How to Insert a Footnote in Word (Step-by-Step)

Footnotes are notes placed at the bottom area of a page. It allows you to cite references or comment on a concept without overstuffing the main text.

Inserting and managing footnotes in Microsoft Word is very simple. If you add more than one footnotes in a document, it’ll number them automatically for you. And clicking on a footnote in Word will jump to it, or place your mouse on the footnote mark to read the note as a tooltip.

How to Insert footnote in Word

To footnote in MS Word, select the text you want the footnote to reference and press Ctrl+ Alt+F (shortcut) to open the footnote section, then type the footnote text.

For detailed steps on how to add footnotes in Word, follow the instructions below.

• Select the text you want the footnote to reference.

• Go to Reference > Footnotes > Insert Footnote.
• Alternatively, press Ctrl+ Alt+F on the keyboard.

As soon as you click on the Insert Footnote command, MS Word will superscript a number by the selected text. The insertion pointer then moves to the bottom area of the page, waiting for you to type your footnote text. There’s also a horizontal line that separates the main text from the footnote text. This line can be removed though – I’ll show you how in a moment.

• Type the footnote text

• Click back into your document main text area and continue editing.

Changing the Footnote number format

The Microsoft Word’s footnote has a habit of numbering your footnotes as you add them into your document. You can change the number format of the footnote so that it can use either roman numerals or other numbering options.

To change the number format of your document’s footnote:

• Click on the more options command for Footnotes under the Reference tab.

• The Footnote and Endnote dialog appears. Under the Format category, click to select the numbering format of your choice, then click Apply to save the settings.