Use a screen reader to read and edit footnotes and endnotes in Word

Use Word with your keyboard and a screen reader to read and jump to footnotes and endnotes in your Word documents. We've tested it with Narrator and JAWS, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll learn how to add new footnotes and endnotes as well as modify, convert, and remove existing ones. Usually, footnotes appear at the bottom of the page and endnotes come at the end of the document or section.

In this topic

• Read a footnote
• Read an endnote
• Jump to a footnote or endnote
• Add a footnote
• Add an endnote
• Go to a specific footnote or endnote
• Customize footnotes and endnotes
• Convert all footnotes or endnotes
• Delete footnotes or endnotes

Read a footnote

When reading or navigating your document, footnote references are automatically read along with the text. You can also quickly navigate to and read just the footnotes in your document.

1. Open the desired Word document, then press Alt+S, O to navigate to the "Next Footnote" in the References tab.

2. Use the Down arrow key to select either Next Footnote or Previous Footnote, and then press Enter. 
   Alternatively, press Alt+S, O, then N for the next footnote or Alt+S, O, then P for the previous footnote.

3. To jump to the footnote text at the end of the page, press Alt+S, H.

   Note

   • If your document has both footnotes and endnotes, the Show Notes window will appear. Use the Up or Down arrow keys to choose either the View footnote area or View endnote area, then press the Tab key to select the OK button and press Enter.
   • To list all the footnotes in the doc, press Jawskey+Shift+F.

4. To start reading the footnotes, press the SR key+R.

5. Press Alt+S, H to return to the current footnote reference number in the document body text.

Read an endnote

When reading or navigating your document, endnote references are automatically read along with the text. You can quickly navigate to and read just the endnotes in your document.

1. Open the desired Word document, then press Alt+S, O to navigate to the "Next Footnote" in the References tab.

2. Use the Down arrow key to select either Next Endnote or Previous Endnote, and then press Enter. 
   Alternatively, press Alt+S, O, then X for the next endnote reference mark or Alt+S, O, then V for the previous endnote reference mark.

3. Press Alt+S, H to jump to the endnote text at the end of the page.

   Note

   • If your document contains both footnotes and endnotes, the Show Notes window will appear. Use the Up or Down arrow keys to choose either the View footnote area or View endnote area, then press the Tab key to select the OK button and press Enter.
   • To list all the endnotes in the doc, press Alt+Jawskey+Shift+E.

4. To start reading the endnotes, press the SR key+R.

5. Press Alt+S, H to return to the current endnote reference number in the document body text.

Jump to a footnote or endnote

You can move to and from a footnote or endnote reference while reading a document with a screen reader.

1. After opening a document that has footnotes or endnotes, place the cursor on a footnote or an endnote reference. You hear: "Footnote reference" or "Endnote reference."
2. To move to the footnote reference text at the end of the page, press the Caps+A or SR key+A. You hear the footnote or endnote reference, such as "Footnote 1."
3. To read the footnote or endnote, press the SR key+R.
4. To return to the original footnote or endnote mark in the document body text, press the Caps+Shift+A.

Add a footnote

A footnote is a helpful tool that allows you to add references or additional information at the bottom of the page without interrupting the main text.  

Here’s how you can add a footnote: 

1. Press the Windows logo  key and type “Microsoft Word.” Press Enter to open the app.
2. Use the Tab key to navigate to the desired document and press Enter to open it.
3. Place the cursor where you want to insert the footnote.
4. Press Alt+S to open the "References" tab. Then, use Tab until you hear "Insert Footnote," and press Enter. You hear the reference number or mark added to the text, and the focus moves to the bottom of the page.
5. Write the footnote reference text.
   Alternatively, press Alt+S, F, or Ctrl+Alt+F to quickly insert a footnote.
6. Press Alt+S, H to return to the footnote reference mark insertion point in the document body text once you have finished editing the reference text.

Add an endnote

An endnote is a useful tool that allows you to provide references or additional information at the end of the document without interrupting the main text.  

