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: Reference to a Range of Endnotes.
Michael Smith is working with a client's document that uses endnotes extensively. At times there may be multiple endnote references at a given point in the document. These are shown in Word as, for example, (3,4,5,6). Michael's client would prefer that the reference show as (3-6), showing the range of endnotes rather than an individual enumeration of each endnote.
It is not very common to have multiple endnote references at the same point in a document, therefore it is not surprising that Word does not have an option to list endnote references by range. In fact, style guides take pains to point out that multiple note references at the same location should be "rigorously avoided" (Chicago Manual of Style, Fifteenth Edition, 16.34 and 16.37).
If the client still insists on having multiple endnote references at a single location, one solution is to select the intermediate references in the range, format them as hidden text, and then add a dash. For instance, you could select ",4,5," from the references "3,4,5,6", format the selection as hidden text, and then add a dash to provide the result of "3-6". If you have quite a few such operations to perform in your text, you can automate it slightly by using the following macro:
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: 
Sub RefListToRange()
Selection.Font.Hidden = True
Selection.Collapse (wdCollapseEnd)
Selection.TypeText Text:="—"
End Sub
Select the portion you want to hide (such as ",4,5,") and the macro does the hiding and adds the dash.
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (211) 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: Reference to a Range of Endnotes.
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!
The Footnote Separator, as its name implies, separates the footnotes on each page from the text on that page. If the ...
Discover MoreWant to get your footnotes from one place to another in a document, or even from one document to another document? It's ...
Discover MoreText boxes and endnotes are both great tools you can use within a document. Problem is, you cannot use them ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments