Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Using Multiple References to the Same Footnote.

Using Multiple References to the Same Footnote

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 20, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


3

Word includes a feature that allows you to add footnotes and endnotes to your documents. This can come in real handy for some type of scholarly or scientific documents. In some instances, however, you may have a need for a single footnote to have multiple references within a document. For example, some scientific journals require that footnotes not be repeated, but that the same footnote reference be repeated within the main text, and that the references go to a single footnote. Thus, the document may have many occurrences of the same footnote reference.

Normally, Word allows only a one-to-one relationship between footnote references and footnotes. If you have a need for multiple references to the same footnote, this doesn't help you. Instead, you should follow these steps:

  1. Insert your first (primary) footnote as normal.
  2. Position the insertion point in the document where you want the secondary reference to the footnote.
  3. Choose Cross-reference from the Insert menu. Word displays the Cross-reference dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Cross-reference dialog box.

  5. Using the Reference Type drop-down list, choose Footnote. Word displays a list of footnotes in the dialog box.
  6. Select the footnote you want used for this reference.
  7. Click Insert. The cross-reference is inserted, but it is still not formatted as a footnote reference.
  8. Click on Close to dismiss the Cross-reference dialog box. The insertion point should be just to the right of the cross-reference you just inserted.
  9. Hold down the Shift key as you press the Left Arrow. The cross-reference should be selected.
  10. Press Shift+F9. The contents of the field used for the cross-reference are displayed. It should look similar to the following.
  11. { NOTEREF _Ref477318004 \h }
    
  12. Position the insertion point between the last space and the closing brace in the field.
  13. Type \f. This field switch causes the field to use the same formatting as your other footnote references. The field should now appear similar to the following:
  14. { NOTEREF _Ref477318004 \h \f}
    
  15. Press Shift+F9 to collapse the field.
  16. Press F9 to update the field.

One other thing you might want to keep in mind: If you add new footnotes after following the above steps, the footnote references are automatically updated, but the cross-reference fields are not. To update those you'll need to update the cross-reference fields. The easiest way to do this is to press Ctrl+A (which selects the entire document) and then press F9 (which updates all the fields in the document).

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (70) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Using Multiple References to the Same Footnote.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Counting Month Ends

When working with dates in a worksheet, you may need to do some rather esoteric calculations on those dates. This tip ...

Discover More

Finding the Previous Occurrence

Using Word's Object Browser, it is very easy to move among different instances of what you want to search in your ...

Discover More

Comparing Strings

As your macro is processing information, there will doubtless be times that it will need to compare information in ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Formatting Footnote and Endnote References

Depending on whom you are writing for, you may want your footnote and endnote references to appear a specific way. Word ...

Discover More

Returning to Your Document after Adding an Endnote

Endnotes are a required element in some types of writing. When you add an endnote, Word moves you to the end of your ...

Discover More

Understanding Footnotes and Endnotes

Footnotes and endnotes are often used in scholarly and formal writing as a way to provide additional information about a ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 8?

2023-09-28 09:51:19

David H

Very clear explanation. Didn’t know about the “\f” option to get the formatting correct.

Is there a good reason that Word does not automatically update Cross-references?


2022-06-02 14:25:18

katnight

That very helpful. Thanks.


2020-06-25 10:35:58

hussain

Page number are not correct
The page number start correct, then fter three pages, turn to Serial no, 1 again


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.