Here’s how to add an endnote: 

1. Press the Windows logo key and type “Microsoft Word.” Press Enter to open the app.
2. Use the Tab key to navigate to the desired document and press Enter to open it.
3. Place your cursor where you want to insert the endnote.
4. Press Alt+S to open the "References" tab. Then, press Tab until you hear "Insert Endnote," and press Enter. This will add a reference number or mark to the text, and your focus will move to the end of the document.
5. Write the endnote reference text at the end of the document.
   Alternatively, press Alt+S, E, or Ctrl+Alt+D to quickly insert an endnote.
6. Press Alt+S, H to return to the endnote reference mark insertion point in the document body text once you have finished editing the reference text.

Go to a specific footnote or endnote

Navigate to a specific endnote or footnote, which helps streamline the process of jumping directly to the desired note in documents with multiple footnotes or endnotes. 

1. Open the desired Word document, and press Ctrl+G to open the find and replace window.

2. Use Tab or Shift+Tab to navigate until you hear the "Go to what list," then use the Up or Down arrow key to select either Footnote or Endnote from the list.

3. To browse through all available footnotes or endnotes, press Tab to select the Next button, then press Enter.

4. To go to a specific footnote or endnote, press Tab to select the edit field. You will hear either "Enter endnote number" or "Enter footnote number." Type the reference number and press Enter.

   Note

   Once a footnote or endnote is selected, press Ctrl+PgUp or Ctrl+PgDn to cycle through the footnotes or endnotes.

Customize footnotes and endnotes

You can change the way footnotes and endnotes appear in your document. For example, you can change the number format or the location where the reference text shows up in your document. 

1. Open the Word document you wish to edit, then press Alt+S to access the References tab.

2. Press Q to open the footnote and endnote window. Here, you can modify:

   • Footnote or endnote location

   • Footnote layout

   • Footnote or endnote format

     Tip

     To restart the numbering of footnotes or endnotes, you must also insert a section break into your document: 

     1. Place the cursor to where you want the section break to occur.
     2. Press Alt+P, B to open the Breaks menu.
     3. Press the Down arrow key to select the type of section break you want, and press Enter to insert it.

   • Whether the defined changes are applied to the whole document or just the section you’re in.

3. To apply the changes to a document, press Tab until you hear “Apply button,” and press Spacebar.

4. To insert a footnote or an endnote into the document, press Tab until you hear “Insert button,” and press Spacebar.

   Note

   To edit the appearance of footnotes and endnotes in your document, you can edit the Footnote Text and Endnote Text styles. To open the Style window, navigate to a footnote or endnote, press Shift+F10 to open the context menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Style," and press Enter. 

Convert all footnotes or endnotes

Follow these steps to convert footnotes to endnotes or vice versa: 

1. Open the Word document and press Alt+S to go to the References tab.
2. Press Q to open the Footnote and Endnote window.
3. Navigate using the Tab key until you hear “Convert button,” then press Spacebar to select it. The Convert Notes context menu opens.
4. In the Convert Notes menu, use the arrow keys to choose Convert all footnotes to endnotes, Convert all endnotes to footnotes, or Swap footnotes and endnotes. Press Tab to move to OK, then press Spacebar. The menu closes, and the focus returns to the footnote and endnote window.
5. In the footnote and endnote window, press Tab to select Insert, then press Spacebar.

Delete footnotes or endnotes

To delete a footnote or endnote, remove its number or symbol from the main text. If you only remove the note itself, the number or symbol will remain. Removing the number or symbol deletes the note and updates all references accordingly. Simply highlight and delete the footnote or endnote number in the body of your document, and it will automatically remove the corresponding note at the bottom of the page or at the end of it. 

1. Open the Word document and press Alt+S to go to the References tab.
2. Press O to select footnotes or endnotes, then use Up or Down arrow keys to browse options.
3. Select the footnote or endnote, then press Delete twice. Narrator will announce: “Delete.”
   In JAWS, press Delete. JAWS announces: “Selected blank space.” Then press Delete again. The footnote or endnote is now removed. 

See also

Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word

Use a screen reader to add, read, and delete comments in Word

Keyboard shortcuts in Word

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word

Use Word for the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to read and jump to footnotes and endnotes in your Word documents. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge, and JAWS and NVDA in Chrome, but it might work with other screen readers and web browsers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You learn how to add new footnotes and endnotes as well as format and remove existing ones. Usually, footnotes appear at the bottom of the page and endnotes come at the end of the document or section.

