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: Jumping to a Footnote.

Jumping to a Footnote

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 1, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

You can use the Go To function of Word to jump to a specific footnote in your document. This is done in the following manner:

Choose Go To from the Edit menu, or press F5. You will see the Go To tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Go To tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

In the left side of the dialog box, choose Footnote. This informs Word what you want to go to.
In the Enter Footnote Number box, enter the footnote number to which you want to jump. If you want to go to the next footnote, leave the box blank.
Click on the Go To button or the Next button. (This is the same button. The name changes depending on whether you entered a footnote number in step 3.)

If you want to go to a footnote relative to the one you are currently viewing, you can enter a + or - in step 3. For instance, if you want to jump ahead three footnotes, you would enter +3 in the Enter Footnote Number box. Likewise, if you wanted to jump back 2 footnotes, you would enter -2.

If there are no footnotes in the document, or if you enter an invalid footnote number, Word positions you at the beginning of 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 (1257) 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: Jumping to a 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. Learn more about Allen...

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