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how to renumber footnotes to account for added footnotes in continuous documents

Fred Campbell-Craven 0 Reputation points
2026-03-16T20:50:02.3633333+00:00

I need to renumber footnotes in a second continuous document to reflect additional footnotes in the first continuous document.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | MacOS
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-03-16T20:50:10.4833333+00:00
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    In Word for Mac, footnote numbers are always calculated automatically within each document. To make the second document’s footnote numbers continue from the first document, adjust the starting number and numbering options in the Footnote and Endnote settings of the second document.

    In the second document:

    1. Open the second document in Word for Mac.
    2. On the Insert menu, click Footnote to open the Footnote and Endnote box.
    3. In the Footnote and Endnote box, under Footnotes:
      • Set Number format as desired (for example, 1, 2, 3…).
      • In Numbering, choose Continuous (so numbering does not restart by page or section).
      • Set the Start at value to the next number after the last footnote in the first document. For example, if the first document ends at footnote 12, set Start at to 13.
    4. Choose where to apply the change (usually Whole document), then click Insert.

    All existing and new footnotes in the second document will now be renumbered starting from the value specified, effectively accounting for the footnotes in the first document.

    If the second document uses sections and needs different numbering per section, repeat these steps per section and choose to apply the change to This section instead of the whole document.


    References:

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