In this topic

• Jump to a footnote or endnote
• Add a footnote
• Add an endnote
• Format footnotes
• Format endnotes
• Delete a footnote or endnote

Jump to a footnote or endnote

Your screen reader announces footnotes and endnotes when reading a document.

1. When your screen reader announces a footnote or endnote number, stop the reading mode, and press the Left arrow key until you hear the number of the note, followed by "Group, footnote," or "Group, endnote," and then the note number again.
2. To jump to the footnote or endnote pane, press Ctrl+F8.

Add a footnote

A footnote is a helpful tool that allows you to add references or additional information at the bottom of the page without interrupting the main text.  

Here’s how you can add a footnote: 

1. In your document, move to the location where you want to add a footnote.
2. Press Alt+Windows logo key, S, RF. You hear: "Editing footnote."
3. Type the footnote text.
4. To exit the footnote pane, press Esc.

Add an endnote

An endnote is a useful tool that allows you to provide references or additional information at the end of the document without interrupting the main text.  

Here’s how to add an endnote: 

1. In your document, move to the location where you want to add an endnote.
2. Press Alt+Windows logo key, S, RE. You hear: "Editing endnote."
3. Type the endnote text.
4. To exit the endnote pane, press Esc.

Format footnotes

You can change the font type and size, and the indentation of footnotes. The changes can be applied to one or all footnotes.

1. In your document, press Alt+Windows logo  key+S, S, F. You hear: "Editing footnote."

2. Press the SR key+Right arrow key until you hear "Format footnotes, button," and then press Enter. You hear: "Dialog, Format options." The focus is on the font type menu.

3. To change the font type, press Alt+Down arrow key. The font type menu expands. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the font type you want, and then press Enter.

4. To change the font size, press the Tab key until you hear "Font size," and then press Alt+Down arrow key. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the font size you want, and then press Enter.

5. To change the indentation, press the Tab key until you hear the indent option you want. You also hear if the option is on or off. To select, press Enter.

6. Do one of the following:

   • To apply the changes to the current footnote only, press the Tab key until you hear "Apply button," and then press Enter.
   • To apply the changes to all footnotes, press the Tab key until you hear "Apply to all, button," and then press Enter.

7. To return to the body text, press Esc.

Format endnotes

You can change the font type and size, and the indentation of endnotes. The changes can be applied to one or all endnotes.

1. In your document, press Alt+Windows logo key+S, S, E. You hear: "Editing endnote."

2. Press the SR key+Right arrow key until you hear "Format endnotes, button," and then press Enter. You hear: "Dialog, format options." The focus is on the font type menu.

3. To change the font type, press Alt+Down arrow key. The font type menu expands. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the font type you want, and then press Enter.

4. To change the font size, press the Tab key until you hear "Font size," and then press Alt+Down arrow key. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the font size you want, and then press Enter.

5. To change the indentation, press the Tab key until you hear the indent option you want. You also hear if the option is on or off. To select, press Enter.

6. Do one of the following:

   • To apply the changes to the current endnotes only, press the Tab key until you hear "Apply button," and then press Enter.
   • To apply the changes to all endnotes, press the Tab key until you hear "Apply to all, button," and then press Enter.

7. To return to the body text, press Esc.

Delete a footnote or endnote

To delete a footnote or endnote, remove its number or symbol from the main text. If you only remove the note itself, the number or symbol will remain. Removing the number or symbol deletes the note and updates all references accordingly. Simply highlight and delete the footnote or endnote number in the body of your document, and it will automatically remove the corresponding note at the bottom of the page or at the end of it. 

1. Navigate to the footnote or endnote you want to delete.
2. Press Ctrl+F8 to jump to the footnote or endnote pane.
3. Delete the text in the footnote or endnote.
4. Press Esc to return to the footnote or endnote reference number in the body text.
5. Press Shift+Left or Right arrow key to select the reference number in the body text, and then press Delete.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word

Use a screen reader to insert a picture or image in Word

Keyboard shortcuts in Word

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word