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: Inserting Footnotes.

Inserting Footnotes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 6, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Footnotes are used to provide printed annotations or references for a document. If you want to insert a footnote in your document, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point where you want the footnote mark to be located.
In Word 97 and Word 2000, choose Footnote from the Insert menu. In Word 2002 and Word 2003, you choose Reference from the Insert menu, then choose Footnote from the submenu. Word displays the Footnote and Endnote dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Footnote and Endnote dialog box.

Click OK.
A footnote mark appears in your document and the Footnotes window is displayed at the bottom of the document window. If you are in Print Layout view (Page Layout view in Word 97), a footnote mark appears in your document and the insertion point moves to the bottom of the page where the footnote will appear.
Enter your footnote, formatting it as you would any other text in your document.
If the Footnotes window is visible, click on Close at the top of the Footnotes window.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1682) 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: Inserting Footnotes.

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Where Do You Want Your Endnotes?

Endnotes can be placed in a couple of different places in your document, not just at the very end. Here's how you can ...

Discover More

Placeholders for Stamps

Got a reply envelope you want to create? Why not put a placeholder for the stamp on the envelope? It's easy to do if you ...

Discover More

Finding Workbooks Containing Macros

Workbooks can contain macros, or not. It is entirely up to you whether they do or not, but at some future time you might ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Changing the Footnote Separator

When you print a document that uses footnotes, Word normally places a small line between the end of the document body ...

Discover More

Moving Footnote Text into the Document

Need to move the contents of a footnote up into the main body of your document? You can use normal editing techniques to ...

Discover More

Using Multiple References to the Same Footnote

Do you want to have multiple footnote references to the same actual footnote in a document? The easiest way to do this is ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is five more than 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.