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Footnote positioning in MS Word

Anonymous
2023-07-20T20:08:19+00:00

In an MS word document, my footnotes take up half the page even though they are very short. They are already formatted to appear at the "bottom of the page" and not "below the text." So even if just a few words, the footnote appears immediately under the footnote line and the there is a huge unused gap to the bottom of the page. If I open a new document, this doesn't happen so it is something to do with the format if just this doc? What can I do? Thanks!

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  1. John Korchok 231.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-07-20T21:46:13+00:00

    Posting screen shots using the Insert image tool may clarify what you are seeing:

    Footnotes always have to appear on the same page as the text to which they refer, so Word may create text arrangements that are visually displeasing to do that. There are different circumstances that can cause this, but one hypothetical example is if the text following the gap has paragraph formatting marked as Keep with next.

    Ajibola's suggestions look like the result of a hasty Google search, but you can view the Footnote Separator by choosing Draft view (View>Draft). Then, on the References tab, choose Show Notes. An extra pane opens at the bottom of the Word window with a Footnotes dropdown that allows you to select the Footnote Separator or the Footnote Continuation Separator.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-07-20T22:56:06+00:00

    Thanks John, that was super helpful. The step missing was to put the doc in "draft" mode first. Once there I could see the Footnote Separator and the Footnote Continuation Separator from the drop down and managed to fix it. Footnotes are now at the bottom and not taking up much room.

    I take you point about posting images to help people answer.

    Thanks, Graham

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-07-20T21:33:08+00:00

    Hi,

    I'm Ajibola, an Independent Consultant here and a Microsoft user like you. I don't work for Microsoft and cannot access any of your data on their system.

    To change the spacing between footnotes in Microsoft Word, you can follow these steps:

    1. Click the Expansion arrow of the Footnotes group > choose "Below the text" for Footnotes > Apply.
    2. Choose the last line of main text > Right click, select Paragraph > In the Paragraph dialogue box, click the Indents and Spacing tab, and make sure that Spacing After is set to zero. Change the Line Spacing to "Single".
    3. Click in any footnote.
    4. Press Ctrl+Shift+S to open the Apply Style dialogue box.
    5. Click the Modify button.
    6. In the Modify Style dialog, click the Format button in the bottom left corner and click Paragraph in the menu.
    7. In the Paragraph dialog, clicdialogueLine Spacing dropdown and select Multiple; then click in the At box and enter a decimal fraction such as 0.8.
    8. Go to the View tab, then choose Draft.
    9. Go to the References tab and click Show Footnotes.
    10. In the drop-down list that appears in the Footnotes area, choose Footnote Separator.
    11. Delete any extra spaces, carriage returns etc.
    12. The Footnotes pane includes a dropdown that defaults to All Footnotes. Change this to Footnote Separator.
    13. The Footnote separator line appears. Select it and choose Format>Paragraph. If there is space after, set it to 0¹.

    Source: (1) In MS word, how to reduce the gaps before and after footnotes. https://superuser.com/questions/1577672/in-ms-word-how-to-reduce-the-gaps-before-and-after-footnotes.

    Kind regards Ajibola

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-07-20T21:25:13+00:00

    Hi - I appreciate your reply but I failed at suggestion number 1!

    I can't see "Footnote Separator" or "Footnote Continuation Separator."

    Can you point me to where I can find them?

    Thanks!

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-07-20T20:57:44+00:00

    Hi,

    I'm Ajibola, an Independent Consultant here and a Microsoft user like you. I don't work for Microsoft and cannot access any of your data on their system.

    If your footnotes are taking up an excessive amount of space and creating a large gap at the bottom of the page in your Microsoft Word document, there could be a few possible reasons and solutions:

    1. Footnote Line Spacing:
      • Check the line spacing settings for your footnotes. It's possible that the line spacing is set to a larger value, causing the footnotes to take up more space.
      • To adjust the line spacing for footnotes, go to the "References" tab, click on "Footnotes" (or "Insert Footnote" depending on your Word version), and then click on "Footnote Separator" or "Footnote Continuation Separator."
      • Modify the line spacing for these separators to the desired value.
    2. Page Margins and Page Breaks:
      • Make sure that the page margins are set correctly, and that there are no unnecessary page breaks or section breaks in the document.
      • To check the page margins, go to the "Layout" or "Page Layout" tab and click on "Margins." Choose a standard margin setting, such as "Normal."
      • Additionally, check if there are any manual page breaks or section breaks that might be affecting the formatting.
    3. Page Size and Layout:
      • Ensure that the page size and layout settings are appropriate for your document. Sometimes, using a non-standard page size or layout can lead to unexpected spacing issues.
      • Go to the "Layout" or "Page Layout" tab, click on "Size," and choose a standard page size, such as "Letter" or "A4."
    4. Compatibility Mode:
      • If your document is in compatibility mode (saved in an older Word format), consider saving it in the current Word format (docx) to avoid potential formatting issues.
    5. Clear Formatting:
      • If you suspect that there is hidden formatting causing the issue, try copying the content of the document to a new blank document. This can help remove any hidden formatting and reset the layout.
    6. Update Office:
      • Make sure you are using the latest version of Microsoft Word. Check for updates and install any available updates.
    7. Test with a New Document:
      • Create a new blank document and test inserting footnotes to see if the issue persists. If footnotes behave normally in the new document, it suggests that the problem might be specific to the original document's formatting.

    If the issue is specific to the original document and persists even after trying the above solutions, the document might have some underlying formatting or layout issues. In such cases, manually adjusting the formatting or copying the content to a new document can often resolve the problem.

    Kind regards Ajibola

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