Footnote Style set up

Question

Hi,
I have received a document with footnotes but the font and size of the footnotes need to be changed.
How do I set up the Style – footnote (which already exists) to Times New Roman 11 without changing the existing italics when applied to the existing footnotes.
I have tried, but when I highlight the footnote and apply the footnote style it changes the italics to normal.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum. This is April, I'll be happy to assist you. Sorry to hear that you're having issue with Footnote Text style. Let me help you out.

Based on the description of the issue you provided, when applying the Footnote text style in Word to change the font to Times New Roman, the italics in existing footnotes are being removed instead of preserved.

The key is to update the Footnote Text style so it controls only the font family and size, without overriding character formatting like italics, bold or underline. Here's how you can do it:

1. Open the Styles pane
   • Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S (Windows), or go to Home > Styles > Manage Styles.
2. Locate the Footnote Text Style
   • In the list of styles, find Footnote Text. This is the style Word applies to footnotes by default.
3. Modify the style
   • Right-click Footnote Text > Modify
   • In the Modify Style window:
   • Set the Font to Times New Roman
   • Set the Size to 11
   • Do not select the Italic button. Leave it unchanged so italics remain a character-level setting
4. Preserve character formatting
   • At the bottom, click Format > Font
   • Make sure Italic is set to (none), not "Not Italic."
   • This ensures Word won't strip italics when applying the style.
5. Apply the changes
   • Once saved, all footnotes should switch to Times New Roman 11, but any words you had italicized will stay italic.

I hope this helps. If you need further assistance. Please don’t hesitate to contact us again. I am here to help and appreciate your continued trust in us.

Thank you,

April P.