Using footnotes allows you to reference information outside of your main document text by adding content to the bottom of the page. Footnotes are numbered sequentially, and any time you add or remove a footnote, these numbers update automatically.
You can add footnotes to body text or individual cells in embedded tables.
Add footnotes to text
To add footnotes in text:
- Right-click in your document.
- Click on Footnote.
- Select Insert Footnote from the menu.
Tip: You can easily insert a footnote by using the keyboard shortcut. For macOS, it is CMD + ALT + F. For Windows, it is CTRL + ALT + F.
Alternatively, you can click Insert from the Edit toolbar and select Footnote.
A superscript automatically appears with a corresponding annotation at the bottom of your page. Type your information next to the number to finalize your footnote.
You can add any text formatting to your annotation including changing the font, color, weight, and adding a prefix or suffix. You can also customize the sequence of your footnotes. To learn more about these options, view the Manage footnote properties section.
Note: Footnote annotations cannot include XBRL tags.
Add footnotes in tables
You can also add footnotes to individual cells. To add a footnote to a cell, right-click the cell and select Insert Footnote from the menu.
Tip: You can easily insert a footnote by using the keyboard shortcut. For macOS, it is CMD + ALT + F. For Windows, it is CTRL + ALT + F.
Additionally, you can add a footnote from the Edit toolbar by selecting Insert and clicking Footnote.
You can’t add a footnote to a selection of multiple cells. However, if one of your cells has a footnote in your selection, you have the option to remove the footnote. For locked cells, you can’t remove or insert a footnote. If you have a selection of one or more cells, it’ll remove all of the footnotes associated.
Note: Footnote superscripts temporarily disappear when you edit the content of a cell. The number reappears after clicking out of the cell.
Manage footnote properties
You can manage your footnote properties to customize it to your needs.
There are different footnote options that you can customize:
- Style - Choose from different styles of footnotes, such as alphabetical or numerical.
- Sequence starts - This option indicates the starting item for a sequence. This option is disabled if Continuous or Page is selected for Restarts at.
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Restarts at - Choose where to restart footnotes from.
- Continuous: Footnotes are continued from the previous section within the whole file.
- Page: Footnotes will restart at the page level.
- Section: This restarts at the section. Footnotes can be restarted at any number. - Prefix - Adds specified text in front of the footnote.*
- Suffix - Adds specified text at the end of the footnote.*
- Footnote line - Add and customize the weight, length, color, and style of line. This line separates the file’s area and the footnotes area. By default, a footnote line is added in. You can remove the line if needed.
*This is only for the footnotes area at the bottom of the page.
You can choose to edit footnote properties within the document-level or section-level. Section footnote properties will override what's in Document Properties. However, if there isn’t a section-level set, then all footnote properties will be based on the document-level.
To manage footnotes in Document Properties:
- Open Document Properties.
- Go to the Page Formats tab.
- In the Footnotes section, make any changes.
- Click Save Changes to finish.
You can also manage footnotes by section-level.
To manage in section properties:
- Right-click in your document.
- Click on Footnote.
- Select Section footnote properties from the menu.
Alternatively, you can open Section footnote properties by right clicking next to a footnote in the footnote area. Depending on which section the footnote is located, you’ll open that section’s footnote properties.
You can also access Section footnote properties through the Properties drop down in the Edit toolbar. - Select any options for your section footnotes.
Reset footnote properties
You'll see a reset icon next to the options for Section Footnote Properties if the options differ from Document Properties. By clicking reset, the footnote properties will revert to what’s in the document-level.