OmniDocHow to format Word footnotes: font, font size and examples
Explain how to format footnotes in Word, including font, font size and paragraph spacing, and explain how to unify all footnotes at once by modifying the "footnote text" style while keeping the superscript numbers unchanged.
Key points of this article
- The footnote text is controlled by the "Footnote Text" style. Modifying this style can unify the font, font size and paragraph format of all footnotes at once.
- Footnote numbering is controlled by the "Footnote Reference" style. Adjusting it individually will not affect the format of the footnote body.
- If the font size of the footnote has been manually changed, the style modification may not take effect. You need to clear the direct formatting first and then apply the style.
- The font and font size are subject to the requirements of the school or journal. The common combination is Chinese Song Dynasty plus Spanish Times New Roman.
- After modification, check the number superscripts, cross-page footnotes and exported PDF layout to make sure there are no omissions.
When writing papers, bids, or internal reports, the format of footnotes is often an area of error. The main text has been laid out, but the footnotes are too large, the lines are loosely spaced, or the Chinese and English fonts are mixed. The tutor or reviewer can see it at a glance. Many people want to make changes, but they can only select and adjust them one by one. It is very time-consuming when there are too many footnotes.
This article is written for people who need to unify the format of Word footnotes, including students who arrange their papers according to school templates, researchers who need to submit manuscripts according to journal requirements, and professionals who often deal with long documents. After reading, you'll know how to set the font, font size, and paragraph appearance of footnotes in Word, how to apply it to all footnotes at once, and how to keep the superscript style of footnote numbers unchanged.
How to set the footnote format? One sentence conclusion
Direct answer: Modify the "Footnote Text" style in Word to unify the font, font size and paragraph format of all footnotes at once; number superscripts can also be adjusted through the "Footnote Reference" style.
| your situation | Recommended practices | reason |
|---|---|---|
| There aren't many footnotes in the document, I just want to change a few. | Manually set after selecting items one by one | Simple operation, does not affect other footnotes |
| There are many footnotes and the whole article needs to be formatted uniformly. | Modify the "footnote text" style | The style is a global setting and can be modified once and applied to all footnotes. |
| The footnote has been formatted manually, and the style modification does not take effect. | Clear direct formatting first, then apply styles | Manual settings have higher priority than styles and need to be removed first. |
| Need to adjust the size or color of footnote numbers | Modify the "Footnote Reference" style | The numbering and footnote text belong to two separate styles and do not affect each other. |
| Documents need to be converted to PDF for delivery | Unify the style first, then export and check | Ensure layout remains consistent after export |
# before you start: confirm these points first
Confirm a few things before you start, so you can avoid detours.
- confirm that it is a Word footnote, not an endnote or manual superscript. the content generated by "insert footnote" will be uniformly managed by the style. If the numbers are superscript numbers entered manually, style changes do not affect them and need to be processed one by one or changed to a real footnote. - confirm that the format requires the source. the typographical specifications of schools, periodicals or units usually specify the font and size of footnotes. Follow them and don't set them up on the basis of impression. - distinguish between Chinese and Western fonts. Chinese and English and numbers often appear in footnotes. Usually you need to set the Chinese font and the western font respectively, otherwise English will be displayed as the default font. - operate on the copy first. format adjustment may involve a lot of content, keep an original file, and you can go back if you make an error. - if the file is from PDF, verify that the footnote is editable. most of the footnotes in PDF are fixed typesetting text and cannot be modified by Word style. If you need to adjust, you can use the PDF editor to export to Word before processing. The PDF editor for the OmniDoc desktop client supports export to Word, and the web version of the UniDoc editor (app.unidoc.top) also provides Word-compatible editing that can be used to check whether styles are retained.
# steps to uniformly set fonts, font sizes and paragraphs with "footnote text" style
- Open the document and confirm that there is a footnote. find any footnote, make sure it is inserted by Word, and remember its current font and font size for easy comparison.
- Open the style pane and locate the footnote text style. find a style named "footer text" in the style list. If it is not in the list, you can search for the name in the style pane.
- modify the style. right-click the "footnote text" style and select modify. This is the style that controls the appearance of the footnote body, and subsequent settings are done here.
- set the font. set Chinese fonts and Western fonts respectively. The commonly used combinations of the thesis are Chinese Song style and Western language Times New Roman, which are subject to the requirements of the school.
- set the font size. * the common footnote size is small five or five, that is, about 9 pounds or 10.5 pounds. If there is no special provision in the request, you can choose a smaller font size that is coordinated with the text.
- format paragraphs. * set the spacing before and after the paragraph to 0, the first line indent and left indent to 0, and the line spacing menu times or consistent with the text. In this way, the footnotes will be compact and neat and will not take up too many pages because the spacing is too large.
