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: Converting Individual Endnotes and Footnotes.

Converting Individual Endnotes and Footnotes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 5, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word is flexible on whether a note is considered an endnote or a footnote. You can easily convert between the two, but the way you do the conversion is not necessarily intuitive. To convert from an endnote to a footnote (or vice versa), follow these steps:

If you are working in Normal view, select Footnotes from the View menu. Otherwise, skip to step 3.
If you are using Word 2000 or a later version, and you have both footnotes and endnotes defined in your document, Word displays the View Footnotes dialog box. (See Figure 1.) Click on the type of note from which you want to convert and then click on OK.

Figure 1. The View Footnotes dialog box.

Right-click on the footnote or endnote you want to convert. Word displays a Context menu.
Select the appropriate choice on the Context menu, which should either be Convert to Endnote or Convert to Footnote (depending on what you right-clicked on).
If you are working in Normal view, click Close when you are finished converting.

As you convert each endnote or footnote, it is moved to the other window and the reference marks for the note are updated to what is currently being used for the series (footnote or endnote) to which you are converting.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1884) 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: Converting Individual Endnotes and 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

Printing a Chart

It is inevitable that if you spend time creating a chart you will want to print that chart on your printer. Here's how ...

Discover More

Jumping to a Relative Footnote

Footnotes can be a great addition to any document that needs detailed referencing of citations. You can navigate from one ...

Discover More

Hyperlinks No Longer Work in a Workbook

Hyperlinks can be a great timesaver and very convenient. Unless, of course, if they don't work as you expect. This tip ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Footnotes within Footnotes

Need to add footnotes to your footnotes? It's actually allowed by some style guides, but Word doesn't make it so easy.

Discover More

Using Cross-References in Footnotes

Need to make a cross-reference from one footnote to another footnote? You can do it if you throw bookmarks into the mix, ...

Discover More

Viewing Footnotes

Adding footnotes to a document is essential for some types of writing. How you view those footnotes depends on the ...

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 four minus 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.