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: Changing the Way Endnotes Are Numbered.

Changing the Way Endnotes Are Numbered

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 30, 2024)

Word allows you to control how the endnotes in your document are numbered. Normally, numbering begins at one and progresses upward. You can change both the starting number and how numbering restarts by following these steps if you are using Word 97 or Word 2000:

Select Footnote from the Insert menu. Word displays the Footnote and Endnote dialog box.
Make sure the Endnote radio button is selected in the Insert area of the dialog box.
Click on Options. Word displays the Note Options dialog box with the All Endnotes tab selected.
Change the Start At value to reflect where you want Word to start numbering.
Change the selection in the Numbering area to reflect how you want Word to count your endnotes.
Click on OK to close the Note Options dialog box.
Click on Close; otherwise click on OK to insert an endnote mark at the current location.

If you are using a later version of Word, the process is a bit different. Follow these steps instead:

Choose Reference from the Insert menu and then choose Footnote. Word displays the Footnote and Endnote dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Footnote and Endnote dialog box.

Make sure the Endnotes radio button is selected.
Change the Start At value to reflect where you want Word to start numbering.
Change the selection in the Numbering area to reflect how you want Word to count your endnotes.
Click on Apply, then click on Cancel; otherwise click on Insert to insert an endnote mark at the current location.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (83) 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: Changing the Way Endnotes Are Numbered.

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. Learn more about Allen...

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