How to Create and Insert Footnotes and Endnotes in Microsoft Word

With more than one billion users, Microsoft Word is today one of the most important word processing software in the world. It allows users to create personal, professional and academic documents, to name a few. Some of the features that stand out in Microsoft Word are footnotes and endnotes.

These features allow users to take additional notes or provide context for words in the body of a document. Footnotes and endnotes also help provide additional reference or commentary on different parts of the body of the main text. However, you will need to use them to improve the reliability of the text in the body. To insert them into a Word document, here’s what you need to do:

Insert footnotes and endnotes in Word

The footnote appears at the bottom of the page, which provides a reference, while an endnote is listed at the end of the document on separate pages. Users no longer have to manually create the Footnotes and Endnotes feature on the Word ribbon. Check out the steps below to understand how to use the feature:

Step 1: Start Microsoft Word.

2nd step: Place your cursor over the part of the text in your document that needs the footnote or endnote.

Step 3: Go to the Ribbon and click on the References tab.

Step 4: Go to the Footnotes group and select Footnotes or Endnotes. Word immediately inserts the number in superscript, and then automatically moves your cursor to the location of the note.

Step 5: Write your rating here.

Step 6: Save the document to save the new footnote or endnote.

Convert individual footnotes to endnotes in Word or vice versa

One way to create a footnote in Word is to convert an endnote to a footnote. Note that this option is only applicable if you originally used the Footnote and Endnote tool. You can also convert a footnote to an endnote using this method as long as you meet the requirements. Here’s how to convert individual footnotes to endnotes in Microsoft Word:

Step 1: Start Microsoft Word.

2nd step: At the bottom of the Word file, select Print Mode.

To note: Be sure to select Print Layout mode for your document to ensure the conversion works.

Step 3: Go to the Ribbon and click on the References tab.

Step 4: Go to the Footnotes group and select Show Notes.

Step 5: Click Show Footnote Box or Show Endnote Box in the dialog box.

To note: The dialog box will not appear if the document has only one footnote or endnote.

Step 6: Click on OK.

To note: You don’t have to go through steps 2 to 5 if your document is short. Scroll to the location of the footnote or endnote on the document.

Step 7: Keep clicking the next footnote in the ribbon until you come to the note you need to convert. You can also click the Next Footnote drop-down menu, and then select one of the following options Previous Footnote, Next Footnote, Previous Endnote, or Next Endnote.

Step 8: Right click on the note you need to convert. Select either Convert to Endnote or Convert to Footnote.

Convert all footnotes to endnotes in Word or vice versa

The last method we will discuss is to convert all footnotes or endnotes in Word. The process is quite simple and you can learn how to do it by following the steps below:

Step 1: Start Microsoft Word.

2nd step: Go to the ribbon and select the References tab.

Step 3: Go to the Footnotes group and click the Footnotes and Endnotes dialog launcher.

Step 4: When the dialog opens, click Convert.

Step 5: Choose your preferred option in the Convert Notes dialog box. The options include:

• Convert all endnotes to footnotes.
• Convert all footnotes to endnotes.
• Swap footnotes and endnotes.

Step 7: Close the dialog box by clicking “X” in the upper right corner of the window.

Inserting Headers and Footers in Microsoft Word

That’s it for creating and inserting footnotes and endnotes in Microsoft Word. Using the footnote and endnote can make your document accurate and reliable. As you can see, all the processes are straightforward. You can also add a personal touch to your Word documents by inserting headers and footers.