Deleting All Footnotes - Microsoft Word Tips

• Tips.Net
• > Word Tips
• > Footnotes and Endnotes

Toggle navigation

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: Deleting All Footnotes.

Deleting All Footnotes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 27, 2019)This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

2

Certain types of documents require the use of footnotes to help document sources or provide additional information relative to the content being discussed. At some point you may want to delete all the footnotes in your document. One thing you can try is to do a simple search and replace to remove all the footnotes. Follow these steps:

1. Press Ctrl+H to display the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

2. In the Find What box, enter ^f. This indicates that you want to search for footnote marks.
3. Make sure the Replace With box is empty.
4. Click on Replace All.
5. Close the Find and Replace dialog box.

This approach works because when you delete footnote marks, the footnote associated with that mark is also automatically deleted.

If you find yourself ridding lots of documents of their footnotes, you may want to create a macro that will do the job for you. This macro can then be assigned to a toolbar button or to a menu option. The following macro will remove all the footnotes in a document:

Sub DelFoots() Dim fn As Footnote For Each fn In ActiveDocument.Footnotes fn.Delete Next End Sub

Note: If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1909) 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: Deleting All 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

Creating a Log/Log Chart

If you need to create a chart that uses logarithmic values on both axes, it can be confusing how to get what you want. ...

Discover More

Adding Page Numbers

Ever want to add page numbers to your document? Word allows you to control many aspects of page numbering. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Inadvertantly Getting Rid of Frozen Panes

Excel provides quite a bit of flexibility in displaying your data. You can have multiple windows visible for the same ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Footnotes in Two Columns

When laying out how your printed pages will look, you might want to place your footnotes into more than one column. This ...

Discover More

Formatting Footnotes and Endnotes

Footnotes and endnotes can be formatted in the same way that you format regular text in your document. There is an easier ...

Discover More

Controlling Footnote Placement

Footnotes are normally placed at the bottom of the page on which the footnote is referenced. However, Word provides some ...

Discover More

Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Subscribe

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

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.

Source

(gif, jpeg or png only, 5MB maximum file size)

Source

(gif, jpeg or png only, 5MB maximum file size)

Source

(gif, jpeg or png only, 5MB maximum file size)

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is seven more than 6?

2024-05-04 13:20:56

Hina

Waoo thanku you solve my big problem.

2022-01-13 15:23:53

Hunter

Awesome help, thank you!

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.

Videos

Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube

Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

Subscribe

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing

• WordTips FAQ
• Questions or Comments
• Great Branding Ideas
• Free Calendars

OUR COMPANY

• Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
• About Tips.Net
• Contact Us
• Advertise with Us
• Our Privacy Policy
• Author Index

OUR PRODUCTS

• Helpful E-books
• Newsletter Archives
• Video Courses
• Excel Products
• Windows Products
• Word Products

OUR SITES

• Tips.Net
• Beauty and Style
• Cars
• Cleaning
• Cooking
• ExcelTips (Excel 97–2003)
• ExcelTips (Excel 2007–2024; 365)
• Gardening
• Health

• Home Improvement
• Money and Finances
• Organizing
• Pests and Bugs
• Pets and Animals
• WindowsTips (Microsoft Windows)
• WordTips (Word 97–2003)
• WordTips (Word 2007–2024; 365)

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.