Switch to the “References” tab on Word’s Ribbon. How to Insert Footnotes and Endnotesįire up Microsoft Word, and then open the document to which you’d like to add footnotes (or create a new document if you’re just getting started). Which one you should use in your writing depends on your personal preference or-if you’re writing for school or work-your organization’s publication standards. Endnotes, on the other hand, are added to the end of a section or document. The only difference between footnotes and endnotes is where they appear in your document.Īs the name suggests, footnotes are attached to the bottom of the page containing the sentence they correspond to. You can use footnotes and endnotes to add side comments to your work or to cite other publications like books, articles, or websites. Think of them like verbal asides, only in writing. What Are Footnotes and Endnotes?įootnotes and endnotes are both ways of adding extra bits of information to your writing outside of the main text. But don’t worry-the features and functions are the same. Depending on the version of Word you’re using, the menus we walk through in this guide may look a little different. Note: We’re using Microsoft Word 2016, but Word has supported footnotes and endnotes since at least Word 2007. Luckily, Word has useful tools for adding footnotes and endnotes to your writing. Maybe you want to make a side comment on one of your arguments, or you need to cite another author’s work without distracting from the main text. You can choose between footnotes and endnotes, numbering format, custom marks and symbols, a starting number, and whether to apply the numbering to the whole document.Whether you use Microsoft Word for personal or professional writing, sometimes you may want to add supplemental notes to sections of your work. Select the options you want in the Footnote and Endnote box.Go to the Insert menu and click Footnote to open the Footnote and Endnote box.To make global changes to the footnotes on the Mac after you have entered them: Double-click the footnote mark to return to your place in the document,.Click the References tab and choose Insert Footnote.Place the cursor in the text where you want to footnote mark to appear.
Inserting Footnotes in Microsoft Word 2016 for Macįollow a similar process in Microsoft Word 2016 for Mac: Windows PC keyboard shortcuts for footnotes and endnotes are: Keyboard Shortcuts for Footnotes and Endnotes The process works both ways convert an endnote by right-clicking the endnote text and clicking Convert to Footnote.