Converting footnotes to endnotes takes three clicks in Word

Open your document in Microsoft Word. Select all the text by pressing Ctrl+A (or Cmd+A on Mac). Go to the References tab at the top of the screen. In the Footnotes group, click the small arrow in the bottom right corner — this opens the Footnote and Endnote dialog box. Choose Endnotes, then click Convert. Word moves every footnote to the end of your document and renumbers them automatically.

The process works the same way whether you are using Word on Windows, Mac, or the web version. If you have only a few footnotes, you can also move them one at a time by right-clicking each footnote number and selecting Convert to Endnote, but the bulk conversion is faster if you have more than three or four.

Key Takeaways

  • Select all text with Ctrl+A, then use References > Footnotes dialog to convert all footnotes to endnotes at once.
  • Word automatically renumbers endnotes in order from the beginning to the end of your document.
  • You can convert endnotes back to footnotes using the same dialog box if you change your mind.
  • The web version of Word has the same conversion feature, though the menu layout looks slightly different.
  • Converting does not change the text of your notes — only their location and numbering style.

Why you might want endnotes instead of footnotes

Footnotes appear at the bottom of each page, which means readers see the note while they are reading the text that references it. Endnotes collect all notes at the end of the document, which keeps pages cleaner and makes the main text easier to scan. Academic papers often use endnotes for this reason — they let readers focus on the argument without jumping to the bottom of the page every few sentences.

If you are sharing a document with someone else, endnotes also make it easier to track changes and add comments. When footnotes shift between pages during editing, Word sometimes renumbers them in confusing ways. Endnotes stay in one place, so the numbering stays stable as you revise.

How to find the References tab if you cannot see it

The References tab appears in the ribbon at the top of Word, but it only shows up if you have at least one footnote or endnote in your document. If you do not see it, you have not yet inserted any notes. To add your first footnote, click where you want the note to appear in your text, then go to References > Insert Footnote. Word creates the note and shows the References tab.

If the ribbon is hidden, press Ctrl+F1 to show it. If you are using Word on the web and the References tab still does not appear, try refreshing the page or switching to a different browser — the web version sometimes hides tabs until the page fully loads.

What happens to your note numbers when you convert

Word renumbers your notes automatically based on their order in the document. If you had footnotes numbered 1, 2, 3 scattered across pages, they become endnotes numbered 1, 2, 3 at the end. If you later delete a note or add a new one, Word updates all the numbers to keep them in sequence — you do not have to renumber anything by hand.

The text of each note stays exactly the same. Only the location changes. If you convert back to footnotes later, Word puts them back at the bottom of their original pages and renumbers them again.

Converting only part of your document

If you want to convert only some footnotes to endnotes and leave others as footnotes, you have to do it one note at a time. Right-click the footnote number in your text, select Convert to Endnote, and repeat for each note you want to move. This is slower than bulk conversion, but it gives you control over which notes move and which stay.

Another option is to select only the section of text you want to convert, then use the Footnote and Endnote dialog. However, Word will convert all notes in that selection, not just some of them. If you need fine-grained control, the right-click method is your only choice.

Undoing a conversion if you change your mind

If you convert footnotes to endnotes and then decide you want them back at the bottom of the page, use the same dialog box to convert them again. Select all text, go to References > Footnotes dialog, choose Footnotes, and click Convert. Word moves all your endnotes back to the bottom of each page and renumbers them as footnotes.

You can also undo the conversion when ready by pressing Ctrl+Z right after you convert. This works as long as you have not made other changes to the document since the conversion.

Endnotes in Word on the web versus the desktop version

Word Online (the web version) has the same footnote and endnote features as the desktop version, but the menu is organized differently. Click References in the ribbon, then look for Notes instead of Footnotes. The Convert option is in the same place, and the process works identically — select all, open the dialog, choose your format, and click Convert.

One difference: Word Online sometimes takes a few seconds longer to process the conversion if your document is very long. If the dialog seems to freeze, wait 10 seconds before clicking anything else. If you are working on a document with hundreds of notes, the desktop version of Word usually handles the conversion faster.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have both footnotes and endnotes in the same document?

Not with the standard conversion tool. Word treats footnotes and endnotes as separate systems, so converting changes all notes at once. If you need both types, you would have to manually create some notes as endnotes after converting, or use a workaround like creating a second document for the endnotes and linking to it.

What if my document has footnotes on different pages with different numbering styles?

The conversion tool standardizes everything. All notes become endnotes with the same numbering style (usually 1, 2, 3, etc.). If you had some footnotes numbered with letters and others with numbers, they all become numbered after conversion. You can change the numbering style afterward by opening the Footnote and Endnote dialog and choosing a different format.

Do endnotes work the same way if I share the document with someone using Google Docs?

No. Google Docs does not recognize Word endnotes the way Word does. If you convert to endnotes in Word and then open the file in Google Docs, the endnotes may appear as regular text at the end of the document rather than as linked notes. If you plan to share with Google Docs users, keep your notes as footnotes or ask collaborators to use Word.

Will converting footnotes to endnotes change how the document looks when I print it?

Yes. Footnotes print at the bottom of each page, while endnotes print on a separate page at the end. If you are printing a document with many notes, endnotes can add several pages. Check the print preview before printing to see how many pages the endnotes will take up.