- confirm and check the effect. after clicking OK, go back to the document to check several footnotes. All footnotes that use this style change synchronously and do not need to be modified one by one.
- adjust the number separately. if you need to change the font size or color of the footnote number, find the "footnote reference" style to modify it. The number is superscript by default, which is generally maintained by default, and modifying it will not affect the footnote text.
- example: * assume that the text of a paper is in Xiao 4 Song style, and the footnote requirements are Chinese Song style, Western Times New Roman, Xiao 5, single-spaced, and 0 after the first paragraph. Follow the above steps to modify the "footnote text" style, set these items, the full-text footnotes will be unified into the same format, while the text and number will remain the same.
# the format of footnotes has not changed? Clear the manual format first
If individual footnotes remain in the old format after changing the style, it is usually because the footnotes have been manually resized or fonts before. Formatting directly takes precedence over styles, and style changes do not overwrite them.
How to handle it: select all footnote bodies (you can choose from the first footnote to the last), then clear the direct formatting of the characters, and then reapply the footnote text style. When cleared, the footer reverts to the style-defined format. If only a few footnotes are problematic, you can also apply the style one by one, with the same effect.
Be careful not to mistakenly clear the superscript format of the footnote number. Check whether the number is still superscript before and after cleaning.
# check item by item after completion
After the formatting is completed, check it item by item to avoid omission.
| Check item | What do you think? | What if there's a problem? |
|---|---|---|
| Is the font and font size uniform? | Click on a few footnotes at random to compare Chinese and English fonts and font sizes | Check for manual formatting residue, clear and reapply the style |
| Whether the number is superscript | See if the number before the footnote goes up. | Modify the footnote reference style, or check if manual superscript is misused |
| Is the paragraph spacing compact? | View the spacing and line spacing between footnotes | Go back to the footnote text style and reset the front and back of the paragraph and the line spacing |
| Is the spread footer normal? | Look at the position of the footnote spread to see if it is fully displayed | Adjust paging, or shorten excessively long footnotes |
| Whether the footnote corresponds to the body number | Check the numbers in the text and the footnotes at the bottom of the page one by one | Check the insertion order and reinsert the footnote if necessary |
| Whether the layout after exporting PDF is consistent | Export PDF to view footnote positions and fonts page by page | If missing fonts cause abnormal display, check for font embedding or switch to common fonts |
If there is machine translation or OCR processing in the document, also check the text of the important footnotes paragraph by paragraph to ensure that the translation or recognition results are accurate.
# Core comparison: three setting methods
| Mode | Suitable for the scene | Advantages | Shortcoming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modify the footnote text style | Unified format of the whole document | Set at once, full-text synchronization | Manual format residue needs to be cleared first. |
| Set manually one by one | Only change individual footnotes | Flexible, no need to change the style | The quantity is time-consuming and easy to be inconsistent. |
| Copy using format brush | Copy the format of one footnote to another footnote | Intuitive operation | What is copied is a direct format, so it is difficult to unify when changing the style later. |
For most papers and reports, changing the style is a safe way because it ensures consistency in the format and facilitates subsequent adjustments.
# frequently asked questions (FAQ)
1. How to change the format of footnotes so as not to affect the text?
Changing the footnote text style affects only the footnote body and does not change the body paragraph. The numbering format is controlled by the "footnote reference" style, which is set separately and does not interfere with each other when adjusted.
2. Changed the footnote style, why some footnotes have not changed?
These footnotes are usually manually set in font or font size, and the direct format overrides the style. Select them, clear the character format and reapply the footnote text style.
3. Can footnotes and endnotes be formatted together?
Can be set separately. Footnotes correspond to "footnote text" style, endnotes correspond to "endnote text" style, the two are independent. If the school requires the two formats to be the same, you need to modify two styles respectively.
4. What is the size of the footnotes in the thesis?
The most common is Primary five or five, which is about 9 pounds or 10.5 pounds, but it depends on the typesetting rules of the school or periodicals. When in doubt, check the template provided by the mentor or contribution website first.
5. What if the English font in the footnote is incorrect?
Check whether Chinese fonts and Western fonts are set in the footnote text style. If only Chinese fonts are set, English and numbers will use the default fonts. After the additional setting of western fonts, English will be displayed uniformly.
# Summary
The core of the Word footnote format is to modify the "footnote text" style, which unifies the font, size, and paragraph settings of all footnotes at once, while the numbering is adjusted separately through the "footnote reference" style. When the format does not take effect, first clear the manual format and then apply the style, and finally export the PDF check layout to get a neat and consistent footnote.
