Using Footnotes in Google Drive (Updated Jan 2013)

Google Drive can be used with any of the word processing programs like Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, RTF, HTML or plain text documents, so it comes as no surprise that Google Drive also has similar features as those programs, including having the capabilities to include footnotes and end notes.

Footnotes and end notes are used as a form of citation in papers, articles and books. Whether it is quotes, to paraphrase a specific idea or data, sources are often placed in the footnote to show the reader what exact source (including page number) was used to support the content. Footnotes are placed on the same page in numerical order, while end notes are placed numerically on a separate sheet of paper.

Creating Footnotes

To insert a footnote in a Google Document, at the end of a needed source click on Insert and scroll down to Footnote.

A text box will appear at the bottom of the Google Document. Type the proper source citation or extra content needed for the footnote. When you are done writing the footnote, click outside the box and continue working in the main document. If you need to go back in the same footnote, click that footnote to continue typing.

To see how your footnotes will appear when printed, go to Print Preview from the File Menu. You can also view your footnotes in PDF by going to the File menu.

If needed, for whatever reason, you can delete any footnote. To delete, click on the footnote in the body of the article (the little number that appears next to the text), and delete the number. This will remove the footnote from the document.

Unfortunately, Google Drive does not have a feature that allows you to create end notes.