
- In Word 2004/2008, click Insert → Footnote....
- Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + Alt + F to create a footnote, or Ctrl + Alt + D to create an endnote in Windows. On a Mac, press Command + Option + F to create a footnote, or Command + Option + E to create an endnote.
Your footnote will be created and you will be taken to the footnote text section at the bottom of the page. You can enter the text you want for the footnote, and then click back in your document when you are finished.

Community Q&A

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Question

Why is my first footnote printing on the next page?

Community Answer

A header or footnote is applied to all pages when put in a document. Unless it is a page number generated by the document (which you select). Otherwise, the header and footnote follows you through all of your pages.

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Question

How do I insert more information into a footnote that already exists?

Community Answer

You can double click on an existing footnote to edit it.

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Question

When I create a footnote for a word, does it appear each time I use the word?

Community Answer

No, it doesn't. Footnotes are bound to locations in the document, not to words. This means that, even if you change the word or the text around the footnote, the footnote remains where it is.

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Tips

To keep your footnotes on the same page, select the footnote and right-click (or ctrl-click on Mac), click on Paragraph and then the Line and Page Breaks tab. Check the Keep lines together box. Click OK to apply this to your document, or click Set as Default to make this the default setting for this document and all future documents.

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To keep your footnotes in one paragraph, you can achieve this by adding columns to your footnotes. Go to the References tab, then click the arrow in the bottom-right corner of Footnotes. Under "Footnote Layout", select the number of columns you want to add in the Columns dropdown.

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