Footnotes and endnotes can be very useful if you want to add comments, explanations and references to a document. They make it easy to separate additional footnotes from body text.
However, sometimes you will get them by default, which you may not need. You may receive documents filled with footnotes that you do not find useful. If you want to delete them, Word offers several ways to do so.
If there are too many for manual deletion, there are 3 ways to delete them all at once. We'll cover everything you need to know in this article.
Removing Footnotes and Endnotes Using Find and Replace
This is the most used method, but also one of the easiest. With just a few clicks, you can get rid of all footnotes. Here's how.
- In the document you are editing, open the Find and replace dialog box: on a Mac, go to Edit > Find, and select Advanced search and replace. If you are using Word 2013 or 2016, you can do this by pressing Ctrl + H.
- Once you have opened the dialog box, click on the Replace.
- In the Find what , enter ^f for footnotes and ^e for endnotes. You can also do this by selecting More > Special > Footnote Mark ou Endnote marker.
- Leave on Replace with empty box, then go to Replace all.
This is the easiest of the three ways to remove footnotes and endnotes. If you're a bit more tech-savvy and want to experiment with coding, there are two more options.
Macro recording
If you need to manage multiple documents with many footnotes, recording a macro is the best way to remove them all. Once done, you can assign a macro to a keyboard key or an option in Word. This will allow you to use it whenever you need to remove all footnotes from a document.
To record a macro that will do this, use the following codes:
Sub DeleteFootnotes()
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
With Selection.Find
.Text = "^f"
.Replacement.Text = ""
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub
You can remove endnotes the same way, just replace ^f with ^e. Assign the macro to a button or key and you can remove all footnotes found in a document in no time.
Use VBA codes
It is a method for which you do not need any coding knowledge, because it is very simple. It doesn't allow for multiple use like macros, but it's a lightning-fast way to remove footnotes and endnotes from a document. Here's what you need to do.
- Hit Alt + F11 to run the VBA editor.
- Go to Insert > Module.
- Double-click to open the module, then paste the following code to remove all footnotes:
Sub DeleteAllfootnotes()
Dim objFootnote As Footnote
For Each objFootnote In ActiveDocument.Footnotes
objFootnote.Delete
Next
End Sub
To remove endnotes, paste this code:
Sub DeleteAllEndnotes()
Dim objEndnote As Endnote
For Each objEndnote In ActiveDocument.Endnotes
objEndnote.Delete
Next
End Sub
- When ready, select Run.
This method allows you to remove all footnotes and endnotes that you may not be able to remove manually because not all marks can be removed without code. This includes custom brands where a macro is needed.
Manual removal of footnotes
Finally, you may only want to remove some of them. If so, the only way to do it is manually. Each footnote has a corresponding number in the body text.
- To remove a footnote, just remove the body number and it will automatically disappear.
- You can also right-click the footnote itself, select Go to footnote, then delete the number from there.
The last word
Depending on the situation, you can use one of the methods above to get rid of footnotes and endnotes. If you know you'll have to deal with them repeatedly, recording a macro and assigning it to a key on the keyboard is your best bet.
For one-time use, you can go the VBA editor route or use the first method if coding isn't your thing. Whichever way you decide to go, you'll be able to deal with footnotes in no time.
