Using Cross-References in Footnotes

Summary: Need to make a cross-reference from one footnote to another footnote? You can do it if you throw bookmarks into the mix, as described in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

If you are developing a scholarly document that includes numerous footnotes, it is not unusual to need cross-references in the footnotes. The problem is that if you use automatic footnote numbering, which is a powerful Word feature, the cross-references can quickly become a burden to update manually. Word allows you to automatically cross-reference footnotes so that your cross-references always stay correct once set. This is done as follows:

In the main text of your document, select the footnote reference mark you want to cross-reference.
Assign this footnote reference mark a bookmark name.
Position the insertion point in the footnotes where you want to place the cross-reference.
Press Ctrl+F9 to insert field brackets. Make sure the insertion point stays between the brackets.
Type ftnref followed by the name of the bookmark used in step 2.
Press F9 to update the field information. Word replaces the field with the footnote number to which the bookmark was assigned.

Tip #1013 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Document and Annotate! One of the easily overlooked tools provided by Word is the ability to add footnotes and endnotes to your documents. WordTips: Footnotes and Endnotes is the definitive resource guide to using these tools to enhance your documents.

Check out WordTips: Footnotes and Endnotes today!

Helpful Links

Newest Tips

Subscribe

RSS Feeds

Using Cross-References in Footnotes