How to Insert Endnotes in Word 2010

There are two parts to an endnote -- the note reference mark and the endnote text. A note reference mark is a number that marks the in-document text, while the endnote text is where you type the information. Using Microsoft Word to insert your endnotes has the added benefit of having Microsoft Word control your endnotes as well.

This means that when you insert a new endnote, Microsoft Word will automatically number the selected text in the document. If you add an endnote citation between two other citations, or if you delete a citation, Microsoft Word will automatically adjust the numbering to reflect the changes.

Inserting an endnote is an easy task. With just a few clicks, you have an endnote inserted into the document.

1. Click at the end of the word where you want the endnote inserted.
2. Select the References tab.
3. Click Insert Endnote in the Footnotes section. Microsoft Word shifts the document to the endnote area.
4. Type your endnote in the Endnote text area.
5. Follow the above steps to insert more endnotes or create a macro to assign a keyboard shortcut to insert endnotes.

You do not have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to read an endnote. Simply hover your mouse over the number citation in the document and the endnote is displayed as a small pop-up, much like a tool-tip.

You can decide how you want your endnotes numbered, either starting at number 1, a letter, or a Roman numeral. Microsoft Word defaults to Roman numerals. You can also have endnotes appear at the end of a section in your document.

1. Click on the on the Footnote & Endnote Dialog Box Launcher on the References tab, in the Footnotes group.
2. Choose the desired starting value in the Start at box.
3. Choose End of Document to have the endnotes appear at the end of the document.
4. Choose End of Section to have the endnotes appear at the end of each section.
5. Choose a number format from the Number Format drop-down menu to change from the 1, 2, 3 numbering format to a lettering or roman numeral numbering style.

If your endnote is long and runs onto another page, you can have Microsoft Word insert a continuation notice. This notice will let readers know that it continued on the next page.

1. Click Draft on the View tab in the Document View section. You must be in Draft view to complete this procedure.
2. Insert your footnote.
3. Click Show Notes on the References tab in the Footnotes section.
4. Select Endnote Continuation Notice from the drop-down menu on the note panes.
5. Type what you want to readers to see, such as Continued on Next Page.

Deleting an endnote is easy as long as you remember to delete the note citation within the document. Deleting the note itself will leave the numbering in the document.

1. Select the note citation within the document.
2. Press Delete on your keyboard. The endnote is deleted and the remaining endnotes are renumbered.

When you insert endnotes, Microsoft Word also places a separator line between the text in the document and the endnote section. You can change how this separator appears or remove the separator.

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. Select Endnote Separator from the drop-down menu on the note panes.
4. Select the separator.
5. Click the Borders and Shading button on the Home tab in the Paragraph section.
6. Click Custom on the Settings menu.
7. Select a separator line style from the Style menu. You can also select a color and width.
8. Make sure that only the top line is selected in the Preview section. If more lines are displayed, click on the bottom, left, and right line to toggle them off.
9. Click Ok. The newly formatted footnote separator is displayed.

Now that you see just how easy adding endnotes to your document can be, it's certainly worth giving it a try it the next time you need to write a research paper or long document.