How to Convert Footnotes and Endnotes in Word 2010

Student writing a research paper on laptop

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by Rebecca Johnson
Rebecca Johnson is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a Microsoft Office Certified Master Instructor who specializes in Microsoft Office products.
Updated April 01, 2019

So you just finished a term paper and you reread the directions and notice that the professor wants you to use footnotes and you created ​endnotes. Or maybe the opposite is true — you used footnotes and now realize you need to use endnotes. Luckily, you can easily convert those footnotes to endnotes and vice versa with just a few mouse clicks.

Convert All Footnotes to Endnotes or Vice Versa

Convert all footnotes or endnotes on Word 2010 screenshot

Rebecca Johnson

As said in the introduction, you can convert your footnotes to endnotes or endnotes to footnotes with just a few simple mouse clicks.

  1. Click the Show Footnotes and Endnotes Dialog Box button in the lower right corner of the Footnotes section on the References tab.
  2. Click the Convert button.
  3. Select Convert All Footnotes to Endnotes, Convert All Endnotes to Footnotes, or Swap Footnotes and Endnotes.
  4. Click OK.

Convert a Single Footnote to an Endnote or Vice Versa

Convert individual footnotes or endnotes on Word 2010 screenshot

Rebecca Johnson

You also have the ability to convert a single footnote or endnote to the other. This comes in handy if you used footnotes, for say, definitions or pieces of explanatory text, and you used endnotes for references. It is easy to make a mistake and insert a footnote where an endnote should be or the other way around.

  1. Click Draft on the View tab in the Document View section. You must be in Draft view to complete this procedure.
  2. Click Show Notes on the References tab in the Footnotes section.
  3. Highlight the footnote or endnote that you want to convert in the Notes area.
  4. Right-click on the highlighted note and choose Convert to Endnote or Convert to Footnote. Your footnote or endnote is now converted.
  5. Repeat the above steps for any remaining footnotes and endnotes that you need to convert.